Soon, the busy Void Guard disciples inside the other Universe Temples, as well as Huang Si Niang and the couple dozen Phoenix Clan members, were all gathered in the Grand Hall.
Although the Grand Dao of Space was a Bloodline Talent of the Phoenix Clan, their current heritage wasn’t enough for any of their clansmen to obtain higher attainment than Yang Kai. Perhaps the former Phoenix Clan Leader who died in the Barren Territory War could match him, but until now, the Phoenix Clan still hadn’t seen the rise of a Ninth-Order Phoenix.
That was why the Phoenixes were also excited after hearing that Yang Kai would personally show them how to arrange the new Space Array.
As for the Void Dao Temple disciples, there was no doubt that they were excited as well. They were born in the Void World and inherited their Grand Dao from Yang Kai; hence, their respect and admiration for their Dao Lord was unparalleled.
Once everyone was gathered, Yang Kai spoke up, “You’ve worked hard these past few years. The formation of the Void Guard is crucial to the future dispatch and support of our Army; however, there are only a few who are proficient in the Dao of Space, so even though it will be difficult, I hope all of you can persevere through this.”
The disciples below answered, saying things like ‘it was nothing’, or ‘it was our duty’.
Yang Kai nodded and continued, “At first, I was planning on waiting until all the Universe Temples were gathered before demonstrating the new Space Arrays we would be arranging and their wonders, but something unexpected happened, so I was caught up for a while. Luckily, there is still ample time, so it’s not a major concern. There are no large errors in how you all are approaching the new Space Arrays, so there are only some slight changes to be made. You might not understand with just my explanation, so I will personally arrange a Space Array while you observe and emulate my process.”
The crowd agreed and became excited.
Watching a Ninth-Order Master setting up a Space Array up close, especially a Ninth-Order Master who was proficient in the Dao of Space, was equivalent to an opportunity to gain epiphany or enlightenment. It was a chance that was hard to come by.
Back when Yang Kai was on the Black Ink Battlefield, he needed to exchange a massive amount of Military Merits for a chance to listen to any Ninth-Order Old Ancestor share their insights in person; therefore, everyone present, even the Phoenixes, focused all their attention on what he did and said next.
Yang Kai flew up and swiped with his hand. Space Principles fell and completely removed the Space Array Li Wu Yi and the others created, making it as though it never existed.
After that, he took out the resources he had prepared in advance and used his technique to refine them. While doing so, he added the first pattern inside the Universe Temple.
“A Space Array is used as a means of transportation; with the help of the connection between Space Arrays, we can cross through the Void and instantly move from one Space Array to another. So, the first thing we need to consider is the stability of the Array. If an Array isn’t stable enough, it might cause an accident while one is in transit, exiling people to the Void. Those of us who cultivate the Dao of Space might be able to find our way out of such a situation, but ordinary soldiers won’t be able to do that.”
While Yang Kai was explaining, several delicate but complex patterns began forming inside the Grand Hall. As the Space Principles fluctuated, all the Void Guard disciples had thoughtful expressions on their faces.
“Once the Array is stable enough, the next thing to consider is the teleportation distance,” Yang Kai continued, “We can’t just look at the current situation, we have to think about the future as well. Few here participated in the original crusade, so you don’t have an idea about the distance we needed to travel. When all the Great Passes set out to the Primordial Heavens Source Restriction, it took them some 20 years to arrive…”
“…With such a large distance, once the war breaks out in full, it will be nearly impossible for the rear bases to send any reinforcements to the frontlines without the help of Space Arrays. Therefore, the true aim of forming the Void Guard is to pave two paths. One from High Heaven Territory to the No-Return Pass, and another one from the No-Return Pass to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. That way, the reinforcements sent from the back can reach the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction as soon as possible. Only through this method can we wage a successful war. If we Humans suffer a major loss of supplies or are cut off from reinforcements, we won’t be able to continue fighting.”
“…Therefore, all of the Space Arrays must at least fulfil one criterion, the distance they cover must be at least an entire Great Territory!”
Hearing this, everyone paled.
Using just two Space Arrays to cross an entire Great Territory was no simple feat. That was such a great distance that with their current methods and plans, it was simply impossible to achieve.
However, since Yang Kai came to personally demonstrate how to set up the new Space Arrays, it meant that he had found a way to solve this problem. Once they thought about that, the crowd calmed down slightly.
“A stable Array that can allow one to cross such a distance isn’t enough though, we also have to think about the number of people the Array can teleport in one transmission, and also the consumption to do so. Only after we solve all these problems can the Space Arrays be of use to us.”
Everyone in the Grand Hall remained silent while only Yang Kai spoke from time to time. Meanwhile, those delicate and complex patterns became denser and gradually filled the Grand Hall.
All the Void Guards were entranced by what was happening. When they felt the dense strength of Space Principles surging around Yang Kai, they felt even more admiration for him.
Previously, when they were arranging the Space Arrays, they did every step carefully and cautiously, afraid that one small mishap would ruin everything. On the other hand, Yang Kai acted both swiftly and effortlessly, making many wonder if they were even setting up the same Array.
Half a day later, Yang Kai stopped. Then, before everyone’s eyes, he inserted his strength inside the Array, activating it. The patterns began to shine, and the Void above the Array began to twist.
Such a scene undoubtedly showed that the Array had been successfully arranged and activated, but since there was no corresponding Array to link with, no teleportation actually occurred.
As the crowd silently watched Yang Kai set up this Array, they noticed that there weren’t any major differences from the Array they were arranging before, just some subtle changes here and there. However, those small modifications had a massive effect on the Array which allowed it to fulfil the conditions Yang Kai had mentioned before.
The Void Guard disciples gained a lot from observing this demonstration up close.
Once Yang Kai withdrew his strength, the Array gradually dimmed.
“Are there any questions?” Yang Kai asked.
Like a stone being thrown into a calm lake, numerous questions were thrown at Yang Kai all at once.
Gesturing for them to calm down, Yang Kai said, “One at a time.”
During the following days, Yang Kai answered the questions from the 100-plus Void Guards, explaining the wonders of the Dao of Space and the Space Array to them in turn.
In just a few days, at least half of those present saw their Mastery of the Dao of Space increase by a level.
After the last question was answered, Yang Kai finally rose to his feet, “Alright, I’ll leave the task of arranging the rest of the Space Arrays to all of you. Whether the Human Race’s second crusade goes smoothly depends on this matter, so please work together and don’t slack off. Li Wu Yi.”
Li Wu Yi immediately cupped his fist, “Here!”
“I leave you in charge of things here!”
“Yes!”
Yang Kai nodded and took a step forward before disappearing.
Meanwhile, Li Wu Yi lowered his head respectfully, only to suddenly realise something was not right, and when he looked over, Yang Kai had disappeared without a trace.
At first, he thought that since Yang Kai had returned and he wouldn’t have to worry about the Void Guard anymore, only needing to do his part in the project, but now, Yang Kai was acting like an arm-flinging shopkeeper, officially putting Li Wu Yi in charge!
Outside the Star Boundary, somewhere in the barren void of High Heaven Territory, several figures stood upright while looking tentatively into the distance with anticipation and excitement.
All those figures were either in the Seventh or Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, with many of them being at the very peak of the Eighth-Order. Though they were from different backgrounds, they were all basically from the Cave Heavens and Paradises or High Heaven Palace. Only a few of them were from other Sects or Families.
Two of them were the youngest Star Boundary Great Emperors, Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder, standing with the High Heaven Palace disciples. Although they were technically disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises disciples, they were born and raised in the Star Boundary, so they felt a sense of belonging to the latter.
With over 100 such Masters gathered in one place, it was obvious that something big was about to happen. Moreover, if one knew who all of those gathered here were, they would discover an even more shocking fact.
All the cultivators present had directly broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, which meant they all had a chance to become Ninth-Order Masters.
In other words, everyone standing here was a future hope of the Human Race, a future powerhouse!
There was only one reason why they were gathered here.
Someone was about to break through to the Ninth Order!
After the last battle in the Barren Territory and thousands of years of accumulating their strength, the Humans finally had a new generation of Masters ready to break through to become Ninth-Order Masters.
The Supreme Headquarters naturally wouldn’t ignore such a huge matter, so they immediately gathered these rising stars here so that they could observe the process; after all, this would benefit them, and they might comprehend something from it. Also, they would have a reference for when it was their turn to break through!
This was a sign of the beginning of a new era. Like Yang Kai had said back then, when the first Ninth-Order Master emerged from the younger generation, it would be the start of many more Ninth-Order Masters emerging. That was something the Black Ink Clan couldn’t compare to.
At that moment, while the void was fluctuating, Yang Kai appeared and everyone turned their attention to him.
Right then, everyone began calling out to him with “Sir”, “Dao Lord”, and “Palace Master.”
Many of the cultivators observing the situation were either from the Void Dao Temple or High Heaven Palace.
From the front of the crowd, Ou Yang Lie beckoned to Yang Kai, “Over here.”
A major event like the first of the younger generation breaking through to reach the Ninth Order was something the Supreme Headquarters would pay great attention to. If Mi Jing Lun hadn’t been swamped with work, he would have even personally come to stand guard.
It was a pity that he had many matters on his hands and couldn’t make it; therefore, he dragged Ou Yang Lie out of his retreat and made him oversee the situation here.
Moreover, Mi Jing Lun had also mentioned this matter to Yang Kai before he left the Supreme Headquarters and asked Yang Kai to come over if he was free; after all, the rising star breaking through to the Ninth Order today was from High Heaven Palace. Being High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master, Yang Kai should be here no matter what.
Yang Kai arrived beside Ou Yang Lie in the void and cupped his fist at the old man to the side, “Congratulations, Old Yu.”
Though Yu Chang Dao had already reached the peak of the Eighth Order a long time ago, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous while replying, “Congratulations to you too, Palace Master.”
His nervousness wasn’t without reason. The cultivator breaking through this time was his Legacy Disciple, the one he took under his wing and carefully trained, the one born with a Special Constitution made for cultivating his Grand Dao, Shi Da Zhuang!
Shi Da Zhuang was a man with a very modest name. If one only heard of his name but never saw him, one might mistake him for a villager living in some backwater countryside; however, from today onward, it would also be a name heralded through the ages as it belonged to the momentous first person to break through directly to the Seventh-Order after the World Tree clone began nurturing the Star Boundary.
One could say that Shi Da Zhuang was a symbol of the rise of a new generation.
When the Cave Heavens and Paradises received news of the effects of the World Tree clone’s nourishment, many came to the Star Boundary and built Dao Temples, dividing up the land and taking in disciples.
In the beginning, though all cultivators living in the Star Boundary received nourishment from the World Tree clone, there wasn’t anyone who could be described as Heaven-defying.
That was until Yu Chang Dao found Shi Da Zhuang.
The child who took his widowed mother’s maiden name had a modest given name, but had a truly rare physique. He was born with the Innate Dao Body which was perfectly suited to cultivating a certain core Secret Art from Free and Unfettered Paradise.
Since Yu Chang Dao came from Free and Unfettered Paradise, he naturally wanted to take Shi Da Zhuang as his Disciple. If he got Shi Da Zhuang to become his Disciple, he would be able to cultivate this Secret Art to its pinnacle and establish a lasting legacy. Moreover, Yu Chang Dao couldn’t become a Ninth-Order Master in his lifetime, but if he carefully taught Shi Da Zhuang, who had an exceptional attitude and was born with a perfect physique for cultivating, the latter might stand a chance to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Through this, Yu Chang Dao’s successor would be remembered throughout history.
Free and Unfettered Paradise was well-known and highly ranked among the 72 Paradises; therefore, they were one of the top Great Forces in the 3,000 Worlds. As for Yu Chang Dao, he was a Seventh-Order Inner Sect Elder at the time and had a high status. Anyone who came across such an opportunity was extremely lucky and would probably agree to it happily.
However, Shi Da Zhuang’s widowed mother, Liu Cai Xia, had different ideas. When faced with the idea of Yu Chang Dao taking Shi Da Zhuang in as his Legacy Disciple, she firmly disagreed.
Back then, it had not been long since Yang Kai worked with the other Great Emperors to defeat Great Demon God Mo Sheng and save the Star Boundary.
High Heaven Palace had an unparalleled reputation in the Star Boundary and was well known throughout the World.
All cultivators in the Star Boundary took joining High Heaven Palace as their goal in life, so they didn’t care about any Cave Heaven or Paradise.
Shi Da Zhuang’s father had died only months prior to Yu Chang Dao’s arrival, and before he passed away, his final wish was that if his child could cultivate, he would enter High Heaven Palace.
Liu Cai Xia was just an ordinary woman, simple-minded and ignorant, but such people could be more stubborn than any others.
She remembered her husband’s last words and insisted that Shi Da Zhuang enter High Heaven Palace.
Yu Chang Dao was shocked and confused for quite a while after he went to Liu Cai Xia’s doorstep and told her he wanted to take Shi Da Zhuang in as his Disciple.
After asking for the reason for her refusal, Yu Chang Dao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he felt how difficult this matter would be.
With his identity and abilities, he naturally could forcefully bring Shi Da Zhuang away, but by the same token, trampling the wishes of a mortal couple was far beneath his dignity.
With no other choice, Yu Chang Dao thought of Yang Kai and personally visited him to discuss this matter with him.
At first, he wanted Yang Kai to come forward and persuade Liu Cai Xia to agree to let Yu Chang Dao take her son as his Disciple; after all, this matter was greatly beneficial to Shi Da Zhuang.
After many twists and turns, Yu Chang Dao somehow became a High-Rank Guest Elder of High Heaven Palace and Shi Da Zhuang’s Master after he entered High Heaven Palace.
Yu Chang Dao knew Yang Kai had dug a pit for him in this matter, but no matter the process, he still gained his desired Legacy Disciple, so he jumped in all on his own.
Over the years, Yu Chang Dao poured everything he could into nurturing his Disciple. At the same time, Shi Da Zhuang proved worthy of his excellent physique as his cultivation increased rapidly. What was even rarer was that he inherited his mother’s modest and steady personality, not showing any of the arrogance and conceit that many gifted children had. This naturally made Yu Chang Dao even more satisfied.
Yu Chang Dao guided Shi Da Zhuang all the way through his cultivation, from directly reaching the Seventh Order until today, when he was finally about to become a Ninth-Order Master!
Yu Chang Dao immediately reported this matter to the Supreme Headquarters, and Mi Jing Lun treated the news very seriously. Not only had he dispatched Ou Yang Lie to stand guard for the event, he even told Yang Kai about this.
With two Ninth-Order Masters overseeing the situation here, it could be said that so long as Shi Da Zhuang had accumulated enough heritage, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to break through.
Looking in that direction, Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh, “Thousands of years have passed just like that…”
It was as though the matter of Shi Da Zhuang finding a Master had only happened yesterday. It happened before Yang Kai headed to the Black Ink Battlefield. Even though Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master, he couldn’t help but exclaim how time seemed to fly by.
The higher his cultivation, the faster time seemed to pass for Yang Kai. Thinking back to the days he had just begun cultivating, he felt every day and year was filled with adventure and fulfilment, but now, even a simple retreat could take dozens of years without him knowing it.
Even though an Eighth-Order Master had a long lifespan, Yu Chang Dao had obviously become older after several thousand years.
As for Yang Kai, he still looked the same as he did on that day…
“This kid has a good foundation,” Ou Yang Lie was looking in Shi Da Zhuang’s direction with an approving expression.
When mentioning that, the usually calm Yu Chang Dao had a proud expression as he chuckled, “The biggest virtue my Disciple possesses is that he’s never been anxious about his cultivation, so his foundation is naturally more stable than the others.”
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was laughing on the side, “You need solid ground to build a grand tower. With a more stable foundation, he will be able to ascend higher than others. There’s a good chance that his breakthrough will be smooth sailing, so you have nothing to worry about, Old Yu,”
With a bitter laugh, Yu Chang Dao replied, “I know, but how could I not be worried at this moment? Wouldn’t you worry if it were your Disciple here?”
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “My three Disciples are all people who exceed the ordinary to reach the extraordinary. They will definitely become Ninth-Order Masters, so I have nothing to worry about.”
Hearing that, Yu Chang Dao glared at him, “Palace Master, if you say it like that, we have nothing to continue this conversation with.”
Rolling his eyes, Ou Yang Lie quickly changed the subject, “Now that you’ve mentioned your three Disciples, are they still with the Suppressing Black Ink Army?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, a trace of worry on his face. Because the Old Tree had fallen into a coma, he couldn’t head to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to check on the situation there.
“They’re probably not having it easy there either,” Ou Yang Lie sighed, “Counting the days, your Eldest Disciple and Second Disciple began cultivating at almost the same time as Shi Da Zhuang. Theoretically, they should have almost reached the point of breaking through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm too.”
“Who knows,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Yu Chang Dao was a little frustrated, “It’s not that this Old Master wants to lecture you, Palace Master, but you care too little about your Disciples.”
As he was a High Heaven Palace High-Rank Guest Elder, he had a good relationship with the others from the Sect. His and Shi Da Zhuang’s relationship resembled a Father and Son, whereby he would be with Shi Da Zhuang all day and carefully teach and train him. On the other hand, Yang Kai and his few Disciples were the exact opposite.
Yu Chang Dao had rarely seen Yang Kai interacting with his Disciples. To describe it in one saying, it would be, ‘the Master teaches the trade, but the Disciple’s skills are self-made.’
However, even though Yang Kai didn’t teach them much, his Disciples all had excellent achievements. Before they joined the Suppressing Black Ink Army, all three Disciples had reached the Eighth Order with hopes of becoming Ninth-Order Masters.
“I was busy…” Yang Kai spread his hands hopelessly, “I do want to be like Old Yu and teach them personally, but I can’t help it.”
Yu Chang Dao groaned and sighed, “It’s been hard on you. Without you, the Human Race might not have made it to this day.”
“It’s starting!” Ou Yang Lie suddenly spoke up.
Meanwhile, the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters eavesdropping on the trio’s conversation also instantly became solemn and looked in the direction of the void.
When Yang Kai looked over, he saw Shi Da Zhuang sitting down cross-legged. His Small Universe’s illusory phantom had appeared behind him. Dao Strengths flowed as World Force pulsed rhythmically.
An Eighth-Order Master becoming a Ninth-Order Master was the greatest achievement when cultivating the Open Heaven Realm Method. The path to the peak was treacherous, and one would fall with one slip and suffer a tragic ending.
Since ancient times, there weren’t a lot of cultivators who could directly advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but there weren’t few either. However, there were only around 100 Ninth-Order Old Ancestors from the Cave Heavens and Paradises on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Not everyone who had the qualifications to become a Ninth-Order Master would succeed because even the breakthrough process was very risky. If the cultivator failed at the last moment, the lightest consequence would be damaging their Small Universe, causing them to be unable to reach the Ninth Order, similar to Xiang Shan’s previous situation. The heavier consequence would be destroying the cultivator’s Small Universe and instantly perishing.
Many people had failed in this final step, so there hadn’t been many Ninth-Order Masters over the years.
The crowd could clearly see the illusory phantom behind Shi Da Zhuang increasing in size like a balloon being blown up. Meanwhile, the scene inside the Small Universe had become blurry because it was getting more bloated.
A while later, it was restored to its original condition.
After that, it happened again.
The movement made it seem like the Small Universe had its own life force and was slowly breathing.
Following every cycle, the Small Universe would slowly break through its limitations.
“It’s extremely dangerous for an Eighth-Order Master to become a Ninth-Order Master. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have naturally studied this matter for hundreds of thousands of years and come up with all kinds of methods to assist in this process. The current technique Shi Da Zhuang is using is the most common and ordinary Bridging Method. Although all of you come from different backgrounds, many of you have reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so I believe your Masters and Elders have spoken about this to you. The Bridging Method might seem ordinary, but it is also the safest method; its only flaw is that it takes a long time. All of you will experience this day too, so I hope you can take away something from today,” Ou Yang Lie said aloud.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters observing nodded and agreed.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was instantly intrigued, “Do the Cave Heavens and Paradises have many Secret Techniques related to this breakthrough?”
Yu Chang Dao nodded and replied, “Of course. The heritage accumulated by the Cave Heavens and Paradises are something other Great Forces find hard to reach.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai agreed, “The accumulation gathered throughout several millions of years is no joke. I’ll inquire about it later.”
“There’s no need for that. Head Manager Hua has already asked the Cave Heavens and Paradises about such matters. Also, these things aren’t confidential anymore and can be exchanged for Military Merits.”
The immense external pressure had forced the Human Race to be united in good faith. In the past, all the Cave Heavens and Paradises had hoarded their Secret Techniques from the public. These Breakthrough Secret Techniques were naturally not taught to outsiders and difficult for ordinary people to access. The current reality was a huge contrast from back then. Not only were these highly revered and precious Secret Techniques available to the general public now, but they could also easily be obtained in exchange for a certain number of Military Merits.
In terms of heritage, High Heaven Palace was naturally inferior compared to the extensive accumulation of the established top Great Forces. It was fortunate that High Heaven Palace had Hua Qing Si. While Yang Kai was wandering the vast Universe all this time, she had taken care of High Heaven Palace in an orderly manner. Even the Secret Techniques and the Breakthrough Secret Techniques that needed to be exchanged with Military Merits had been collected from various sources in advance. In this way, High Heaven Palace disciples would not need to spend too much effort and resources to obtain these Secret Techniques when the need arose.
Shi Da Zhuang’s breakthrough was very different from Ou Yang Lie and Yang Kai’s breakthrough.
The limits of Ou Yang Lie and Yang Kai were the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, they were limited by the innate shackles of the Open Heaven Method at the time. When their cultivation reached their respective limits, a World Barrier had formed around their Small Universe. Unfortunately, the boundary wall surrounding their Small Universe could not be broken with their strength alone. They had to borrow the help of an external force to break through the boundary wall.
Ou Yang Lie had made use of a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill while Yang Kai had relied upon the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.
On the other hand, Shi Da Zhuang’s breakthrough was not as troublesome. He had advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so he had the qualifications to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the first place. At present, he only needed to overcome his bottleneck to succeed.
It was just as Ou Yang Lie had said, the Breakthrough Secret Technique that Shi Da Zhuang had chosen was one of the simplest. Compared to other Breakthrough Secret Techniques, no additional requirements or cultivation resources were needed. In fact, it could be said that most Eighth-Order Masters aiming to advance to the Ninth-Order could choose this Secret Technique. Nevertheless, the disadvantage of this Secret Technique was obvious, it took a long time.
The longer one spent during the advancement process, the greater the number of unknown variables that would appear. That was why the Old Ancestors who previously advanced to the Ninth Order would rarely choose this method. They were more likely to choose a Breakthrough Secret Technique that required additional cultivation resources or Secret Techniques during their advancement to increase their success rate and decrease the time required. Only those like Shi Da Zhuang, who not only had a solid foundation and confidence in their strength, but would also not be afraid of such variables.
The illusory phantom of Shi Da Zhuang’s Small Universe continuously expanded and contracted. These movements closely resembled the breathing of a living creature, and every movement was stronger than the one from before.
His breakthrough process was quite slow.
With the continuous expansion and contraction of his Small Universe, his aura finally accumulated to a critical limit after half a month of effort. At a certain point, his Small Universe expanded but did not shrink back to its original size as before and simply continued instead. His Small Universe quickly expanded until the extreme.
Despite the great distance, the group of people standing far away could clearly sense the burgeoning World Force coming from that direction.
Yu Chang Dao’s expression instantly became tense. Likewise, the expressions of the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters observing the advancement process became serious. Everyone could tell that the final moment had arrived. The success or failure of the accumulated progress throughout the past half month hinged upon this moment.
Similarly, both Yang Kai and Ou Yang Lie were focused on the situation in front of them. The main reason for their presence was to stand guard for Shi Da Zhuang. To put it simply, their role as so-called Protectors was to take action to save Shi Da Zhuang if he failed in his advancement. Such an act would be tough even for two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they could only do their best if necessary.
However, Yang Kai’s expression soon relaxed and he smiled lightly, “Congratulations, Old Yu.”
He had made the same statement when he came here half a month ago; nevertheless, the meaning was completely different when he repeated it now.
Upon hearing those words, Yu Chang Dao hurriedly looked over. His tensed expression finally relaxed when he saw Yang Kai nodding at him.
Almost at the same time, an astonishing amount of aura erupted from Shi Da Zhuang’s direction. It was followed by an intense wave of World Force that swept outward into the surroundings. In front of everybody’s eyes, his Small Universe, which should have already expanded to its limit, abruptly expanded even more!
The greatest characteristic displayed during the advancement of an Open Heaven Realm Master was the expansion of their Small Universe. It was only when the territory of their Small Universe expanded exponentially that their strength would experience earth-shaking changes. Both Ou Yang Lie and Yang Kai deeply understood this principle, but more importantly, Shi Da Zhuang had undoubtedly achieved the desired results at this moment.
Countless Open Heaven Realm Masters began to cheer at the sight.
Meanwhile, Yu Chang Dao reached up to stroke his beard. His heart was filled with a sense of relief, but he smiled brilliantly in the face of the congratulatory cheers from the people around him.
On this day, the first of the new generation of Ninth-Order Masters was born to the Human Race outside the Star Boundary. It was later recorded in history books that the birth of this Ninth-Order Master heralded the arrival of a new era!
Yang Kai did not stay for long. Although Shi Da Zhuang had successfully advanced to the Ninth Order, he would need time to consolidate his new strength; therefore, Yang Kai left Ou Yang Lie to watch over Shi Da Zhuang and returned to the Star Boundary.
Without alerting anyone, he came to a certain spot on the World Tree clone where a tree cave was located. The interior was spacious and resembled a secluded home. This tree cave secluded home was where he had hidden himself to recuperate from his wounds in the past.
To cultivate the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art back then, Yang Kai had paid a huge price to create his Human Self and Monster Self. Each time he created one of his Selves, he would severely damage his foundation by splitting his Soul in half; hence, he had hidden himself here to recuperate from his wounds.
On this occasion, his return was not for recuperation but for cultivation.
Several hundred years had passed since he advanced to the Ninth Order and his heritage had clearly increased during this period, but strictly speaking, he was still just a newly advanced Ninth Order Master with a lot of room for growth.
If he cultivated steadily, he would probably need to spend thousands of years to improve his cultivation to the limits in his current Order. Unfortunately, the Human Race’s second crusade was fast approaching. There was not much time left for him to cultivate, so he had to improve his strength as soon as possible.
If it were anybody else, they might not have a good method to increase their cultivation quickly, but fortunately for Yang Kai, he was one of the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, so he could borrow the power of the Star Boundary to increase his strength.
That was precisely the reason why the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary and even Thunder Shadow were able to increase their cultivation to their limits far faster than ordinary people. It was because they cultivated with support from the power of the Universe World.
That was especially true for the Star Boundary. The accumulation of feedback from the World Tree clone over several thousands of years had greatly enhanced the Star Boundary’s heritage. At present, not only was the Star Boundary’s World Energy indescribably rich, but the World’s Grand Dao and Principles were also extremely stable. It could be said that there had never been another Universe World like the Star Boundary throughout history, and this unprecedented phenomenon was all thanks to the uninterrupted feedback from the World Tree clone.
If somebody had the ability to absorb all the power in the Star Boundary, it would be enough for them to become a Ninth-Order Master out of thin air. Furthermore, that person would be an extremely mighty Ninth-Order Master.
Yang Kai planned to borrow the power of the Star Boundary to cultivate. To put it simply, he would be utilising the World Energy of the Star Boundary to enhance the heritage of his Small Universe directly.
He had done something similar before. At the time, he had borrowed the power of the Star Boundary to temporarily raise his cultivation from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order in order to confront a powerful enemy. Although he later returned most of the power to the Star Boundary, a small portion had remained in his Small Universe. This small portion of power had saved him hundreds of years of secluded cultivation, and it was precisely because of this incident that he discovered the benefits of being a Great Emperor of such a Universe World.
Extracting the World Energy from the Star Boundary would naturally cause damage to the Star Boundary, but the Star Boundary’s heritage was unprecedentedly rich. As long as he was measured in his usage and avoided causing damage to the foundation of the Star Boundary, there would not be any problems. Furthermore, the power he absorbed would eventually be replenished again as long as the World Tree clone remained in the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged inside the tree cave and focused his mind. With a single thought, the entire Star Boundary came under his control.
“Please assist me,” he murmured softly and opened the portal to his Small Universe.
In the next moment, an invisible and intangible force slowly began to gather from various parts of the Star Boundary. The force subsequently flooded into his Small Universe only to be refined and absorbed by him.
Despite the drain on the Star Boundary’s World Energy, the change was minimal. Even if a Ninth-Order Master were standing here, they would have trouble detecting the changes unless they were paying very close attention. Nevertheless, the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary noticed the changes immediately. Having been recognised as Great Emperors by the World’s Will, they shared the fate of the Star Boundary. It was only natural for them to notice the slightest changes and abnormalities in the Star Boundary.
For a moment, the Great Emperors looked startled and immediately tracked the source of the phenomenon to investigate the situation. Once they learned the disturbance was caused by Yang Kai’s actions, they immediately felt relieved and did not bother to interrupt his cultivation.
This couldn’t be helped. Every one of them had done something similar in the past, including the two youngest Great Emperors. The two newly-advanced Great Emperors had advanced from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order in several hundred years. That was not a cultivation speed that an ordinary person could hope to achieve. If they had not used the power of the Star Boundary to strengthen themselves, it would have been impossible for them to advance to the Eighth Order so quickly.
Conversely, Yang Kai had never done this in the past because he had always been travelling extensively throughout the years. That was why the Great Emperors immediately understood his intentions once they realized that the incident was caused by Yang Kai. It was evident that he wanted to increase his strength as quickly as possible so that he would have an easier time in the upcoming war.
Yang Kai was the strongest Ninth-Order Master alive; hence, it would be greatly beneficial for the Human Race if he could increase his strength at a rapid pace.
The Star Boundary’s World Energy flowed continuously into Yang Kai’s Small Universe like an invisible stream of water and vanished into thin air. At the same time, the heritage of the Void World in his Small Universe strengthened at an astonishing speed.
Using this method to enhance his cultivation with the power of the Star Boundary was orders of magnitude more efficient than refining cultivation materials or Open Heaven Pills.
The power of a Universe World itself contained various types of Grand Dao, so if someone like Zhan Wu Hen were to cultivate with this method, he would have to spare some time and energy to remove the Dao Strengths that he did not cultivate. Such measures were necessary to prevent his Small Universe from being polluted.
However, Yang Kai had no such need. He was currently proficient in 10,000 Grand Daos, so he basically dabbled in every kind of Dao Strength that existed. Therefore, he would not be troubled by the different kinds of Dao Strengths pouring into his Small Universe from the Star Boundary. On the contrary, these Dao Strengths would enhance his attainments in their corresponding Grand Daos instead. It could be said that he was completely accepting of all the power that flowed into him from the Star Boundary. Everything could become his capital to become stronger.
As the days passed and turned into years, the power of the Star Boundary constantly flowed into the Void World without pause. Nevertheless, Yang Kai ensured that his actions created minimal effects by scrupulously following the principle of making gradual and orderly progress. That was why ordinary cultivators could barely sense any changes to the Star Boundary. Only the Open Heaven Realm Masters with high enough cultivation gradually began to notice that the Star Boundary was different from before.
10 years passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Yang Kai opened his eyes inside the tree cave located in the World Tree clone. Closing the portal to his Small Universe, he severed his connection with the Star Boundary and breathed out deeply.
Although he had only cultivated in retreat for 10 short years, his overall strength had undergone Earth-shaking changes. When he looked inside himself, he discovered that the heritage of his Small Universe had more than doubled in depth compared to 10 years ago. That was not all. Even the various Dao Strengths in his Small Universe had gotten more potent during this period.
If the Ninth Order was divided into early, middle, and late stages, then Yang Kai had undoubtedly belonged in the early stage 10 years ago. In contrast, he was now well into the middle stage. The past 10 years of cultivation had been almost as effective as cultivating for 2,000 years with normal methods. It was the benefit of using the power of a Universe World to cultivate, as well as the exclusive right of a Great Emperor.
Furthermore, this outcome was the product of Yang Kai’s intentional restraint. If he had disregarded the consequences and opened his Small Universe wide to devour the World Energy to his heart’s content, he would have completely devoured the power of the Star Boundary in just a few short years.
Just like how his heritage had improved by leaps and bounds, the Star Boundary’s heritage had suffered a corresponding amount of damage as a result. Fortunately, the Star Boundary’s heritage was rich enough that there was not much impact on it even though a substantial amount of World Energy had been lost. At the very least, the cultivation and advancement of the cultivators in the Star Boundary would not be disrupted by this incident. Besides, the lost heritage would eventually be replenished by the World Tree clone’s continuous feedback.
Yang Kai had carefully planned everything in advance before he borrowed the power of the Star Boundary to boost his cultivation; after all, he could not disregard the future of all the living creatures in the Star Boundary just for his own selfish interests; otherwise, he would have done so a long time ago.
Even though this was the fastest growth in his cultivation he had ever experienced since he advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai could not shake the feeling that he had not grown enough.
Back in the Barren Territory, he and several other Ninth-Order Masters had worked together with Ah Da and Ah Er to fight the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods; hence, he was very familiar with the strength of the Giant Spirit Gods. According to Yang Kai’s estimations, he would need to reach the peak of the Ninth Order just to fight a Black Ink Giant Spirit God on even ground. Even then, it was nothing more than a possibility. Seeing as he was only in the mid-stage of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it was obvious that he did not fulfil the basic requirements at the moment.
“Big Brother, go to the Myriad Monsters World,” seeming to sense his intentions, Thunder Shadow’s voice appeared in his mind, “Have you forgotten? I am a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World.”
Yang Kai chuckled at those words, “I did not forget.”
Yang Kai had been planning to take a trip to the Myriad Monsters World, but he had not been certain whether such a trip would be useful; after all, it would be more accurate to say that Thunder Shadow was dead. All that remained was Thunder Shadow’s consciousness. There was no saying whether Yang Kai would be recognized by the Myriad Monsters World’s Will. Nevertheless, it was something he had to try to find out.
With that in mind, Yang Kai left the tree cave and transformed into a stream of light, soaring into the sky. It did not take long for him to arrive in Myriad Monsters Territory by travelling through the Territory Gate; then, he flew straight in the direction of the Myriad Monsters World.
Many years had passed since Yang Kai first planted the World Tree clone in the Myriad Monsters World. Compared to back then, the barbaric Universe World where only ancient beasts existed now contained many traces of activity from the Human Race. In fact, the entire Myriad Monsters World could be said to be ruled by both the Human Race and Monster Race.
The Myriad Monsters World had consecutively given birth to many other Great Emperors since the birth of its first, Thunder Shadow. Most of them were from the Monster Race, but there were also a few from the Human Race. That was only natural since the Grand Dao in the Myriad Monsters World was more inclined towards the Grand Dao of the Monster Race.
Under the feedback from the World Tree clone, the Myriad Monsters World’s heritage was no longer comparable to the past. While it was not equal to the Star Boundary, it was certainly extremely abundant.
As soon as Yang Kai arrived in the Myriad Monsters World, he allowed Thunder Shadow to take over his physical body. They found an isolated place with nobody around, and then Thunder Shadow sat down cross-legged and opened both his mind and Small Universe to connect with the Myriad Monsters World. In the next moment, the same phenomenon that occurred in the Star Boundary repeated itself. The World Energy of the Myriad Monsters World poured into Yang Kai’s Small Universe without pause and became part of the Void World’s heritage
Upon seeing this situation, Yang Kai knew that Thunder Shadow’s status as a Great Emperor was still recognized by the Myriad Monsters World’s Will; otherwise, the connection would not have been formed so easily.
His actions immediately attracted the attention of the Great Emperors in the Myriad Monsters World, and when they learned that Yang Kai was behind the phenomenon, they couldn’t help feeling a little surprised. As far as they knew, only the Great Emperors of the Myriad Monsters World had the qualifications to perform such actions. Yang Kai was not a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World, so how was he able to achieve such a feat?
In any case, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was not something any of them had ever achieved before. Combined with the fact that Yang Kai was often performing extraordinary stunts, they did not bother to question the situation even though they were puzzled.
…
Five years later, a general order was issued by the Supreme Headquarters and relayed throughout the lands where the Human Race inhabited.
When the news spread to the public, everybody knew… the war was about to resume. Be that as it may, this war was different from the previous wars. In this war, the Human Race was taking the initiative to attack the No-Return Pass and launch an offensive against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If everything went smoothly, they might even succeed at eliminating the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
The Human Race Army that had been resting for the past 20 years assembled once more and set off for Black Territory. At every location where the Human Race inhabited, every single person came forward to send off the soldiers who were bravely heading to war. They did not seem overly worried or anxious. On the contrary, they were filled with determination and faith that they would not give up until they broke through the enemy’s defences. When the belief rooted itself in their very being, they firmly believed that the Human Race Army would be invincible and indomitable!
For a time, all the places that the Human Race’s various outposts and bases became deserted as all those with the ability to participate in the war had set off to join the fight.
In just three months, the 12 Armies had gathered in Black Territory. The entire Black Territory instantly became overcrowded. As Warship after Warship continuously arrived, they eventually formed an enormous fleet.
At this moment, Mi Jing Lun stood with his hands behind his back on a Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located, outside of Pure Yang Pass. He stared fixedly at the Territory Gate in the direction of High Heaven Territory. He knew that many of the soldiers who embarked on this mission might never return home. There was a high possibility that many of them would lose their lives on the battlefield.
Nevertheless, it was a decision that had to be made. It was also a painful tragedy that the Human Race was bound to face one day. They could never coexist with the Black Ink Clan, and this war would either see their ultimate rise or eternal fall. They would either destroy their enemy or perish in the attempt!
A stream of light suddenly came from afar. When the light came closer, Ou Yang Lie’s figure was revealed and Mi Jing Lun inquired, “How is it?”
Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “He is still cultivating in retreat at the moment, but he should be done soon. The World Energy of the Myriad Monsters World has almost been drawn to the limit before it will severely affect the Universe World. That brat will never drain the lake just to catch the fish, after all.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded and suddenly seemed fascinated, “I wonder how much his strength has grown by now.”
Ou Yang Lie had a nonchalant attitude towards the question, “In any case, he is bound to be much stronger than you or I.” Then, he couldn’t help clicking his tongue in mock annoyance, “If I had known earlier, I would have found a Universe World and become the Great Emperor there.”
Mi Jing Lu burst out laughing, “It’s useless even if you become a Great Emperor. The feedback from the World Tree clone is the only reason the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World have such rich heritage. The Great Emperors of ordinary Universe Worlds would not be able to emulate him.”
“That’s true.” Ou Yang Lie nodded, “As the saying goes, ‘Heroes are born during troubled times’. While it is different for the Myriad Monsters World, I’m sure that brat never expected the Star Boundary to become one of the last hopes of the Human Race when he first planted the World Tree clone there.”
If not for the Star Boundary, it would have been impossible for the Human Race to possess such powerful heritage in the present circumstances. Be that as it may, Yang Kai had only planted the World Tree clone in the Star Boundary to save his dying homeland at the time.
Needless to say, his Small Universe and the Myriad Monsters World also played a huge role in the grand scheme of things. It was precisely because of these three Open Heaven Realm Cradles that countless talented individuals were perpetually being produced among the Human Race.
“How is the situation with the Void Guard?” Ou Yang Lie asked.
“The Space Arrays connecting the Star Boundary to the No-Return Pass are already being installed, so it should be completed soon,” Mi Jing Lun replied.
At the moment, their rear was practically deserted. All the cultivators with the slightest ability to participate in the war had been recruited into the Human Race Army; therefore, only a small number of the old and weak had been left behind.
The reason the old and weak had remained behind was not to protect the rear though. To put it bluntly, the Human Race would go extinct if they failed to obtain victory in this war, so there was no point in leaving behind the old and infirm when they could not protect anything either. On the contrary, the main reason they stayed behind was to guide the cultivation of the younger generations. Doing so would ensure that the Human Race had a steady stream of fresh blood being produced in the future, which was extremely crucial for them to gain the capital required to support the frontlines during the war.
Originally, it would have taken even an Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Master quite some time to travel from the Star Boundary to Black Territory; however, the presence of the Teleportation Road laid by the Void Guard would greatly shorten the travel time required. Besides, this was simply the early stages of their preparations. Once the Human Race Army conquered the No-Return Pass, they would further proceed with the Space Arrays that would eventually connect directly to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Ou Yang Lie said, “Since everything is going smoothly, I will head to Black Territory first.”
“Go ahead. Relay the order for the troops to wait at ease,” Mi Jing Lun instructed.
Ou Yang Lie nodded and left in a flash.
A few days later, Mi Jing Lun’s wait finally ended. He suddenly raised his head to look in a certain direction. There seemed to be a figure rapidly approaching him from that direction. A short while later, a figure stepped out from the ripples in the Void. It was none other than Yang Kai, who was late.
“Long time no see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly at Mi Jing Lun.
Mi Jing Lun studied Yang Kai for a moment. Although he could not determine the depth of Yang Kai’s strength, the aura that was inadvertently emanating gave him a heavy sense of oppression.
It had to be said that Mi Jing Lun was also in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The fact that Yang Kai gave him a sense of oppression meant that the latter’s strength had grown tremendously during this period. After all, he did not experience this feeling from Yang Kai 20 years ago. He couldn’t help feeling taken aback, “What do you estimate your current strength is like?”
Yang Kai did not know how to answer Mi Jing Lun’s abrupt question. According to his personal breakdown of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he had entered the late middle stage of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm after devouring and refining the heritage of the Myriad Monsters World.
After pondering in silence for a moment, he answered the question, “The me right now can defeat three of me from 20 years ago!”
The explanation was so novel and unique that the corners of Mi Jing Lun’s mouth twitched in response; however, he soon became shocked.
The Yang Kai from 20 years ago had already been very strong, but the current Yang Kai could defeat three of himself from that past… In just 20 years, his strength had improved significantly. It was difficult to imagine just how much he had grown after devouring and refining the power of two Open Heaven Realm Cradles.
Nevertheless, this was a good thing for the Human Race. There were not many Ninth-Order Masters at the moment, so the greater Yang Kai’s strength, the greater the suppression he could exert against the Black Ink Clan.
“Has everything been prepared?” Yang Kai glanced at the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located.
This place had always been bustling with people whenever he came here. Not only was the crowd generally packed shoulder to shoulder, but there would also be numerous cultivators constantly flying around performing various tasks. In comparison, the entire Universe Fragment was vacant and silent at this moment. There was not a single person to be seen anywhere. In fact, the vast Pure Yang Pass contained only Mi Jing Lun. It was obvious that Mi Jing Lun had been waiting for him alone.
The Human Race had drained their entire heritage in order to prepare for the upcoming war. Just looking at the Myriad Dao Sealed World built by Yang Kai more than 20 years ago could provide a clear example. The Myriad Dao Sealed World no longer existed in anything but name. While the Sealed World remained in existence, there was no Dao Strength left inside. Even if a cultivator were to enter the Sealed World for training, they would no longer obtain any benefits.
Such a huge Sealed World had been hollowed out by the Human Race Army in just 20 years, and a large number of Eighth-Order Masters had been produced as a result. Many veteran Eighth-Order Masters also benefited from the Sealed World as their attainments in their Grand Daos had improved significantly, which in turn boosted their strength.
After so many years of preparation, the Human Race had exhausted all their possible options. At this moment, they could be said to stand at the pinnacle of the Human Race!
“Everything is ready!” Mi Jing Lun replied.
Yang Kai grinned, “In that case, let’s begin.”
When the words left his mouth, he summoned the Space-Time River. The meandering river wound itself around the majestic Pure Yang Pass and encircled it like a Dragon. As Yang Kai continuously urged the Dao Strengths, the Void containing the Pure Yang Pass was stripped away and then gradually compressed.
The main reason why Mi Jing Lun had waited for Yang Kai at this spot was that he had no means to bring Pure Yang Pass away with him. Apart from Yang Kai, the Human Race had no other means to transport or move the huge Great Pass. Even Yang Kai had to rely on his Space-Time River and a certain Secret Technique to refine the Void containing the Pure Yang Pass into an existence that resembled a World Bead.
Needless to say, Yang Kai could probably take the entire Pure Yang Pass into his Small Universe with the current heritage. It was just that Pure Yang Pass was so gigantic that taking in Pure Yang Pass would place an enormous burden on him, which would inconvenience his future plans. Therefore, Yang Kai decided to follow the original plan and summoned the Space-Time River instead.
The Dao Strengths kept vibrating strongly. Meanwhile, the Space-Time River wrapped around Pure Yang Pass shrank at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. After an hour, Pure Yang Pass finally transformed into a fist-sized World Bead.
Yang Kai put the World Bead away and called out to Mi Jing Lun, “Let’s go.”
Mi Jing Lun took one last look at the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters had been located; then, he quickly retracted his gaze and left with Yang Kai.
After several transfers through various Territory Gates, Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun arrived at Black Territory a few days later. The huge void was densely packed with an overwhelming number of Warships everywhere Yang Kai looked. Most of these Warships were standard Squad-Class Warships, but there were also quite a few Purifying Black Ink Battleships in the mix. The Purifying Black Ink Battleships which were surrounded by Squad-Class Warships looked very conspicuous among the fleet.
Even Yang Kai, who had experienced countless large-scale battles, could not help feeling amazed at his first glance at the scene in Black Territory.
Back when the Human Army launched their first crusade against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the size of the fleet had not been small either. Nonetheless, that was merely the gathering of forces from 100 or so Great Passes.
Comparatively, the current force contained all the existing heritage of the Human Race. The Human Race Army from back then could not compare with the current Human Army in terms of the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters or the size of the fleet.
The only lacking aspect was the number of Ninth-Order Masters. In that regard, the current Human Race Army could not compare to the Human Army from back then. There used to be more than 100 Ninth-Order Masters in the past, but there were no more than 10 of them now.
“Huh? There’s an additional Ninth-Order Master!” Yang Kai glanced in a certain direction in surprise. As soon as he stepped foot in the Black Territory, he instantly detected an unfamiliar aura belonging to a Ninth-Order Master. It was not Shi Da Zhuang who advanced to the Ninth Order 20 years ago, but somebody he did not recognise.
“Tang Tao of Golden Antelope Paradise. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of her before,” Mi Jing Lun explained casually, “She advanced to the Ninth Order five years ago.”
[Five years ago…] Yang Kai did a quick calculation. That was around the time he entered the Myriad Monsters World and borrowed its power to boost his cultivation.
“A woman?” He sounded even more stunned.
Listening to Yang Kai’s tone, Mi Jing Lun wondered in astonishment, “Are you prejudiced against women?”
“No, I’m just surprised.”
“That would be for the best,” He smiled, “Junior Sister Tang is slightly prejudiced against men. I hope you won’t take her words to heart if she says something unpleasant to you when you meet each other, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Of course, I won’t take offence from a Junior.”
Mi Jing Lun sighed in amazement, “The new era is here. If the Human Race had just another 1,000 years… No, even 200 years would be enough. At that time, we would be able to conquer the No-Return Pass with ease. It’s such a pity that the time we have is so short.”
Shi Da Zhuang’s advancement symbolised the arrival of a new era. He represented the emergence of the rising stars who had received feedback from the first World Tree clone. They were the hope and future of the Human Race and the light illuminating the coming dawn.
As part of the Open Heaven Realm Masters from the previous generation, Mi Jing Lun and the others were sincerely pleased by the situation. Born as part of the Human Race in this chaotic era, they did not fear death or pain. On the contrary, what they feared most were the lack of successors and the inability of their descendants to take over the burdens of their Ancestors.
In just two decades, the Human Race welcomed the birth of two new Ninth-Order Masters; moreover, it was believed that more and more Ninth-Order Masters would rise soon.
Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun walked forward without hiding their auras. As they passed the Warships, countless soldiers stationed aboard them turned to stare at them with expressions of great admiration in their eyes.
It did not take long for them to arrive in the middle of Black Territory where the secret passage was located. Many higher-ups from the Cave Heavens and Paradises knew about this place; after all, it was at this spot that Yang Kai had travelled to the Black Ink Battlefield alone.
Thousands of years ago, the Black Ink Clan had enthusiastically searched for the entrance to this secret passage, but their efforts had proven futile; after all, Yang Kai would make sure to seal the entrance completely whenever he entered or exited the secret passage. Only those with great proficiency in the Dao of Space could find traces of his handiwork if they investigated this place carefully.
Many Ninth-Order Masters were waiting here on the deck of a Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun flew over, landed in front of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and cupped their fists in greeting, “Many thanks for your patience, everyone.”
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters quickly bowed in return with Ou Yang Lie explaining, “We didn’t wait very long. Big Head Mi considered your cultivation time when he issued the assembly order, so our timing is just right.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and swept his gaze across the gathered Ninth-Order Masters. In the end, he fixed his gaze on an unfamiliar-looking woman and smiled warmly, “You must be Junior Sister Tang.”
Tang Tao immediately took two steps forward and her face flushed as she bowed in greeting, “Tang Tao greets Senior Brother Yang.”
He reached out his hand and gestured for her to skip the formalities, then he showered her with praises, “Great talents are born in every generation indeed. The fact that both you and Junior Brother Shi managed to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm at such a critical moment proves that the fate of the Human Race is not in decline. The future of the Human Race will depend on you now.”
After Yang Kai finished speaking, he involuntarily froze for a moment, [What an elderly-sounding speech… I’ve truly gotten old…]
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai was indeed an old man in terms of both age and seniority. He was probably looking at Tang Tao and Shi Da Zhuang in the same way that the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors had looked at him back then. It would seem that the torch of the Human Race was being passed down from generation to generation in an everlasting cycle.
Tang Tao hurriedly waved her hands in embarrassment, “You are praising me too much, Senior Brother. It has not been long since Senior Brother Shi and I advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Please take care of us in the future, Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters.”
After saying that, she turned her eyes to Shi Da Zhuang, who was standing next to her, and secretly kicked him in the shin.
Shi Da Zhuang came to his senses and nodded repeatedly, “Uh… En, Junior Sister Tang is right.”
Tang Tao added, “Senior Brother, both Senior Brother Shi and I are from the Star Boundary too. In fact, I came from the Southern Territory.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised a brow at those words, “The Southern Territory is said to have produced countless talented individuals throughout history. I guess it’s true. Don’t forget to take good care of yourself when the war breaks out. Only by staying alive can you slaughter more Black Ink Clansmen in the future and witness our final victory.”
“Yes!” Tang Tao nodded so hard that she resembled a chicken pecking rice.
Afterwards, Yang Kai turned around without wasting more time and his expression grew stern, “This matter cannot be delayed. Let’s begin.”
When the words left his mouth, he stepped forward and stood in the void. He then shouted, “Where are the Void Guard?”
In the next moment, the Void Guard under the leadership of Li Wu Yi responded from one of the nearby Purifying Black Ink Battleships. There were only 140 of them as not all of them were gathered here. Some of them had been dispatched to prepare the Space Arrays connecting to the No-Return Pass.
“Greetings, Sir Yang!” They cupped their fists in greeting.
“Void Guard, heed my command! We now open a passage to the Black Ink Battlefield!”
“Yes!”
After the order was relayed, the Void Guard disciples sped off in a certain direction under Yang Kai’s leadership and soon came to stand at a certain spot. Then, Space Principles flared as they began to unseal the previously sealed passage.
Most of the people on the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were watching Yang Kai; however, Ou Yang Lie was looking at Tang Tao with an amused expression.
Sensing his gaze, Tang Tao glanced at him with a faint blush on her face, “What are you looking at, Senior Brother Ou Yang?”
He shook his head, “Junior Sister Tang, you can’t treat Yang Kai differently just because that brat is handsome. You should show proper respect and treat everybody equally.”
She snorted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Senior Brother.”
Then, she turned away and continued to watch Yang Kai. Nevertheless, the tips of her ears were pink with embarrassment.
Ou Yang Lie sighed and shook his head. Glancing at Mi Jing Lun, he exchanged a wry smile with the other party. It should be said that he understood the situation perfectly and knew that Tang Tao’s feelings were not of love for Yang Kai. In any case, he was a Ninth-Order Master, so how could he be bothered by the romantic relationships between the younger generation, especially at such a critical moment when the survival of the Human Race was at stake?
The truth was that the rising stars simply had an inherent sense of awe and admiration for Yang Kai, regardless of their cultivation or aptitude. This situation was related to the history of the Human Race, including the tragic events that transpired in the past and Yang Kai’s contribution during that difficult time. More than that, it was related to the ones who taught and raised these rising stars.
During the darkest days of the Human Race, there was a person who showed up to turn the tide when the situation seemed helpless. With his strength alone, he had obtained some breathing space for the Human Race and even saved the Human Race from the brink of extinction. It was also because of him that the Human Race gained the capital to resist the Black Ink Clan.
That was why even Tang Tao, who was prejudiced against men and constantly criticized an old man like Ou Yang Lie with sharp words, couldn’t help showing the attitude of an awestruck fangirl when she encountered Yang Kai in person. It could be said that the rising stars who were born in the darkest age of the Human Race could never escape the name ‘Yang Kai’ during their growth process, and that was especially true for those with great aptitude.
Everybody watched intently as the Space Principles fluctuated vigorously. It did not take long for the entrance of the passage that Yang Kai sealed in the past to appear before them in the form of a perpetually rotating vortex. Furthermore, there was an aura of nihility radiating from the entrance.
Yang Kai slipped inside, and the Void Guard followed closely behind him, their figures vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
The entrance to this passage was located in Black Territory. On the other hand, the exit was located somewhere in the void of the Blue Sky Theatre, within the Black Ink Clan’s former territory.
Yang Kai had used this secret passage to travel between Black Territory and the Black Ink Battlefield on multiple occasions, so he was very familiar with the process.
It would take no effort for Yang Kai to bring a small number of cultivators through this Void Corridor as they would succeed as long as they persistently forged forward and overcame the few obstacles in their way. However, a massive number of people would soon be passing through this passage. There were 12 Armies, and each one had at least two to three million soldiers in their ranks. In other words, the 12 Human Race Armies consisted of nearly 30 million soldiers.
The original passage could not meet the requirements of the Human Race Army. If they wanted to transport the Army to the Blue Sky Theatre in short order, they had to figure out a method to expand and fortify the corridor.
Even Yang Kai, who had advanced to the Ninth Order, could not achieve such a feat with his strength alone. Fortunately, he was not the only person who was proficient in the Dao of Space. With 140 Void Guards assisting, this task was no longer impossible to pull off.
Deep inside the passage, everyone immediately noticed the presence of the ubiquitous Void Turbulence around them. Strictly speaking, this corridor was just a long Void Crack. If those who entered this place were not proficient in the Dao of Space, they would quickly lose their way and never find their way out again, be it to the exit or the entrance. Even those who were proficient in the Dao of Space had to be very careful in such places.
Yang Kai took the lead to clear and mark the path ahead, his Space Principles oscillating constantly. Meanwhile, the Void Guard formed a long line behind him and drew upon their respective Space Principles in a similar fashion. It was thanks to these actions that the passage was expanded at a steady pace and the Void Turbulence was smoothed into an orderly tunnel.
During this period, Yang Kai also arranged Dao Arrays along both sides of the passage to further increase its stability. The fortified passage continued to extend forward under their wholehearted cooperation.
Whenever they progressed forward by a certain distance, a Void Guard would remain behind under Yang Kai’s orders to monitor the situation and deal with any unexpected emergencies that might occur. Seeing as it was Yang Kai’s first time undertaking such a task, he did not dare to guarantee that the passage would remain stable at all times. It was better to prepare some safety measures just in case.
They steadily progressed forward with only 100 Void Guards remaining by the time they arrived at the exit. 40 Void Guards had been left behind to monitor various locations in the passage.
At the exit, Yang Kai stood motionless and glanced behind him. When he saw that Li Wu Yi and the others were following closely behind him, he raised his hand and pressed against the space before him. Space Principles fluctuated, and ripples suddenly appeared in the void that had been sealed for many years. As the ripples spread out, a portal soon emerged. Yang Kai slipped out of the passage, and the Void Guard rushed out from behind him under Li Wu Yi’s lead.
“Stay here and expand the passage as quickly as possible. Don’t forget to send a message to inform Supreme Commander Mi that the preparations have been completed. I will go and check out the surrounding situation,” Yang Kai instructed.
Li Wu Yi accepted the order. After choosing one person to report back to Mi Jing Lun, he assigned a group of people to stand guard around the exit. As for the rest, they began to expand and stabilize the passage further.
Back in Black Territory, Mi Jing Lun soon received news of their progress. Following his command, the Squads quickly kept their respective Warships in their Small Universes before flying into the passage under the leadership of their higher-ups.
On the other side, Yang Kai’s figure flickered as he travelled through the void, his Divine Sense spreading out to investigate his surroundings. Now that he was in the Ninth Order, his Divine Sense was extremely powerful so it did not matter whether the movement was as slight as the wind blowing through the grass, nothing in the vicinity could be concealed from his perception.
A group of Black Ink Clansmen with a dozen or so members was wandering around the void. They did not seem to have any fixed goals in mind. On the contrary, they seemed to be searching for something in all directions. Every corner of the void and every piece of rock and debris was carefully investigated without exception.
When they reached a certain part of the void, something unexpected occurred. Space suddenly shattered apart like a piece of broken glass. Caught in the shattered Void, they didn’t even have time to react before they were turned into hashed meat and severed limbs.
In the next instant, Yang Kai’s figure appeared not far away with a deep scowl on his face.
Several dozen years ago, Yang Kai had spent some time chatting with Mo Na Ye at the No-Return Pass. Although they probed each other for information, neither party had gotten any valuable clues from their exchange. Yang Kai had failed to learn whether Mo, in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, had awoken, and Mo Na Ye had failed to discover the location of the secret passage that led from the 3,000 Worlds to the Black Ink Battlefield.
Although Mo Na Ye did not know much about the secret passage, that did not prevent him from taking action to search for it. This was actually the fifth Black Ink Clan team that Yang Kai eliminated so far. All of them had been Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Strangely enough, not a single Feudal Lord had been seen. Furthermore, the number in each team was small, ranging from a handful to a dozen at most.
It could be conceived that Mo Na Ye had dispatched many Black Ink Clansmen to search in a grid-like manner over the years, all in hopes of finding the location of the secret passage. Despite knowing that this method might not show any results, Mo Na Ye still ordered it in the hopes of preventing an ambush from the Human Race. At the very least, the Black Ink Clan would quickly receive feedback that five Black Ink Clan search teams that Yang Kai eliminated had gone missing. Based on such reports, Mo Na Ye would be able to determine the general location of the Human Race Army and make some preparations in advance. It could even be said that these Black Ink Clansmen were dispatched to be killed by the Human Race, which also explained their weak strength and low numbers.
Mo Na Ye had no doubt that the Human Race Army would enter the Black Ink Battlefield via the secret passage and launch an offensive against the No-Return Pass; after all, that was the only viable option. That was why he assigned a large number of scouts throughout the Black Ink Battlefield. The places where the scouts disappeared would indicate the direction that the Human Race Army would be attacking from.
Although Yang Kai was aware of this fact, he had no choice but to act. The scale of the Human Race Army was so large that it was not feasible to hide it. Once they gathered together to take action, the Black Ink Clansmen scattered everywhere would surely notice their movements anyway; hence, he might as well remove all the scouts in the area beforehand.
After searching a wide perimeter and eliminating at least 30 Black Ink Clan teams, Yang Kai finally returned.
From a distance, he saw that a large part of the Army had gathered around the exit of the secret passage; moreover, numerous Warships were being summoned one after the other. The Squads who arrived first were clearly making preparations for the arrival of their companions.
Mi Jing Lun and most of the other Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had also arrived, leaving only a few to bring up the rear.
The Ninth-Order Masters convened together, and Yang Kai reported his discoveries.
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Mo Na Ye is certainly not an easy opponent to face, but his actions are within our expectations. Besides, we never expected to succeed in launching a sneak attack on the No-Return Pass. Since our movements have been discovered, we might as well start the fight with a spectacular bang.”
Yang Kai observed, “The scouts in this vicinity have all been removed, so there should be some delay before the Black Ink Clan receives news of our arrival; even so, the delay will not be long. I estimate that we have a month at most, possibly even less.”
No matter how slow the reaction of the Black Ink Clan was, they were bound to notice that something was wrong when so many of their scouting parties failed to contact them after a month.
“That’s enough,” Mi Jing Lun said, “The Army will only take half a month to assemble here from Black Territory.” Looking back at the exit of the passage, he sighed heavily, “It’s just a pity about the passage. The location of the secret passage will be completely exposed.”
Through Yang Kai and the Void Guard’s joint efforts to expand and fortify the passage, the corridor had been transformed into an existence that resembled a Territory Gate, though it still had some noticeable differences.
A real Territory Gate connected two Great Territories together, allowing a cultivator to arrive at the opposite side by passing through it. The key feature of such Territory Gates was the journey would only take a brief moment; on the other hand, travelling through the entirety of this passage not only required a noticeable amount of time, but also came with all kinds of potential risks. Naturally, the risks were not too high thanks to the Void Guard stationed at various positions along the passage, but they undoubtedly existed.
Such a passage could no longer be hidden completely at this stage. Even if Yang Kai used various means to seal the entrances to the passage again, it was no longer possible to completely conceal it. There was a high chance for the Black Ink Clan to locate this opening if they worked hard enough.
“If we lose this battle, the Human Race will be doomed to extinction. It doesn’t matter whether the passage is exposed or not,” Xiang Shan said lightly from the side.
Yang Kai nodded, “Let’s proceed as planned.” Then, he turned to look at Li Wu Yi, “Take a group of Void Guards and set off immediately towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Don’t forget to set up the Space Arrays along the way.”
Although the Human Race Army was currently targeting the No-Return Pass, it was just as Yang Kai had said. They should not limit their focus to the situation at hand; they also have to look towards the future.
Looking at the bigger picture, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the biggest affliction tormenting the Human Race. Not to mention, the journey to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was very, very long. It was necessary to make various preparations in advance. They would not have enough time if they waited until the war at the No-Return Pass was one to get started.
With this arrangement, the best outcome was that the Human Race would spend a dozen years conquering the No-Return Pass. This period would provide the Void Guard with enough time to finish preparing the Space Arrays connecting to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. At that time, the Human Race Army would only need to undergo some slight reorganization before quickly travelling to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction via the Space Arrays.
These actions were part of the plans that the Supreme Headquarters made in advance. During the journey from the Supreme Headquarters to Black Territory, Mi Jing Lun had explained the plans to Yang Kai in detail. In regards to manpower, the Supreme Headquarters had also taken the necessary measures beforehand.
When Li Wu Yi heard Yang Kai’s statement, he immediately accepted the order, “Yes!”
Yang Kai glanced at Li Wu Yi and warned, “The road ahead is dangerous. May fortune be with you!”
Li Wu Yi nodded heavily and immediately gave a wave of his hand, “Designated Squads, with me!”
Out of the 100 or so Void Guards left, 80 instantly departed with Li Wu Yi. That was not all, a fleet of Warships also headed swiftly into the depths of the void. These Squads were tasked with protecting the Universe Temples; after all, the distance between this place and the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was too vast. Li Wu Yi and the others would have to prepare more than one Space Array along the way, and every Space Array they established would need to be guarded. Relying on the Void Guard’s manpower alone would not be enough to carry out the task.
Every Void Guard was proficient in the Dao of Space, so they travelled extremely quickly.
Even though the fleet of Warships set off at the same time as Li Wu Yi and the others, they did not travel together. They simply needed to arrive at each Space Arrays that were established along the route, then divide their forces to establish protective details for those Space Arrays. Hence, there was no need for them to push themselves to travel together with Li Wu Yi and the Void Guard.
In Mi Jing Lun’s plans, each Universe Temple would have at least one Eighth-Order Master standing guard. It was fortunate that the heritage of the Human Race had improved drastically over the years, so there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to spare nowadays. If it had been several thousand years ago, the Human Race would not have had the capital to throw their manpower around in such a luxurious manner.
“I’ll be leaving first,” Yang Kai informed Mi Jing Lun. After picking out two Void Guards, the three of them immediately travelled in the direction of the No-Return Pass.
According to the original plan, Yang Kai was also supposed to prepare some Space Arrays, it was just that he was responsible for preparing the Space Arrays that connected the exit of the passage to the No-Return Pass instead.
The exit of the secret passage was located in the Blue Sky Theatre, within the territory occupied by the Black Ink Clan back then. Although the distance between this place and the No-Return Pass was not as great as the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it could not be considered short either. With the Human Race Army’s current enormous line-up, they would need to spend at least two years to arrive at the No-Return Pass without the help of the Space Array, which was an unacceptable delay.
Now that the Black Ink Clan’s scouts in the vicinity had been removed, it would not take long for the enemy to learn about the Human Race’s attack. Speed was crucial under these circumstances. Naturally, it was better for the Human Race Army to attack as soon as possible.
After Yang Kai departed, the remaining Void Guards began to prepare the first Space Array that would be located here. Setting up the Space Array was not a difficult task because all the Space Arrays had been prepared beforehand and transported in the Universe Temples that had been collected previously. Hence, the Void Guard simply had to search for a suitable location, place the Universe Temple in position, and make some slight adjustments to the Space Array inside.
One of the Void Guards in the Eighth Order opened the portal of his Small Universe. Following his actions, the portal expanded incessantly. It did not take long before a Universe Temple emerged. Under Mi Jing Lun’s guidance, he placed the Universe Temple at a certain spot in the void.
Several Void Guards immediately flew into the Universe Temple to check and calibrate the Space Array. A short while later, they reported that everything was ready and the Space Array was in perfect working condition. Thereupon, the Human Race Army finally succeeded in placing their first Space Array on the Black Ink Battlefield.
With this Space Array acting as a connection point, the Space Arrays laid by Yang Kai in the direction of the No-Return Pass and the Space Arrays laid by Li Wu Yi in the direction of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction could easily form a connection with the Space Array in this place. As such, they would have a direct transportation route from the No-Return Pass to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction once they completed their tasks.
There would be many transfer points along the way, but that was preferable compared to the long journey that the Human Race Army would have had to make instead. In this way, they could aim straight at the heart of their enemy as soon as they conquered the No-Return Pass and launch a crusade towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at the fastest speed.
Afterwards, a steady stream of soldiers poured out from the exit of the secret passage. Aside from the group of elites who arrived earlier, all those who came later were soldiers with lower cultivation.
The current Human Race was extremely powerful, and their heritage was unprecedentedly rich. Be that as it may, the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters occupied the largest proportion of their strength. In particular, the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters held the highest numbers. The amount of Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was the highest, exceeding the total number of Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and below.
This situation was vastly different from the situation during peaceful times.
Before the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, those in the Third Order and below had accounted for the majority of the Human Race. In fact, Yang Kai had encountered many First-Order and Second-Order Masters when he first arrived in the 3,000 Worlds.
On the contrary, hardly any First-Order or Second-Order Masters were born among the Human Race nowadays. Even the weakest Open Heaven Realm Masters advanced directly to the Third Order. As for those who came from the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles, the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World, the Fourth Order was the minimum.
There were two reasons for this situation. In addition to the feedback from the World Tree clone, the process to obtain resources was also much simpler than before.
In the past, most of the ‘low-born’ cultivators had neither the ability nor the capital to obtain the resources needed to advance to the Open Heaven Realm; however, they could now redeem these resources from the Human Race Army as long as they had enough Military Merits to perform an exchange. Strictly speaking, it did not become easier for cultivators to obtain resources, it was simply a more direct method of resource acquisition that had not been available to those who were born from humble backgrounds before.
Back when the Great Passes were in conflict with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield, the minimum requirement to enter the Black Ink Battlefield was the Sixth Order; after all, those below the Sixth Order were completely helpless against the corruption of Black Ink Strength.
Unlike back then, the Human Race now had the means to resist Black Ink Strength. Not only did they have Purifying Light, which could dispel Black Ink Strength in a cultivator’s Small Universe, but they also had the Purifying Black Ink Pills, which could prevent the corruption of Black Ink Strength. Thus, the requirements had been reduced by a slight margin. Nevertheless, no matter how much they lowered their requirements, the Fourth Order remained the most basic requirement.
Only those in the Fourth Order and above qualified to contribute their strength on the battlefield. Those in the Fourth Order and below would not have much value on the battlefield. In other words, those in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and below did not meet the basic requirements to enter the battlefield; after all, the Human Race did not have the habit of using those with weaker cultivation as cannon fodder.
Even so, Mi Jing Lun did not hesitate to bring along all those who were in the Third Order and below for this crusade. The mission of those in the Third Order and below was not to fight on the battlefield but to mine resources!
The Human Race had been lacking cultivation resources for a long time now. If Yang Kai had not brought back a large amount of materials from the Black Ink Clan a couple dozen years ago, the repair of Pure Yang Pass would not have been possible.
At the moment though, the Human Race was practically bankrupt. The demand for various resources would only increase exponentially once the war at the No-Return Pass broke out. Not to mention that resources were required each time they transported the army via the Space Arrays.
Seeing as the entire Human Race Army would need to be transported to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in the near future, there was no doubt that the consumption of resources would soar to a shocking level. That was why they had to make preparations in advance. Even if they expected to receive an enormous amount of resources once they conquered the No-Return Pass, that would only come after they succeeded in their crusade.
The 3,000 Worlds was an empty shell right now. There was no place left where resources could be sourced from, but the Black Ink Battlefield was different. The vast Black Ink Battlefield had always been a treasure trove of various cultivation resources due to how expansive it was. Over the years, both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had been mining resources in the Black Ink Battlefield, and although the Black Ink Battlefield was bound to grow barren one day, it was currently enough to meet the needs of the Human Race.
Therefore, the cultivators in the Third Order and below were dispatched here after the elites of the Human Race Army arrived and settled in. These cultivators did not waste any time; as soon as they arrived, they immediately split into small groups and scattered in all directions to search for locations with resources.
The dozen or so Void Guards who remained behind also split up in various directions. Their current task was to construct more Universe Temples equipped with Space Arrays at various locations throughout the Black Ink Battlefield. This way, the cultivation resources gathered by the others could easily be sent back to the main Army.
The scene might have seemed frantic and chaotic, but things were actually moving forward in an orderly manner.
Two days later, nearly 3 million Third-Order Masters had arrived from Black Territory. That number accounted for almost 10% of the Human Race Army. They swiftly scattered in all directions across the Black Ink Battlefield. At this rate, it would not take long before they brought huge and continuous benefits back with them.
It was not until this moment that Mi Jing Lun’s anxiety finally reduced slightly. Over the years, he had been in charge of the Supreme Headquarters. He was responsible for coordinating and dispatching the Human Race Army, so the supply of resources had also been a huge headache for him. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do to solve this problem until the Human Race Army set off for the Black Ink Battlefield.
At this point, the Black Ink Battlefield was no longer the Black Ink Clan’s backyard! It belonged to the Human Race!
The Human Race Army was attacking, and the Black Ink Clan could do nothing to stop them except defend the No-Return Pass. The situation at this moment was very similar to the Black Ink Clan’s previous assault on the No-Return Pass, it was just that the offence and defence had been reversed.
At this moment, a figure flew out of the Universe Temple that had just been set up. He came straight to Mi Jing Lun and cupped his fist in greeting, “Supreme Commander Mi, we have established a connection with the first Space Array leading to the No-Return Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly, “Understood.”
Although he seemed calm and collected on the surface, he was secretly amazed by the news.
Yang Kai was very fast indeed. No news came from Li Wu Yi, who had departed earlier; on the other hand, Yang Kai had already finished placing his first Space Array. Thinking about it again though, it was not a surprise. Yang Kai had higher attainments in the Dao of Space compared to Li Wu Yi in the first place, so it was only natural for him to be much faster.
Turning to look at Xiang Shan and the others, Mi Jing Lun issued the order, “Start making arrangements for the teleportation of the Army.”
Xiang Shan and the others nodded, then left to make the necessary arrangements.
Every teleportation that was performed required resources. More importantly, the number of resources consumed was closely related to the number of people being transported; therefore, in order to reduce consumption, the Human Race Army needed the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to accommodate some of their subordinates in their respective Small Universes in an effort to reduce the number of people being transmitted.
These measures would affect the strength of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to a certain extent, but they would not be affected to the extent that they would be completely helpless in the face of danger as long as they were careful about the number of people they took into their Small Universe. Naturally, it was not a great concern currently since the chance of them being in danger was very minimal.
There were many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters nowadays, so almost every Squad had at least two or three Seventh-Order Masters. Some Squads might even have as many as four Seventh-Order Masters. This was a situation that would never be seen on the Black Ink Battlefield back then.
If each Squad was considered a unit, then the Seventh-Order Masters were perfectly capable of accommodating all the members of their respective Squads inside their Small Universe. Some of the Seventh-Order Masters could even be accommodated by the Eighth-Order Masters. Under this arrangement, the consumption of resources would be greatly reduced. At the same time, the efficiency of transmission would also be significantly improved.
At this moment, the first portion of the Human Race Army to arrive was preparing to teleport to the location of the first Universe Temple that had been set up. Nevertheless, more troops were streaming in from Black Territory. With both sides rushing forward simultaneously, the Human Race Army was practically unstoppable as they travelled towards the No-Return Pass in quick leaping motions via the Universe Temples established along the way.
A new Space Array would be added to the network every two days or so, meaning soldiers would have to embark on their next teleportation after only a short respite following their arrival at the previous Universe Temple.
Needless to say, they had to leave some manpower behind to guard and defend the Universe Temples lest they be damaged or destroyed by any unexpected incidents. This was true for both the Space Arrays that Yang Kai and Li Wu Yi prepared.
According to the plan, each Universe Temple would be protected by a Void Guard once the Space Array was activated. It was expected that such high-intensity and frequent teleportation would have some impact on the Space Arrays. If any accidents were to happen, these Void Guards could immediately step in to maintain and repair the Space Arrays. Excluding Yang Kai, there were almost 150 Void Guards, which was just enough for such a task.
During this period, they finally received news from Li Wu Yi. The first Space Array had not only been established, but also successfully connected with the Space Array located in front of the entrance to the secret passage.
Half a month later, the entire Human Race Army that had previously gathered in Black Territory arrived without a single member missing, with Wei Jun Yang, who was in charge of bringing up the rear, arriving last.
At this moment, Yang Kai and the two Void Guards who were preparing the Space Arrays in the direction of the No-Return Pass were already halfway through their journey. They also left behind three Universe Temples that they deployed along the way. Judging by their speed, the first part of the Human Race Army would reach the periphery of the No-Return Pass in another half a month.
It was not until this moment that the No-Return Pass realised that something was wrong, but the delay could not be blamed on the Black Ink Clan’s ignorance. The truth was that Mo Na Ye was already very cautious. After his previous exchange with Yang Kai to probe each other for information several years ago, he confirmed the existence of a secret passage leading between the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield. Thanks to that piece of information, he immediately realised that the Human Race would eventually attack the No-Return Pass through that secret passage.
After all, that was the only method for the Humans to fully maximise their strengths in the assault. It was far too disadvantageous for them to attack from the Territory Gate because the Black Ink Clan could cause significant casualties to them just by establishing a tight line of defence around the location. Nobody would ever choose to use such a foolish method if there was a better option.
Unfortunately, Mo Na Ye had been unable to confirm the exact location of the secret passage’s exit. That was why he quickly dispatched a large number of Black Ink Clan scouts into the Black Ink Battlefield following Yang Kai’s departure from the No-Return Pass.
His plan had been to search for the secret passage while simultaneously guarding against any possible movements from the Human Race. Naturally, his main purpose was the latter. As for finding the exit of the secret passage, he did not expect much and simply did his best to achieve results. For this purpose, the Black Ink Clan even deliberately produced nearly 10,000 Low-Rank Black Ink Nests for the Black Ink Clan search parties to bring along when they ventured deep into the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yang Kai had eliminated several dozen Black Ink Clan squads around the vicinity of the secret passage; moreover, his movements were so swift that the Black Ink Clansmen had no time to react whatsoever.
Although Yang Kai managed to prevent the enemy from learning about their presence in the immediate term, the Black Ink Clansmen overseeing the nearby Low-Rank Black Ink Nests soon noticed that something was wrong when they failed to make contact with their search teams for the past half a month; therefore, they followed the instructions they received from Mo Na Ye before they were dispatched here and sent word to the No-Return Pass via the Black Ink Nest Space.
Upon receiving the message, Mo Na Ye immediately realised the problem. It was impossible for the Black Ink Clan scouts searching the Black Ink Battlefield to disappear for no apparent reason; after all, there were currently no dangers on the Black Ink Battlefield. It was understandable if something had happened to one or two teams, as accidents or unexpected delays did still occur, but the fact that dozens of scout teams had gone missing at the same time was self-explanatory.
Under the premise that the Human Race Army would launch an assault from the Black Ink Battlefield, Mo Na Ye would not hold any unrealistic illusions towards the information he received and immediately concluded that the Humans were coming! Furthermore, their general direction and distance could now be determined from the location of the lost Black Ink Clan scouts!
With the No-Return Pass as the starting point and the location of the lost scouts as the endpoint, Mo Na Ye plotted a route and hastily ordered the Black Ink Clan scouts along the route to investigate their surroundings carefully and report any sign of abnormalities immediately.
The arrival of the Human Race Army came far earlier than he expected, which was extremely bad for him. Mo Na Ye’s only consolation was that their starting point was extremely distant. Even if the Human Race Army moved at full speed, he estimated they would not be able to reach the No-Return Pass for at least a year or two, which would give the Black Ink Clan some time and space to prepare countermeasures.
After he pondered for some time, he hurried to Mo Yu and reported the situation; then, he discussed some countermeasures. At the same time, he ordered the Pseudo-Royal Lords under his command to continue tempting the two Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory.
When the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods escaped into the No-Return Pass back then, Yang Kai had decisively sealed the Territory Gate shut. Be that as it may, the Black Ink Clan had long since reopened the Territory Gate. Moreover, the Black Ink Clan had never stopped trying to target Ah Da and Ah Er over the past few years.
Mo Na Ye knew that these two Giant Spirit Gods were the strongest forces of the Human Race Army. If they could eliminate the two Giant Spirit Gods before the Humans arrived, then the enemy would be no match for the Black Ink Clan, regardless of how many Ninth-Order Masters were born during this period.
Among the Black Ink Clan nowadays, the number of Royal Lords could no longer compare to the Ninth-Order Masters, and the number of Territory Lords could no longer compare to the number of Eighth-Order Masters. Nevertheless, there were many Pseudo-Royal Lords, so if the Humans lost their two Giant Spirit Gods, who were the pillars of their Army, how could they prevent the onslaught of the numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords and the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods?
According to the information that Mo Na Ye received from the Black Ink Disciples, the Giant Spirit Gods were of a Race that did not boast high sentience despite their overwhelming strength. If they could utilize this aspect properly, they might just be able to eliminate those two behemoths without too much trouble.
Nonetheless, they had to lure the two Giant Spirit Gods into the No-Return Pass if they wanted a chance to eradicate them. The No-Return Pass was the headquarters of the Black Ink Clan, with countless Masters gathered here in addition to the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. As long as the two Giant Spirit Gods dared to step foot into the No-Return Pass, they would never leave this place alive again.
Provocation was one method; however, no matter how the Black Ink Clan tried to taunt them, Ah Da and Ah Er never forgot Yang Kai’s instructions to protect the Territory Gate before he departed. Their orders were to smash any Black Ink Clansman who tried to pass through the Territory Gate, nothing more, nothing less.
Several Pseudo-Royal Lords were injured as a result. After that, no Pseudo-Royal Lord dared to enter the Barren Territory at will again. A single slap from the Giant Spirit Gods contained a Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering might. Not even a Pseudo-Royal Lord could survive a direct hit.
The Black Ink Clan did not stop at provocation though, they also employed another method, temptation.
The Black Ink Disciples who originated from the Human Race had given Mo Na Ye another valuable piece of information; the Giant Spirit Gods fed on dead Universe Worlds.
The 3,000 Worlds was now barren and infertile, so the two Giant Spirit Gods had probably been starving for many years now. For that reason, Mo Na Ye ordered his men to drag over several dead Universes Worlds from the far depths of the Black Ink Battlefield to tempt Ah Da and Ah Er through the Territory Gate. This plan nearly succeeded.
As soon as the bald Giant Spirit God saw the dead Universes Worlds through the Territory Gate, his drool flowed down his chest like a waterfall. In fact, he nearly charged right into the No-Return Pass at first sight. If not for the Giant Spirit God with a tuft of hair on his head who desperately held his clansman back and ruined the plan, the Black Ink Clan could have obliterated one of them on the spot!
Back when Mo Na Ye first witnessed the scene, he was so furious that he nearly choked on his rage.
Now that the Pseudo-Royal Lords received another order from Mo Na Ye recently, they immediately looked very distressed. Their confrontation with the Giant Spirit Gods over the past 10 years or so had shown them that the two beings were not easy opponents despite their slow-witted appearances. When the overwhelming power of each Giant Spirit God surpassed essentially all other living creatures in the Universe, their low sentience no longer mattered. Their strength alone was not something that could be ignored.
Fortunately, one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords quickly came up with a good idea. He smashed one of the dead Universes Worlds nearby to pieces and threw a small Universe Fragment into the Barren Territory.
The two Giant Spirit Gods happily shared the Universe Fragment between themselves, then they turned to look at the Pseudo-Royal Lord eagerly through the Territory Gate. He quickly threw a larger Universe Fragment to them, and they immediately shared the food again. Then, he threw another larger piece…
After repeating the cycle several times, he picked up an enormous Universe Fragment and pretended to throw it into the Barren Territory; however, the Territory Gate was too small for the enormous Universe Fragment to pass through.
He then set down the Universe Fragment and beckoned towards the two Giant Spirit Gods through the Territory Gate, as though inviting them over to eat.
Ah Da was tempted, then… Ah Er smacked his bald head hard several times. The blows made him clutch at his head in pain with an extremely aggrieved expression. His appearance was very pitiful, as though he did not know what he had done wrong.
“Stay here and smash them! Don’t go there!” Ah Er reminded in a rumbling voice. Even though he was standing in the vast void, his voice still echoed like explosions of thunder.
Ah Da nodded repeatedly, finally recalling the warnings of the little one. Raising his head once more, he glared at the Pseudo-Royal Lord fiercely and shouted, “Give it, or I will smash you to death!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was stunned for a moment. In the next moment, he raised his hand and shattered the enormous Universe Fragment into dust while shouting at Ah Da through the Territory Gate, “Come and smash me if you dare!”
Ah Da immediately lost his temper. Starving as he was, how could he tolerate the sight of a perfectly good piece of food being ruined right in front of him? No matter how good-natured he was, he had reached his breaking point. He stood up and took a step forward.
Just as Ah Da was about to charge through the Territory Gate, Ah Er threw himself at Ah Da and pinned the latter down.
On that day, the entire Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass heard the roars that came from the other side of the Territory Gate. They could hear the bald Giant Spirit God screaming the words “Smash you to death!” over and over again… It was a terrifying sound!
Inside the High-Rank Black Ink Nest that belonged to Mo Yu, Mo Na Ye was reporting the situation to him, but another Black Ink Clansman was sitting next to them. Given his right to sit together with Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu on equal footing, the identity of this Black Ink Clansman went without saying. He was a Royal Lord!
The Human Race had produced a new generation of Ninth-Order Masters; likewise, the Black Ink Clan had also seen the rise of the next generation of Royal Lords. It had to be said that all Acquired Territory Lords had the qualifications to become Royal Lords; thus, the only question that remained was whether they had the necessary aptitude.
There was the issue where it was significantly more difficult for a Territory Lord to become a Royal Lord than an Eighth-Order Master to advance into the Ninth-Order. The root cause was the method that the Black Ink Clan employed to increase their strength was very different from the Humans.
Unlike the Human Race, which relied on personal effort and accumulation to enhance their strength, the Black Ink Clan relied upon their Black Ink Nests to cultivate. As the power of a Black Ink Clansman grew, the process for them to enhance their strength became harder in turn. It was precisely because of this factor that despite having so many powerful Territory Lords, most were unable to become Royal Lords.
Nevertheless, the difficulty of the process did not matter in the end. The accumulation over thousands of years was enough for some of those Territory Lords to overcome the bottleneck in their cultivation. Yang Kai had already noticed that particular issue when he came to the No-Return Pass more than 20 years ago. At that moment, he was certain that new Royal Lords were going to be born into the Black Ink Clan in the near future.
A few years after that, the Black Ink Clan had indeed produced a third Royal Lord. It was none other than the individual sitting here with Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. Although sitting here meant that he could join the discussion between Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, the newly advanced Royal Lord simply sat there and listened quietly.
In terms of qualifications and strength, he was much inferior compared to Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. The Black Ink Clan was different from the Human Race. There was no place for him to express his opinions here. He was only summoned so that he could listen to their discussion.
“Is there a need to intercept the Human Race Army?” Mo Yu scowled deeply, “There are many Ninth-Order Masters with them now, won’t it be disadvantageous for us if we send out our troops to confront them?”
Upon learning that the Human Race Army was coming to attack them, Mo Na Ye immediately came up with a plan that Mo Yu frowned upon. His plan was to prepare an ambush along the route and intercept the Human Race Army during their advance. On the other hand, Mo Yu preferred to fortify the defences of the No-Return Pass and fight the Human Race Army from within the No-Return Pass.
The fate of the entire Black Ink Clan rested upon this matter, so it was only natural for the higher-ups to have various conflicting opinions. Mo Na Ye was not surprised by Mo Yu’s stance in this matter; in fact, he had already anticipated Mo Yu’s opinion before he even came here.
Hence, Mo Na Ye brought out the speech he had prepared in advance, “Sir, the Human Race Army is taking an extremely aggressive approach. I’m sure they are fighting with everything they have; moreover, based on my understanding of the Human Race, the No-Return Pass is not their true goal. If they manage to conquer the No-Return Pass, they will definitely dispatch their Army towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.”
“The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!?” Mo Yu’s expression darkened at those words.
The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the origin of the Black Ink Clan. It was understandable for the Human Race to attack the No-Return Pass, especially since the No-Return Pass originally belonged to them. The Black Ink Clan had simply occupied this land for the past several thousands of years; however, the fact that the Humans planned to use the No-Return Pass as their stepping stone to launch an offensive against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction enraged Mo Yu.
“The Humans are too arrogant! We currently have many Pseudo-Royal Lords among our ranks, so we are perfectly capable of defending and holding the No-Return Pass. Not to mention, we also have the support of the two of the Supreme One’s Soul Clones. It will not be easy for the Human Race Army to conquer the No-Return Pass.”
Mo Na Ye cautioned Mo Yu, “There is no need to be concerned about the ordinary members of the Human Race, but I hope you do not forget about Yang Kai, Sir. It’s true that we currently have many Pseudo-Royal Lords among our ranks, but the situation on the battlefield can change in the blink of an eye. If Yang Kai was given the chance, there is no guarantee that the Pseudo-Royal Lords would be able to survive a sneak attack from him.”
Upon hearing that name, Mo Yu’s expression darkened even more as he couldn’t help recalling the battle from several thousand years ago.
When the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds back then, they had forced the Humans back into a mere dozen or so Great Territories. With such a glorious achievement, it seemed as though they could exterminate the Human Race with just a little more effort. That was the era when the Innate Territory Lords had been locked in conflict with the Eighth-Order Masters!
At the critical juncture though, Yang Kai had abruptly appeared out of nowhere. Wielding a strange Secret Technique that harmed both himself and the enemy at the same time, he caused panic among the Innate Territory Lords scattered across the various battlefields. In the end, he even managed to force the Black Ink Clan to concede and sign a series of truces on the condition that he would no longer attack them. These agreements had given the Human Race some breathing room.
Now, that person, who overturned the entire situation between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan by himself, had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. There was no denying that the Black Ink Clan currently boasted a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but based on Yang Kai’s previous battle records, it was clear those Pseudo-Royal Lords had no means to protect themselves from him whatsoever.
His interference alone had caused the Black Ink Clan to lose eight Pseudo-Royal Lords in E-5 Territory.
The current situation could be said to be even worse than the one in the past. A few thousand years ago, Yang Kai had relied upon his strange Secret Technique that harmed both himself and the enemy to carry out his attacks. As a result, he had always needed to recuperate for some time after each strike. Now, however, he no longer had such scruples.
“The goal of the Human Race Army has never been the No-Return Pass. Now that they have dispatched their troops, they must be confident they will obtain the ultimate victory. If we wish to gain the upper hand under these circumstances, then we must change our approach from being passive to aggressive. We must strike a crushing blow while the Human Race Army is on the march; otherwise, they will only become harder to defeat once they establish themselves outside the No-Return Pass.”
Mo Yu fell into deep thought at those words.
Mo Na Ye relentlessly pressured Mo Yu, “Sir, this is our only chance! The opportunity will not come again!”
After a long time, Mo Yu finally raised his head to look at Mo Na Ye, “How should we deal with Yang Kai?”
Mo Na Ye replied, “Alone, I am definitely not his opponent, but I am capable of restraining him with the help of several Pseudo-Royal Lords.” Then, he turned to look at the Royal Lord who had remained quiet all this time, “Di Ya Luo can hide in the shadows and find an opportunity to ambush him. If all goes well, we might even be able to injure him heavily!”
Di Ya Luo nodded lightly, “If given the chance, I will do my best.”
Mo Na Ye added, “The Human Race is unaware of your existence, which makes you our trump card against Yang Kai. Do not expose your existence unless you have absolute confidence in achieving success.”
“I understand.”
Mo Yu questioned once more, “What about the Supreme One’s Soul Clones? Do we need to mobilize them?”
Mo Na Ye shook his head, “We must not mobilise them. The two Giant Spirit Gods are watching us hungrily from the Barren Territory. What’s more, we don’t know if the Human Race has any other plans in place. If the Supreme One’s Soul Clones leave the No-Return Pass, we will lose the ability to restrain the two Giant Spirit Gods. The consequences will be dire if those two beings charge into the No-Return Pass at that time.”
Mo Yu frowned deeply in thought. Although he felt that Mo Na Ye’s words made sense, he could not bring himself to make a decision.
Seeing that, Mo Na Ye earnestly continued to persuade Mo Yu, “Sir, in the worst-case scenario, we will be besieged by the Human Race Army at the No-Return Pass. They will chip away at our strength, just like how we attacked the No-Return Pass in the past. In such a situation, our defeat will be inevitable. On the contrary, we might have a chance at victory if we take the initiative to strike first.”
After he finished speaking, he watched Mo Yu calmly. Mo Na Ye had said everything he needed to say, so it was now up to Mo Yu to make the decision. There was nothing else he could do if Mo Yu refused to dispatch their troops to intercept the Human Race Army. He might have made their situation sound extremely serious, but the truth was things were not that bad. Even if the Human Race Army laid siege on the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan was not completely helpless to fight back. They had made various preparations in the No-Return Pass over the years, all for the arrival of this day. It was just that… Comparatively, Mo Na Ye preferred to take the initiative and launch an offensive for once.
After a long time, Mo Yu nodded lightly, “I hope you are right.”
Mo Na Ye was overjoyed, but just as he was about to leave to make arrangements, a Territory Lord rushed into the room from the outside with a panicked expression.
Mo Yu scowled at the Territory Lord and questioned in great displeasure, “What is it!?”
The Territory Lord hurriedly submitted a jade slip, “Sirs, the scouts on the frontlines have discovered something of critical importance.”
Mo Yu raised a hand and grabbed the jade slip. Sending his Divine Sense inside, he studied the contents before his expression abruptly changed.
Mo Na Ye’s heart thundered uneasily at the sight as he instantly realised that something had gone terribly wrong. Although he did not know what was written in the jade slip, he could tell from Mo Yu’s expression that it was something detrimental to the Black Ink Clan.
In the next moment, Mo Yu silently handed the jade slip over.
Mo Na Ye took the jade slip and checked the contents. His expression quickly changed upon reading the contents and he exclaimed in alarm, “How can that be!?”
The information indicated that they had lost contact with countless Black Ink Clan scouts along the route that he previously plotted from the No-Return Pass to the secret passage. More importantly, the location of these scouts was situated along the midpoint of the route. In other words, there were Human Race Masters who not only travelled the distance that would have normally taken a year in less than 10 days, but also eliminated some of their spies who were stationed to monitor their progress.
Mo Na Ye immediately thought of Yang Kai; after all, Yang Kai was the only Human at the moment who had enough proficiency in the Dao of Space to travel at such mind-boggling speed. Looking back at the contents once more though, he felt his heart sinking after reading the second part. According to the information recorded, some of the Black Ink Clan scouts had seen a magnificent Grand Hall in the void from a distance. Furthermore, the periphery of the Grand Hall was heavily guarded by the Human Race Army!
[A Universe Temple!]
The Black Ink Clan was no stranger to these Early Ancient Era creations, having learned about the functions of the Universe Temples from the Black Ink Disciples. The Universe Temples were mainly used by the Humans in their travels thanks to the ability to shorten the time and distance required during their journey. Almost every Great Territory in the 3,000 Worlds had a Universe Temple, it was just that the Black Ink Clan had destroyed many of them during the initial invasion. Nevertheless, it was evident that some had survived the war.
Mo Na Ye never expected that an object which should have remained in the 3,000 Worlds would appear on the Black Ink Battlefield. Recalling the function of the Universe Temples, however, he immediately realised what was happening.
Mo Yu had obviously come to the same conclusion. Looking at Mo Na Ye, he dryly made an observation, “Looks like we do not need to attack them anymore. Prepare our defences.”
In just half a month, a Universe Temple had appeared at the midpoint of the route that Mo Na Ye had previously plotted. Wouldn’t that mean that a Universe Temple would appear outside the No-Return Pass in another half a month? Under these circumstances, there was not enough time for the Black Ink Clan to even organize an attack on the Human Race Army. By the time they finished their preparations, the Humans would already be at their doorstep.
At this point, there was nothing else that Mo Na Ye could do about the situation. All his plans and schemes were useless in this situation. If he wanted to defend the No-Return Pass, then he could only confront the Humans; thus, he composed his expression and said, “I understand.”
Mo Yu added, “We also need to come up with another solution for the two Giant Spirit Gods.”
“Agreed!”
There was some time until the Human Race Army arrived. If they could deal with the two Giant Spirit Gods before the attack, then they would be invincible.
Over the next few days, the Black Ink Clan significantly increased the intensity of their attempts to entice and provoke the two Giant Spirit Gods. They even tried to send the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods into the Barren Territory. Be that as it may, the enraged Ah Da did not give them any chance to take a single step forward. He stood firmly in front of the Territory Gate, smashing anybody who dared to step forward through the portal. Even the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were beaten so badly that they were forced to retreat.
A steady flow of information was consistently being relayed to the No-Return Pass, and the various reports indicated that the Human Race Army had erected seven or eight Universe Temples along their anticipated route. Some of the Black Ink Clan scouts even witnessed the Human Race Army appearing and disappearing from the Universe Temples from a distance. The current situation clearly explained the deployment of the Human Race Army. With the help of the Universe Temples, they were rapidly approaching the No-Return Pass.
Some 10 days later, a figure appeared just half a day away from the No-Return Pass. It was none other than Yang Kai, who had arrived ahead of the others.
Gazing at the magnificent base in the distance, he raised his brow at the sight. The layout of the No-Return Pass had changed significantly compared to his previous visit. When he came here 20 years ago, the ruins of numerous destroyed Great Passes had been scattered around the No-Return Pass and countless Black Ink Nests had been distributed all over them without any regularity.
At this moment however, it was clear to see that the ruins of the Great Passes had been organised. The Black Ink Clan had arranged the destroyed Great Passes left behind by the Human Race in a sphere outside the No-Return Pass to form a solid defensive barrier. Furthermore, the Black Ink Clan Army was gathered on the Great Passes. The impressive High-Rank Black Ink Nests had also been moved closer to the centre of the No-Return Pass so that they could be strictly protected. It could be seen that the Black Ink Clan had made various preparations in advance to deal with the Human’s impending attack.
Yang Kai even saw traces of large-scale artifacts on some of the destroyed Great Passes. The Black Ink Clan were unable to perform Artifact Refining themselves, but they had many Black Ink Disciples under their command. These artifacts must be the handiwork of those Black Ink Disciples.
Furthermore, two enormous Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods stood guard on either side of the No-Return Pass, like two Guardian Gods. They towered over the majestic base with a chilling atmosphere around them.
As soon as Yang Kai emerged, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods immediately detected his presence, raising their heads and turning to look in his direction. The Black Ink Giant Spirit God on the left even raised his hand and grabbed hold of a Universe Fragment nearby.
In the next moment, he viciously threw the Universe Fragment in Yang Kai’s direction with a roar. Thanks to his immense strength, the Universe Fragment, which contained Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power, broke through the barriers of space as it rapidly hurtled towards Yang Kai.
Although Yang Kai was half a day’s journey away from the No-Return Pass, that only referred to the time required to arrive at the No-Return Pass through normal means for a Human Race Squad Class Warship.
Be that as it may, such a distance was well within the attack range of Yang Kai and the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
At any rate, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God did not expect his attack to harm Yang Kai in any way. Yang Kai was in the Ninth Order, so how could a trivial Universe Fragment injure him?
In response to the menacing attack, Yang Kai simply raised his hand slightly. The Universe Fragment that was hurtling towards him at an astonishing speed instantly came to an abrupt halt and quietly hovered in front of him. Then, he clenched his raised hand into a fist. The huge Universe Fragment subsequently exploded into dust.
The loud and flashy confrontation instantly alerted the entire Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass to the enemy’s presence. One after another, countless figures quickly rushed out of the No-Return Pass and stared in Yang Kai’s direction. Those figures radiated with powerful auras that shook the void. They were none other than the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords had obtained tremendous power with the help of the Source Fusion Technique, but in exchange, they could never utilize their full strength. The price of their power was also their lack of ability to control it. For that reason, every one of them was extremely conspicuous. They generally resembled bright lights in the dark of the night when they stepped onto the battlefield, which made it impossible for them to carry out any kind of ambush.
Yang Kai also saw Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. The two Royal Lords were standing in the middle of the No-Return Pass, surrounded by many Pseudo-Royal Lords. When their gazes collided, Yang Kai grinned at them. On the other hand, the expressions of Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu darkened at the sight.
Now that Yang Kai was here, how far behind could the Human Race Army be? The Black Ink Clan had known that the Humans were coming to attack the No-Return Pass and consequently made the necessary preparations in anticipation of the enemy’s imminent arrival. Nevertheless, the speed of the Human Race Army’s advance was simply too swift.
After staring at each other across the distance for some time, Yang Kai raised a hand and made a slashing motion across his throat at Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu before he casually departed. It did not take long before his figure vanished from sight.
Inside the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye scowled fiercely. There was no denying that Yang Kai’s actions were incredibly childish, but he could not guess the reason for him acting this way.
[Did he come here just to demonstrate his might? But, what was the point? Could he have other intentions?] Mo Na Ye instantly fell into deep thought, but he could not be blamed for being so cautious. Having been in conflict with Yang Kai for so many years, he knew that the latter had always taken advantage of the situation on every occasion. That was why, in his opinion, Yang Kai’s every move was worthy of vigilance.
At the same time, a Universe Temple had appeared in the void approximately three days’ journey from the No-Return Pass and a steady stream of Human Soldiers was emerging from it.
The first to arrive was the Azure Sun Army. When their members had all been assembled, they quickly formed a solid line of defence around the Universe Temple. That was not all as the Void Guard who arrived here the earliest were also searching for Universe Fragments of various sizes in the vicinity to serve as temporary camps.
Mi Jing Lun was standing near the Universe Temple when Yang Kai hurried over and reported his discovery at the No-Return Pass.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s report, Mi Jing Lun nodded, “I expected as much. The Black Ink Clan has always ignored the Great Passes because we had no means to threaten the safety of the No-Return Pass, but now, they are the ones under attack instead. Knowing that an attack by our Army is imminent, I am sure they made various arrangements in preparation. The Great Passes that we left behind back then are perfect as barricades and barriers.”
After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Yang Kai and asked, “Did Mo Na Ye discover you?”
Yang Kai replied, “I wasn’t hiding.”
Mi Jing Lun chuckled, “In that case, they won’t dare to act rashly. Mo Na Ye is both shrewd and suspicious, so your sudden appearance outside the No-Return Pass will definitely make him worry about various possibilities. I was worried that we might be attacked, but it looks like there’s no need for such concerns anymore.”
If the Black Ink Clan struck before the Human Army could finish assembling, the latter would definitely be troubled. The situation at this moment was the perfect example. Just the Azure Sun Army alone would not be able to hold back so many Black Ink Clansmen.
Naturally, such an endeavour would also have been a huge risk to the Black Ink Clan. The defences at the No-Return Pass would weaken considerably if such a large number of Black Ink Clan Masters were to leave, which would have allowed the Humans to exploit.
The possibility was not likely to occur now though, so Mi Jing Lun was only being vigilant towards every scenario. At this moment, he was practically certain that the Black Ink Clan would not dare to act rashly again after Yang Kai’s actions.
This incident had given the Human Race Army the opportunity to fully assemble their troops. An endless stream of soldiers poured out of the Universe Temple, but they all marched in an orderly manner without the slightest display of chaos.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai took out the sphere that had been compressed by his Space-Time River. After finding a wide and open place, he raised his hand and threw the sphere. The Space-Time River lingered around the void, then the sphere expanded violently and quickly transformed into a majestic Great Pass. It was the Pure Yang Pass.
Pure Yang Pass was not only the last remaining Great Pass in the possession of the Human Race, but would also be an important weapon in conquering the No-Return Pass. What’s more, many of the soldiers learned for the first time that they had managed to regain one of the Great Passes from the hands of the Black Ink Clan; thus, they couldn’t help cheering at the sight.
The Ninth-Order Masters who arrived earlier flew over and came to stand beside Yang Kai. Staring at the modified Great Pass, they couldn’t help feeling emotional. It was as though they were recalling the tragic battle at the No-Return Pass.
A large number of troops soon swarmed into Pure Yang Pass. Following the arrangement that had been determined in advance, they swiftly took their positions. It did not take long before the many Spirit Arrays began lighting up consecutively.
At the same time, numerous Array Masters prepared some Spirit Arrays and unique artifacts in the nearby void. There was no need to mention the specific purpose of the Spirit Arrays for the time being. On the other hand, the artifacts were actually a set of Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, something that Yang Kai researched and refined in the past.
The artifact was a large-scale one meant for teleporting massive objects, so it had no power for offence or defence. Each set of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors was composed of 16 Array Boards, which were divided into two sides, Yin and Yang. Once activated, the artifact could swap the spaces within the range of the Yin and Yang Mirrors like flipping the front and back of a mirror. The effect was both profound and mysterious.
Yang Kai had mainly researched the artifact for the purpose of mining resources in Black Territory. At the time, he had used the Loyalty List to bring Luan Bai Feng under his command; Black Territory had also fallen into his hands as a result. Black Territory was abundant with resources, but mining them was extremely dangerous. Nobody could delve deep into Black Territory due to a massive Early Ancient Era Super Array.
Therefore, Yang Kai’s initial idea was that the ore slaves could mine the resources safely if he could figure out a method to transport the Ore Stars located inside the Array to a safer location. That was how the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors came into existence.
The artifact was first created by Yang Kai, but was later modified by the Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster Ma Fan. The performance of the artifact became much better as a consequence.
Yang Kai had not only brought this artifact to the Black Ink Battlefield, but also spread it throughout the various Great Passes, allowing them the chance to study and replicate it. Thanks to the effects of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, Yang Kai managed to solve the shortage of supplies among the major Great Passes in one fell swoop.
Before the existence of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, the major Great Passes were forced to dispatch their soldiers deep into the void to gather supplies. These soldiers not only had to search for and mine materials, they also had to keep a constant lookout against ambushes and raids from the Black Ink Clan. Things were different ever since they acquired the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. They could now transport dead Universe Worlds and Fragments that contained abundant resources to the vicinity of the Great Passes and mine them without worry. In this way, the efficiency of collecting resources naturally increased significantly.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the lives of the soldiers at the major Great Passes improved considerably after Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield.
At this moment, the Human Race Army was preparing many Void Yin-Yang Mirrors in their surroundings. Needless to say, they were preparing to transport many Universe Worlds and Fragments here. It was just that the purpose of these Universe Worlds was not for sourcing resources. The three million Human Race Masters in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and below were responsible for collecting resources, so there was no need for the main Army to worry about supplies. As for the Universe Worlds that they transported here from deep within the void, there were other uses for them.
For this purpose, the remaining Void Guard, except those who had to stay behind to monitor the Universe Temples along the way, had immediately sprung into action after Li Wu Yi left for the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction with 80 Void Guard. Each of them had carried either the Yin Mirrors or the Yang Mirrors of a Void Yin-Yang Mirrors set and searched various areas of the void.
As time passed, the various Armies gathered in this place. Aside from the Central Army under Mi Jing Lun’s direct command who occupied Pure Yang Pass, the other Armies claimed a Universe World or large Universe Fragment in the vicinity as their base camp. Each of these camps was soon overflowing with people as they worked to establish temporary outposts.
The Human Race currently retained 12 Armies, just like before. Mi Jing Lun had not made many adjustments to the organization; after all, each Army had experienced thousands of years of fighting together. The heart of the Army was united by the blood of their companions and their enemies at this point, and it might instead be detrimental to make any rash changes. Therefore, the 12 Armies remained even though there were not enough Ninth-Order Masters to oversee them all.
Luo Ting He was in command of the Azure Sun Army, Xiang Shan was in charge of the Blood Flame Army, Ou Yang Lie commanded the Profound Nether Army, Wei Jun Yang led the Wolf Fang Army, Xiao Xiao was in command of the Soaring Cloud Army, Wu Qing commanded the Purple Feather Army, the newly-advanced Shi Da Zhuang was in command of the Shocking Thunder Army while Tang Tao led the Red Flame Army.
As for the Burning Moon Army, Twin Instrument Army, Azure Dawn Army, and Jade Cicada Army, these four remained unchanged. These four Armies might not be under the leadership of a Ninth-Order Master, but they had the largest numbers of Divine Spirits. In terms of overall strength, they were not inferior to the rest of the Armies. Besides, these four Armies contained many new generation Eighth-Order Masters who could advance to the Ninth Order at any time. Once they experienced a breakthrough, these Armies would also have the protection of a Ninth-Order Master.
A few days later, large ripples spread out endlessly from an area somewhere in the void that was warded off by a set of Void Yang Mirrors. The vibration from these ripples was so strong that the Space anchored by the Yang Mirrors became extremely unstable, making it difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was illusory.
With the spreading of the ripples, the fluctuations of Space Principles became increasingly obvious. As time passed, under the watch of countless eyes, something seemed to appear in the space that was originally empty. Once all the commotion had settled, the object turned out to be an enormous Universe World that had appeared out of nowhere!
Several soldiers quickly stepped forward to retrieve the Yin Mirrors before moving to set them up in a new free space. Many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners then rushed towards the Universe World and gathered on the side of it that was facing away from the No-Return Pass. Following a cursory survey of the geography, they immediately sprang into action and prepared a large-scale Spirit Array on the back of the Universe World!
After the first Universe World was transported here via the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, more and more began appearing. Meanwhile, almost all the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners from the 12 Armies were dispatched, working diligently without rest.