Yang Kai was on his last legs, so he wouldn’t dare to be negligent when he was facing a Territory Lord.
Although Hei Yuan didn’t intend to kill him as he wanted to capture him alive, Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t grant his wish. If he was really captured by Hei Yuan and sent to the Royal City, he would become a servant for the Black Ink Clan for the rest of his life.
Before Hei Yuan could get close to him, Yang Kai drew on whatever power was left in his Small Universe.
Strike first to gain the advantage!
As the Golden Crow cawed, a Great Sun leapt from behind him, burning with a brilliant radiance.
At the same time, a Full Moon rose as well, casting its frigid cold glow.
As the Sun and Moon appeared simultaneously, Space Principles madly fluctuated. The Sun and Moon started spinning around in tandem, transforming into a kaleidoscope where Space Principles and Time Principles intertwined and formed into Space-Time Strength before spiralling towards Hei Yuan.
Sun and Moon Divine Wheel!
Faced with a formidable enemy like Hei Yuan, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to hold back any of his strength and directly used his most powerful method.
Hei Yuan stopped in his tracks and instinctively felt a horrifying power coming from this Secret Technique. This caused his expression to turn solemn. Covered in the mysterious force, he even felt that his mind and body had been affected.
Thick Black Ink Strength erupted from his body and formed into a shield around him.
Right after he did that, he was stunned to realise that the Secret Technique, which had looked far away just now, was already about to strike him.
A violent force swept across the void and caused the local space to tremble. Hei Yuan was forced backwards several steps while the Black Ink Clansmen who were surrounding Yang Kai were instantly vaporized despite only being hit by the attack’s fallout.
A moment later, the terrifying force settled. Hei Yuan stood there stiffly, a strange and mysterious force wandering around his figure like arcs of lightning.
The surviving Black Ink Clansmen stared at Hei Yuan in shock, as they were worried he had been killed just like that; after all, they had witnessed how terrifying Yang Kai’s Secret Technique was. They had no idea what would happen to their Territory Lord after being struck head-on by such an attack.
Fortunately for them, even though Hei Yuan seemed affected by the Secret Technique, he wasn’t at risk of losing his life. Just a moment later, his figure shook and the lingering arcs of lightning around him were shattered. After he sprayed out a mouthful of black blood, his aura weakened slightly.
He then turned to look in a different direction and gritted his teeth. The next instant, he transformed into a dark light and shot forward.
It wasn’t until this moment that the surviving Black Ink Clansmen realised that Yang Kai was gone. Apparently, Yang Kai ran away right after he cast his Secret Technique. However, they were not powerful enough to resist the influence of the Secret Technique on their senses, so they were not aware that Yang Kai had fled.
Hei Yuan was far stronger though, so he definitely wouldn’t let the wretched Human off.
Just then, Yang Kai reappeared from the Void. He staggered and almost couldn’t support his own weight, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.
Presently, he was like a lamp that was running out of oil.
There was no doubt that the heritage of his Small Universe was indeed far richer than those of the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, since he started fleeing from the Sealed World near the Royal City, he had been constantly manipulating Space Principles and pushing himself to his limits. It also took him quite a bit of effort to kill Liu Zi An and Gui Liao earlier. Furthermore, he almost used up all his energy to cast his most powerful Secret Technique at Hei Yuan.
Fortunately, he had the World Tree clone with him; otherwise, his Small Universe would have been affected given the state he was in. That would have been a huge problem.
Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to remain and quickly fished out a handful of Open Heaven Pills from his Space Ring and stuffed them into his mouth. Although Open Heaven Pills couldn’t help restore his power quickly, it was better than nothing. Moreover, the living creatures in his Small Universe would continuously produce World Force for him, which helped restore his strength over time.
The moment he took a step forward though, Yang Kai realised that an aura had locked onto him from afar.
There was no doubt that it was Hei Yuan.
As a Black Ink Territory Lord, he could easily ascertain Yang Kai’s whereabouts as long as the latter wasn’t too far away.
Yang Kai cursed. He didn’t expect his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel to kill Hei Yuan; after all, there was a huge gap between their powers as Hei Yuan was in a higher relative Realm. Despite that, he still hoped that the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel could wound Hei Yuan and tie him down for a moment. As long as he could escape Hei Yuan’s perception range, he could shake him off and gain some safety.
However, Yang Kai hadn’t expected that Hei Yuan would recover so quickly. Now that he had been targeted by Hei Yuan’s aura, it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of him, unless Yang Kai could continuously use Instantaneous Movement to open a large gap between them.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was unable to do so at this moment. He couldn’t even activate Instantaneous Movement once, let alone repeatedly.
Left with no choice, he could only try to restore his energy while doing his best to flee.
An enraged Hei Yuan moved across the void swiftly, shortening the distance between them.
To add insult to injury, Yang Kai would come across some Black Ink Clansmen who got in his way from time to time. There was no doubt that they were all residents of Hei Yuan’s territory. Upon receiving Hei Yuan’s order, they started forming into different teams to cover a wide range. There were only a small number of people in every team, ranging from 10 to 30, their leader usually a single Feudal Lord.
Although these Black Ink Clansmen couldn’t harm Yang Kai, they could slow him down. Yang Kai either had to avoid clashing with them or force his way through them. Regardless of what option he took, he would have to consume both strength and time.
Barely one hour later, Yang Kai broke through his third blockade; however, Hei Yuan was also getting closer to him.
Seeing that it would reach a critical point where Hei Yuan would be able to make a move against him, Yang Kai hesitated no more and pushed his Space Principles. By using Instantaneous Movement, he disappeared from the spot in an instant.
He used up what little energy he had recovered with that one move.
Over the next day or so, such incidents would happen roughly every hour. The gap between Yang Kai and Hei Yuan would shorten and widen in a seemingly endless cycle.
Yang Kai felt extremely bitter as he was unable to get rid of Hei Yuan, who was just like maggots on rotting bones.
On several occasions, he almost couldn’t widen the gap between them at the most critical moments, allowing Hei Yuan’s attacks to graze him from afar, which exacerbated the horrible situation he was already in.
By straining himself for a long period of time, Yang Kai realised that his vision had turned blurry. The pounding of his heart against his chest could clearly be heard, as though it couldn’t endure the immense strain and would explode at any moment.
While he was trying his hardest to escape, Hei Yuan wasn’t exactly feeling any better. Pursuing such a fast and tricky enemy had left him exhausted as well; however, in order to make up for his mistake, he would never let Yang Kai go. Only by capturing Yang Kai and bringing him to the Royal City would he be able to appease the Royal Lord; otherwise, he would be doomed.
The Warship plan was critical to the future of the entire Black Ink Clan, yet it was ruined because of his negligence. It was expected that the Royal Lord wouldn’t easily let him off.
With one escaping and the other pursuing, the pair crossed billions of kilometres in the void.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that things would get better after he left Hei Yuan’s territory; after all, all the Black Ink Clansmen he came across all along were Hei Yuan’s subordinates.
However, he realised he was mistaken upon fleeing from Hei Yuan’s domain.
Instead of getting better, things actually got worse.
The Black Ink Clansmen he bumped into in Hei Yuan’s territory only came in small teams; therefore, he was able to force his way out despite being besieged.
However, right after he left Hei Yuan’s territory, Yang Kai came across an entire Black Ink Clan army!
It was an army consisting of several tens of thousands of troops.
Among all those Black Ink Clansmen, Yang Kai clearly detected a powerful aura coming from another Territory Lord. Moreover, the direction they were travelling suggested that they were heading towards Yin-Yang Pass.
If Yang Kai rashly charged forward, he wouldn’t stand a chance to escape. The Territory Lord in charge of the Army just had to cooperate with Hei Yuan, who was chasing him from behind, and they would easily capture him.
Soon, Yang Kai came to realise something.
The Black Ink army wasn’t there to intercept him. Instead, they were heading to the main battlefield.
In order to facilitate the Old Ancestor’s plan and save Yang Kai, the Humans had emptied out Yin-Yang Pass. Certainly, the Black Ink Clan had to meet the Humans in battle. The Territory Lords and Feudal Lords called the roll in the shortest time possible and set out towards Yin-Yang Pass from all different directions.
The army before Yang Kai’s eyes was just one of many.
At that instant, Yang Kai fell into a dilemma.
If he continued heading in Yin-Yang Pass’ direction, he would only come across even more Black Ink Clan armies. Even if he was in peak condition, he still could never hope to break through all of their blockades, unless the Masters from Yin-Yang Pass could work with him to open a safe passageway.
However, Yang Kai was in a terrible state, and he hadn’t managed to restore a lot of his strength, so this idea was not feasible. Once he blindly used Instantaneous Movement, he might land right in the middle of a large Black Ink Clan army. When that happened, it would be akin to stepping right into the enemies’ trap.
It was impossible for him to avoid running into these Black Ink Clan armies and return to Yin-Yang Pass. Worse, every enemy army had a Territory Lord overseeing it as they were practically the Territory Lord’s own subordinates. Hei Yuan alone was able to leave Yang Kai battered and exhausted. If he had to contend with other Territory Lords as well, he would fall into an even more horrible state.
Nonetheless, where could he go if he couldn’t return to Yin-Yang Pass?
While he was hesitating, the Territory Lord from the army up ahead scanned his surroundings with his Divine Sense and seemed to detect Yang Kai’s presence.
After gritting his teeth, Yang Kai turned around and transformed into a ray of light.
Soon, the Territory Lord’s Divine Sense detected a trace of aura left behind by Yang Kai. After giving it a thought, he soon figured out what was happening. However, he was tasked with dealing with the Humans’ Army, so he wouldn’t dare to be distracted. A moment later, he decided to ignore it and retracted his Divine Sense.
The moment Yang Kai turned in a different direction, Hei Yuan followed, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.
He was surprised to realise that Yang Kai didn’t head straight towards Yin-Yang Pass, but after pondering on it for a moment, he soon figured out what Yang Kai was worried about. He snorted and thought, [Where else can you go if you can’t go back to Yin-Yang Pass?]
Hei Yuan had somewhat figured out the condition that Yang Kai was in, so he firmly believed that as long as he persevered, he would capture Yang Kai sooner or later. Now, he just had to wait for Yang Kai to lose all of his strength.
While he was in his thoughts though, he suddenly lost track of Yang Kai.
The realisation astounded him.
Mid-pursuit, Hei Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks and spread out his powerful Divine Sense to scan the surroundings; however, regardless of how hard he tried, he couldn’t find Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
This caused his expression to darken.
[I can’t believe I lost him! How is that even possible!?]
Yang Kai was on his last legs with little energy left. How did he escape Hei Yuan’s range of perception in such a state?
Hei Yuan didn’t think Yang Kai was powerful enough to cut off the thread of aura he had locked onto him as there was a huge gap between their powers. If Yang Kai was capable of doing that, he would’ve done it earlier instead of waiting until now. Moreover, Hei Yuan didn’t feel that his aura was forcefully cut off; rather, it felt like Yang Kai just vanished somehow.
The only logical explanation was that Yang Kai had massively widened the gap between them in an instant. As a result, Hei Yuan’s aura wasn’t able to locate him.
However, Yang Kai didn’t have much strength left. Even though he could use a special technique that would help him move across several tens of thousands of kilometres in an instant, he couldn’t possibly have done such a thing repeatedly in his current state.
How could he have regained so much energy in such a short period of time?
With a gloomy expression, Hei Yuan stood still in the same spot, not knowing what to do.
The void was expansive, so now that he had lost track of Yang Kai, how was he supposed to look for him? But soon, he pulled himself together. The Black Ink Clan’s armies were heading in Yin-Yang Pass’ direction, so Yang Kai couldn’t possibly go that way. That was the reason he turned around and continued fleeing. In other words, regardless of where he was, he was still within the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
As long as Yang Kai was still in their territory, his whereabouts would be exposed sooner or later.
At the thought of this, Hei Yuan started taking action by heading to the Fief of a Feudal Lord nearest to this place.
The Feudal Lord of the Fief had led his tenants towards the battlefield, so although there were still a lot of Black Ink Clansmen who stayed behind, none of them was particularly powerful.
Since Hei Yuan had shown up, these weak Black Ink Clansmen would naturally obey his orders without question. Soon, with the Black Ink Nest in this place as the centre, word was spread across all of Mu Guang Royal Lord’s domain. Within moments, Black Ink Clansmen from all over could be seen searching for Yang Kai.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was hiding in a Black Ink Cloud and recuperating.
Just like Hei Yuan had speculated, Yang Kai had relied on Instantaneous Movements to shake off his tracking aura. The reason he had enough energy to use Instantaneous Movement repeatedly was that he had consumed a Low-Rank World Fruit.
When he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary back then, Yang Kai brought 16 World Fruits with him. The 3 Mid-Rank World Fruits had been put to good use while the remaining 13 Low-Rank World Fruits were somewhat useless.
He had given one Low-Rank World Fruit to Guo Zi Yan, which allowed him to ascend from the Second-Order to the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm. As for the remaining Low-Rank World fruits, he basically had no use for them. Although they came from the World Tree, they were not valuable to him at all.
Most had stayed in his Small Universe for such a long time that Yang Kai had almost forgotten about them.
It wasn’t until his Small Universe was thoroughly exhausted this time that he recalled them. Although they were not valuable, they were the best Spirit Fruits to replenish one’s World Force.
After consuming a Low-Rank World Fruit, Yang Kai regained enough strength in his Small Universe in a short time to use Instantaneous Movement several times in a row.
It was thanks to the Low-Rank World Fruit that he shook off Hei Yuan and hid inside this Black Ink Cloud.
Even though he was safe for the time being, he knew that he would not be safe for long as he was still deep inside the Black Ink Clan’s territory. There was no way Hei Yuan would let him off.
At least he finally had a chance to take a breather. It felt terrible to have so little energy left in his Small Universe. If he had enough energy, he could fight or flee despite being no match for his opponents.
Upon making sure that Hei Yuan hadn’t found him, Yang Kai quickly tried to restore his energy.
He didn’t consume another Low-Rank World Fruit. With this experience, he naturally wouldn’t waste something that could quickly restore a large amount of his strength. Instead, he stuffed a lot of Open Heaven Pills into his mouth before fishing out a set of Seventh-Order materials to refine in order to replenish his spent World Force.
Unfortunately, this moment of rest didn’t last long. Barely half a day later, Yang Kai felt several auras barge into the Black Ink Cloud he was hiding in.
Those auras were not powerful, only High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
With a frown, Yang Kai tried his best to conceal his aura.
There were countless Black Ink Clouds of different sizes in the Black Ink Clan’s territory and usually, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t pay them any mind. However, the fact that these High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen carefully searched this Black Ink Cloud showed that they were looking for Yang Kai.
Initially, Yang Kai hoped that they would be negligent so that he could continue recuperating; unfortunately, one of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen directly flew towards his hiding place.
A moment later, the High-Rank Black Ink Clan stood right in front of him. Lifting his gaze, he saw a vague figure hiding somewhere inside the Black Ink Cloud, but before he could get a closer look, he saw a fist flying out and striking him.
As the violent force exploded, the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman turned into a blood mist without even a chance to scream.
“Over there!” One of the Black Ink Clansmen exclaimed upon detecting the movement. As soon as he finished speaking, he was struck by an immense force and sent to the afterlife.
Two breaths of time later, Yang Kai dashed out of the Black Ink Cloud. The High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who had barged into the Black Ink Cloud had all lost their lives.
“That Human is here!”
“We found him!”
“Quickly inform Sir Hei Yuan!”
The moment the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen saw Yang Kai, they became startled for a moment before coming to their senses and shouting.
Yang Kai looked around and realised that the Black Ink Clansmen were scattered everywhere. They were thoroughly searching through the void in order to ascertain his whereabouts. Although they were weak, there were too many of them to avoid.
Hei Yuan didn’t think these weaklings could harm Yang Kai, he just wanted to make sure that Yang Kai had nowhere to hide.
Amidst the chaos, the Black Ink Clansman closest to Yang Kai cast a Secret Technique at him.
Yang Kai secretly cursed. Although he knew that Hei Yuan wouldn’t let him off, he hadn’t expected the other party to move so swiftly. Judging from the way these Black Ink Clansmen searched for him, it seemed that he would have nowhere to hide no matter where he went.
After dodging the attack, Yang Kai summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and displayed his Supreme Limitless Spear Art to the enemy. Despite being besieged by so many Black Ink Clansmen, he managed to force his way out.
Those Black Ink Clansmen hadn’t expected Yang Kai to be so ferocious, but after suffering a setback, they had learned their lesson. Wherever Yang Kai went, they would keep their distance and not directly engage him.
Yang Kai continued charging forward until there were no longer a lot of Black Ink Clansmen around him. It was then he manipulated Space Principles and left this area using Instantaneous Movement.
A moment later, Hei Yuan arrived, but after asking around, he could only snarl through clenched teeth, “Keep searching for him! When you find him, do your best to delay him! Anyone who dares not to fight will die by my hand!”
Upon receiving the order, these Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to disobey Hei Yuan despite feeling bitter.
Soon, Yang Kai realised that he was like a rat that these Black Ink Clansmen were determined to corner. Wherever he went, the Black Ink Clansmen would soon find him. Furthermore, he realised that the way these Black Ink Clansmen dealt with him had changed. Initially, he just had to kill a few of them and the rest would flee, allowing him to escape with little effort.
Now, however, these Black Ink Clansmen refused to back down regardless of how ferocious he was. It was as though they were determined to drag him down even if they had to die.
However, without a Territory Lord around, how were they supposed to stop Yang Kai from escaping? Their reckless charge only caused even more casualties.
Presently, Yang Kai was glad that the Yin-Yang Pass Armies had tied down the main Black Ink Clan force; otherwise, he couldn’t have kept moving around the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
At the very least, the only Territory Lord he had to deal with so far was Hei Yuan. Mu Guang Royal Lord was locked in battle with the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass while most of the Territory Lords had probably left this place to intercept the Humans from Yin-Yang Pass.
Perhaps there were still some Territory Lords who stayed back in Mu Guang’s territory, but there wouldn’t be a lot of them. Yang Kai reckoned that he would be fine as long as he was cautious enough.
The only problem he had to face was how he could get rid of Hei Yuan and circumvent the Black Ink Clan’s army to rejoin the people from Yin-Yang Pass. That was indeed a difficult task.
With that said, he was already in a better situation than before. At the very least, he had restored some of his strength, so unlike some time ago he was no longer running on empty.
Most of the Territory Lords must have headed to the battlefield, so there wouldn’t be a lot of them who stayed back.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai racked his brain and came up with a bold plan.
The more he thought about it, the more he was inclined to believe that this plan was feasible. If this plan was successfully carried out, it would deal a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan.
He became excited in an instant. Hei Yuan would never have thought that Yang Kai would be so reckless.
Since he had made a decision, Yang Kai did not hesitate to carry out his plan. After killing for a bit, he stopped dealing with the Black Ink Clansmen around him and manipulated Space Principles to flee.
Hei Yuan had been in a terrible mood recently, but despite feeling vexed, he had no way to vent his anger.
Just like he had expected, Yang Kai didn’t have a chance to leave the Black Ink Clan’s domain after escaping from him and was instead now wandering around the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
With the help of the Black Ink Nests, Hei Yuan could easily get feedback from different places and accurately locate Yang Kai.
However, this method couldn’t help him capture Yang Kai. Every time he received the news and rushed to the place where Yang Kai appeared, he would only find the corpses of Black Ink Clansmen while Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen.
Although he was stronger than Yang Kai, he didn’t have a chance to make a move against him, leaving him feeling frustrated and helpless.
In his fury, Hei Yuan even killed 100 or so Black Ink Clansmen who had retreated in fear when they confronted Yang Kai.
Based on what Hei Yuan learned from the surviving Black Ink Clansmen who had fought with Yang Kai, he confirmed that this annoying Human was recovering. Yang Kai seemed to be doing his best to restore his energy, and after such a long period of time, he should have almost fully recovered by now.
Nevertheless, Hei Yuan didn’t understand what Yang Kai was up to.
Since Yang Kai had almost restored all of his strength, he should be trying to leave the Black Ink Clan’s territory. However, from the looks of it, he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying the game of hide-and-seek with the Black Ink Clansmen. During this period of time, several thousand Black Ink Clansmen were killed by his spear, and although only several of them were Feudal Lords, as most were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, it was still humiliating for Hei Yuan.
Hei Yuan was moving across the void at the speed of lightning as he headed straight to a particular battlefield. When he finally arrived at his destination, what came into his sight were corpses and broken limbs scattered all around. They were the Black Ink Clansmen who were killed.
Many of the horribly injured Black Ink Clansmen groaned in pain. The battlefield was like a living Hell. After sweeping a glance over the place, Hei Yuan estimated that more than 100 Black Ink Clansmen were dead.
He sported a grim expression. Since he started chasing after Yang Kai, he had encountered the same sight many times. Whenever he received the news and rushed over, he would see the same sight. On the other hand, Yang Kai would always run away before he arrived, leaving no chance for him to act.
He had never come across a Human who was as skilled as Yang Kai when it came to fleeing. Despite his burning fury, he had no way to vent it out.
The surviving Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to go near Hei Yuan upon his arrival. Recently, Hei Yuan had killed many of their companions. If Hei Yuan blamed them for not doing their best and decided to kill them, they would be wronged.
In fact, they had tried their hardest to stop Yang Kai earlier; however, how were they supposed to make him stay behind when they were no match for him? They could only watch as Yang Kai went on a killing spree and then left.
Since no Black Ink Clansman took the initiative to tell him what happened, Hei Yuan asked grimly, “Where did he go?”
A High-Rank Black Ink Clansman closest to him pointed in a particular direction with caution.
Hei Yuan turned to look in that direction and frowned.
That was because his territory was in that direction. Although a large area of the void could be considered his territory, his foundation was where his Black Ink Nest was located. That was his direct territory.
Upon that realisation, Hei Yuan felt his chest tightening. As he recalled the route Yang Kai had been moving around, he suddenly had a bad premonition. It seemed that Yang Kai wasn’t aimlessly wandering around anymore, he was heading towards a particular goal.
Just then, a Feudal Lord rushed over from afar. Upon reaching Hei Yuan, he said anxiously, “Sir Territory Lord, something terrible has happened!”
“What makes you so nervous?” Hei Yuan turned to look at him, the ominous feeling in his chest strengthening.
This couldn’t be helped, as this Feudal Lord was in charge of the Fief that was closest to his Black Ink Nest. This Feudal Lord was also responsible for monitoring the perimeter. He must have received some shocking news, so he rushed over and informed Hei Yuan about it.
As expected, the Feudal Lord replied, “We’ve received word that Yang Kai is invading your territory, Sir.”
Hei Yuan’s head started buzzing as though it had been struck by a hammer. While feeling dizzy, he also instantly figured out Yang Kai’s plan and roared, “How dare he!”
He had never expected that Yang Kai, who was all on his own, didn’t have the intention of fleeing at all. Instead, he wanted to raise hell when most of the Black Ink Clan had left for war.
It had to be said that Yang Kai was truly audacious and his move caught Hei Yuan off guard.
Many of the Territory Lords who worked for Mu Guang had left their domains to deal with the Human Army from Yin-Yang Pass; therefore, there was a serious lack of soldiers in their home territories right now. That was also the reason Hei Yuan was unable to capture Yang Kai after such a long time.
Now, Yang Kai was heading straight to his territory. Although there were a lot of Feudal Lords left behind, Hei Yuan wasn’t confident that they could repel Yang Kai; after all, he had witnessed the latter’s capabilities during this pursuit.
On the other hand, it was apparent that Yang Kai was aiming for his Black Ink Nest.
The foundation of a Feudal Lord or Territory Lord’s territory was their Black Ink Nest. Without a Black Ink Nest, they couldn’t be considered a real Feudal Lord or Territory Lord.
This was what Zha Gu taught Yang Kai back then.
A massive amount of resources had to be consumed to grow a Black Ink Nest. For a Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest to hatch and fully mature, it required a colossal amount of resources, not to mention a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. In comparison, the resources needed to grow a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest were many times more than what would be required to nurture a Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
If his Black Ink Nest was destroyed, Hei Yuan’s foundation would be gone for good. That would be an unbearable blow to him. Although he could still get a new sub-nest from the Royal Lord and hatch it, it would be a heavy burden on the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest. Furthermore, it would also cost the Royal Lord a lot of time and energy to do this.
Also, after such a catastrophic failure, it wasn’t even certain whether the Royal Lord would still give him a new sub-nest.
Throughout the war against the Humans, it wasn’t rare for Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests to be destroyed. However, only a tiny number of Black Ink Nests belonging to Territory Lords were ever destroyed. It was a great humiliation to the Black Ink Clan for a Territory Lord Black Ink Nest to be destroyed, and the only way to wash this shame away was by killing many more Humans.
With a great roar, Hei Yuan flew straight towards his home territory. At the same time, he prayed that the Feudal Lords who stayed behind could stop Yang Kai. He also hoped that Yang Kai didn’t really intend to destroy his Black Ink Nest.
However, it was apparent what Yang Kai’s plan was by him heading straight to his territory. It was likely that he had his eyes on the Black Ink Nest; after all, he had pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple and lived in this place for years, so he might have heard of the Black Ink Nests’ secrets from somewhere.
While feeling worried, Hei Yuan was moving forward at full speed.
Given that he was a Territory Lord, it would usually take him half a day to return to his territory from the previous location, but in his haste, he managed to arrive in just four hours.
When he finally arrived at the universe fragment where his direct territory was located, what came into his sight made him feel cold all over.
That was because the universe fragment had been shattered and traces of the battle could be seen everywhere. The originally flourishing city was nothing but a disaster zone now. Every part of the place had been turned into ruins, and innumerable Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives.
All of that was inconsequential though compared to what happened to the Black Ink Nest, which was originally in the centre of the city. The Black Ink Nest, which had always looked like a giant flower bud, was starting to wither. Black Ink Strength was leaking out of the Black Ink Nest like fresh blood, and its roots had clearly been cut off by a violent force.
What Hei Yuan dreaded had become a reality, and he could not accept it.
The Black Ink Nest was withering, and it couldn’t be saved. In other words, his foundation had been destroyed. In order to rebuild his foundation, he would need a new Black Ink Nest.
Even if the Royal Lord was magnanimous enough to give him another sub-nest from her Black Ink Nest, it would take Hei Yuan at least 100 years to nurture it and cost him an enormous amount of money and manpower.
To make matters worse, the Feudal Lords working for him would all experience the same problem.
In other words, he and his subordinates had to rebuild everything from scratch, which would take a very long time.
“Sir!” A blood-soaked Feudal Lord detected Hei Yuan’s aura, so he quickly shot into the sky.
“Where is Yang Kai?” Hei Yuan growled through clenched teeth.
He couldn’t detect Yang Kai’s aura, so he could only hope that the Feudal Lords had killed him. With that said, he knew that it was unlikely to be the case.
“We did not see that Human named Yang Kai!” The Feudal Lord replied.
Hei Yuan snapped, “You didn’t see him? Then what happened to my territory!? What happened to the Black Ink Nest!? Did you all destroy it!?”
The Feudal Lord shuddered and quickly replied, “Sir Hei Yuan, we really didn’t see Yang Kai. Everything was destroyed by a Grand Dragon.”
He then hurriedly gave an account of what had happened.
According to this Feudal Lord, a Grand Dragon which was far more than 20,000 metres long had appeared out of nowhere. It was overbearing, and its entire figure radiated a golden glow. As soon as the Grand Dragon appeared, a lot of Black Ink Clansmen were killed by its opening Dragon Breath. Strangely, the Grand Dragon was holding a huge spear in its claws. With this weapon, it smashed the universe fragment to pieces and destroyed the Black Ink Nest, leaving the entire city in ruins.
What was even more outrageous to the Black Ink Clansmen was that the Grand Dragon had even robbed their shops and snatched up their resources.
Although the Feudal Lords tried their best to resist, they couldn’t possibly defeat the Grand Dragon. After kicking up a storm, the Grand Dragon nonchalantly departed, leaving this mess behind.
The Black Ink Clansmen knew nothing about Grand Dragons as they had never seen such creatures before. Fortunately for them, the Black Ink Disciples had some ideas.
“Grand Dragon? How could there be a Grand Dragon here?” Hei Yuan appeared puzzled.
The Feudal Lord replied cautiously, “According to the Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai is probably not a Human, but rather a member of the Dragon Clan. That Grand Dragon was his true form.”
Hei Yuan roared, “I don’t care whether he’s a Human or a member of the Dragon Clan! Find him! I must rip him to pieces!” Only by doing so could he vent his fury. He was so enraged that he had even forgotten about the Royal Lord’s order, which stated that Yang Kai had to be captured alive.
“But Sir…” The Feudal Lord spoke in a shaking voice, “Since the Black Ink Nest is destroyed, we can’t send any messages.”
Hei Yuan grabbed him by the collar and yanked him towards himself, his eyes practically spitting fire as he snarled, “Since the Black Ink Nest is gone, go out and inform everyone yourself! Mobilise all the clansmen in the territory! Leave him nowhere to hide! If you can’t do that, all of you must die!”
“Yes!” The Feudal Lord replied anxiously.
After the Feudal Lord flew off, Hei Yuan turned to look in a different direction.
There seemed to be a mysterious force that was dissipating in the void. The energy fluctuations were consistent with what Yang Kai would leave behind each time he used Instantaneous Movement; therefore, Hei Yuan speculated that Yang Kai had fled in that direction.
Previously, he already didn’t have a way to capture Yang Kai, and now that his Black Ink Nest was gone, he knew it would be even harder to locate him. Nevertheless, he had to get his revenge after his foundation was destroyed.
Despite his slim chances, he had to hunt Yang Kai down. Regardless of the cost, he had to capture that damn Human and bring him to the Royal Lord to make up for his mistakes.
At this moment, in a place that was far away from the universe fragment, Yang Kai was hiding inside a Black Ink Cloud and recuperating.
After assuming his Grand Dragon Form and making a scene in Hei Yuan’s territory, not only did he shatter the universe fragment, but he also destroyed Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest. It was expected that he would be pleased with himself.
However, he had paid a hefty price to achieve this victory.
There were indeed a lot of Feudal Lords who had stayed behind, and there were also innumerable High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen around. Although he could easily kill more people when he was in his Grand Dragon Form, it also made him a huge target. While Yang Kai destroyed the Black Ink Nest, he also inevitably got struck by the Black Ink Clansmen’s attacks.
To the Black Ink Clansmen, he had made a scene and left the place in a nonchalant manner; however, only Yang Kai knew that he wasn’t as nonchalant as he appeared to be when he left. In truth, he just didn’t dare to remain; otherwise, he would most likely be captured.
Presently, his entire figure was covered in wounds. Every time he moved, he would grimace in pain. Three wounds on his back were so deep that one could even see his bones.
Fortunately, these injuries didn’t injure his foundation, and given his intrepid physique and astonishing restorative powers, he would recover in no time.
Yang Kai’s trip of turning into a Grand Dragon and making a fuss in Hei Yuan’s territory was rewarding. Not only had he killed a lot of Black Ink Clansmen, but he had also destroyed Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest and snatched a massive amount of cultivation resources. The price he paid was worth it.
When Yang Kai pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple back then, he already realised that the city where Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest was located was flourishing. There were ample supplies, which included all sorts of materials of different Orders. The Black Ink Clan couldn’t directly use these resources, so they were basically thrown into the Black Ink Nests to help produce Black Ink Strength. Nevertheless, these were precious cultivation resources for the Humans.
Since Yang Kai decided to make a move, he certainly had to take those resources away.
Furthermore, there was one discovery that surprised him.
He realised that his Grand Dragon form had lengthened.
When he was in the Divine Spirits’ Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven back then, he made use of the Dragon Palace and Ancestral Strength to become a Grand Dragon. At that time, his Grand Dragon Form was 10,000 metres long.
Then, with the help of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan in the Chaotic Dead Territory, his Dragon Vein was significantly enhanced, which allowed him to turn into a 20,000-metre Grand Dragon.
At that time, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan respectively left a mysterious power in his body that could stimulate the power of his Dragon Vein. Even after Yang Kai reached 20,000 metres in his Grand Dragon Form, he had a feeling that the mysterious power hadn’t been used up and most of it still remained hidden in his Dragon Bead.
Then, he got into a fight with Zhu Feng. At the critical moment, he spat out his Dragon Bead and dealt a lethal blow to Zhu Feng, which caused his Dragon Bead to be damaged.
Over the years, the damaged Dragon Bead had slowly healed with the nourishing of his Dragon Vein. Now, it seemed his Dragon Vein had also been strengthened. When he transformed into a Grand Dragon in Hei Yuan’s territory, he was nearly 30,000 metres long.
Apparently, the damage to his Dragon Bead had stimulated the mysterious power left behind in his body by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. During this period of time, not only had his Dragon Bead gradually healed, but his Dragon Vein had also been strengthened.
This came as a pleasant surprise.
The strength of a Grand Dragon was manifested in their length.
Usually, only a 10,000 metre Dragon could be regarded as a Grand Dragon, which was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Now that Yang Kai’s Dragon Form was 30,000 metres long, his power was equivalent to that of a peak Seventh-Order Master.
However, there were pros and cons to fighting as a Grand Dragon. Since his Grand Dragon form was so massive, he could cause serious damage over a wide area, especially when doing things like destroying Hei Yuan’s territory and the Black Ink Nest some time ago. There was no doubt that it was easier for him to achieve his goal by turning into a Grand Dragon. Nevertheless, his large size also meant that he wasn’t as agile or manoeuvrable. He might suffer a setback if he faced certain opponents in such a state.
Fortunately, there were no powerful beings in Hei Yuan’s territory at that time. Although the Feudal Lords had gone all out, they couldn’t really kill him, only inflict some injuries on him at most.
Presently, Yang Kai was recuperating in a Black Ink Cloud with peace of mind; however, he knew that he couldn’t stay here for long. According to past experiences, these omnipresent Black Ink Clansmen would soon find him, and more Black Ink Clansmen would quickly arrive to hunt him down.
As expected, barely one hour later, some Black Ink Clansmen barged into the Black Ink Cloud and found his whereabouts.
Yang Kai charged forward and easily killed these Black Ink Clansmen, and soon, he arrived at a different place and snuck into a new Black Ink Cloud.
When the nearby Black Ink Clansmen rushed over upon receiving the news, Yang Kai was already nowhere in sight.
Over the following days, Yang Kai kept changing his locations as he seized every chance to recuperate.
Soon though, he realised something was off.
The Black Ink Clansmen were reacting much slower than before.
Previously, regardless of where he went, as long as his whereabouts were exposed, a large number of Black Ink Clansmen would promptly swarm in from all directions and besiege him. Now, it seemed that they couldn’t mobilize as quickly.
This was a situation he had already expected though.
Yang Kai had learned some secrets behind the Black Ink Nests. With Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest as the centre, all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests formed a huge information network, which was used to spread information quickly.
Now that he had destroyed Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest though, the central node was gone for good, disabling the information network between the Black Ink Clansmen.
That was the reason he decided to head straight to Hei Yuan’s direct territory. Only by disabling their information network would he be able to move around easily. Now, it seemed that he had made a wise decision.
Although he was still on his own, Yang Kai had already greatly improved his situation.
Nevertheless, destroying Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest was just the first step of his plan. Since the Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, he naturally wouldn’t want to leave so soon as this chance was rare. Even though the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was gone, there were still a lot of Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests remaining. For every Black Ink Nest that was destroyed, it would cause a huge loss to the Black Ink Clan.
It only took Yang Kai a few days to fully recover, and after fishing out a Universe Chart to ascertain his own location, he looked for the nearest Feudal Lord’s Fief.
Soon, he found a target.
However, the situation he came upon surprised him a bit.
After killing some Black Ink Clansmen who were searching for him along the way, he soon reached his destination, but the huge Black Ink Nest was already withered and collapsed on the ground, as though it was dying. Countless Black Ink Clansmen knelt around the Black Ink Nest with solemn expressions. It seemed that they were holding a kind of sacred ceremony.
The Feudal Lord at the front crossed his arms and chanted something.
However, regardless of how hard they tried, they couldn’t save the Black Ink Nest from dying. Its Black Ink Strength was leaking out like fresh blood, and for every bit of Black Ink Strength that was lost, the aura of the Black Ink Nest would weaken a little. It seemed that this Black Ink Nest would wither and die within half a day.
Yang Kai flew forward as though no one else was around while the Black Ink Clansmen, who were completely focused on the ceremony, didn’t detect his presence.
Standing in front of the Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai swept his gaze around and frowned, a perplexed expression on his face.
The Feudal Lord at the front finally detected Yang Kai’s aura and turned his head. When he made out Yang Kai’s face, he snapped, “It’s you!”
It wasn’t until this moment that these Black Ink Clansmen came to their senses and stood up. In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai was surrounded by all these Black Ink Clansmen.
Yang Kai turned to look at the Feudal Lord and nodded gently, “Brother Zha Gu.”
The Feudal Lord was none other than Zha Gu, who was the owner of this Fief. Yang Kai had been here once and witnessed everything when Zha Gu planted the Black Ink Nest and hatched it. It was also through Zha Gu that he learned a lot of the secrets about Black Ink Nests that the Humans were previously unaware of.
The way Yang Kai addressed Zha Gu startled him. With a doubtful look, he glanced at Yang Kai and asked, “You… Is the rumour about you real? Have you betrayed Sir Territory Lord?”
Yang Kai replied impassively, “I’m a Human, and I’ve never pledged to be loyal to him. How could you say that I’ve betrayed him? As for the rumour… I have no idea what you’ve heard, but it’s most likely to be true.”
Zha Gu snapped, “Did you destroy Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest?”
Yang Kai nodded, “En.” Then, he pointed to the front with a perplexed expression, “What happened to your Black Ink Nest?”
The reason he came all the way here was to destroy this Black Ink Nest. Besides the one here, he had decided to destroy all of the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests under Hei Yuan.
Only by doing so could he deal the heaviest blow to Hei Yuan. After all the Black Ink Nests were shattered, Hei Yuan and his subordinates would lose all of their foundation. This was a bigger contribution than killing several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.
“My Black Ink Nest…” Zha Gu appeared furious, “My Black Ink Nest is a sub-nest of Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest! Since you’ve destroyed the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, do you think the sub-nest wouldn’t be affected!?”
In fact, Yang Kai already had a speculation the moment he saw this Black Ink Nest; however, when his speculation was verified by Zha Gu, he was still surprised.
Prior to this, he wasn’t aware that the death of a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest would affect the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests it spawned as well.
After giving it a thought though, he realised that it wasn’t so surprising. Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest was a sub-nest of Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, so there was a close connection between them. Since Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed, it was expected that Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest would be implicated.
Following a moment of deliberation, Yang Kai asked, “Is your Black Ink Nest the only one that’s been affected? Or have all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests been implicated as well?”
Zha Gu said through gritted teeth, “Do you think I’ll tell you?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Don’t bother, I think I’ve figured it out.”
Judging from the situation Zha Gu was in, it wasn’t hard to speculate that the other Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests had been affected as well. They were probably all withering at this very moment.
Initially, Yang Kai planned on destroying all the Black Ink Nests in Hei Yuan’s territory one by one. Now, it seemed that it wasn’t necessary for him to do so.
As a thought flashed through his mind, Yang Kai asked, “Brother Zha Gu, what if the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest is destroyed?”
“Don’t even dream about destroying any Black Ink Nest ever again!” Zha Gu roared. Apparently, he no longer wanted to listen to any of Yang Kai’s nonsense. He extended his hand and summoned a giant halberd. At the same time, a dark fog swirled around his figure and soon, he was clad in an Artifact Armour that covered the upper half of his body.
The giant halberd and Artifact Armour were the artifacts that Yang Kai previously refined for him.
With the giant halberd in hand and the Artifact Armour on his body, Zha Gu appeared quite imposing. He directly thrust out his halberd at Yang Kai.
Presently, Yang Kai was holding his Azure Dragon Spear, and faced with the attack, he didn’t intend to dodge. His spear thrust forward like a Dragon and skirted past the giant halberd before jabbing towards Zha Gu’s chest.
A hint of ferocity flashed through Zha Gu’s eyes as he also didn’t intend to dodge the attack. He exerted even more force with the giant halberd as he was determined to wound the other party despite knowing that he would be injured as well.
He was aware that Yang Kai was extraordinarily powerful; after all, he had witnessed Yang Kai going on a killing spree back then. Those Feudal Lords were as frail as paper tigers when they were dealing with Yang Kai and Zha Gu didn’t think he was more powerful than them. Even though he had two artifacts in his possession now, he didn’t think he could defeat Yang Kai in a one-on-one fight.
In order to survive, he had to take risks despite knowing he would get hurt as well.
In fact, it was a good idea, but when the Azure Dragon Spear easily stabbed into his chest and its explosive force shattered all the organs in his body, he still appeared bewildered.
With a dispassionate expression, Yang Kai looked at him and said, “I’m the one who made that Artifact Armour. It’s ridiculous that you think you can use it to defend against me!”
Zha Gu came to his senses and asked, “Are there weaknesses in all the things you’ve made?”
Yang Kai roared, “The things I’ve made will not be used to go against my people. None of them will shed a drop of blood because of those artifacts!”
“I was… the one who helped you back then,” the ferocity on Zha Gu’s face faded. Faced with imminent death, he pleaded with the other man.
Yang Kai looked around and nodded, “I can’t deny the fact that you’d helped me before, but how did your Black Ink Nest come about? How did you gather enough resources to hatch this Black Ink Nest? Do you really think I have no idea? All you have now is because of me, and it’s only apt that I am compensated for my work.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he channelled more World Force into the Azure Dragon Spear and Zha Gu exploded, leaving no traces behind.
There was no denying that they had gotten along pretty well, and Yang Kai had earned a lot of Black Ink Coin with his help and made himself known as an expert in Artifact Refining; however, he was pretending to be a Black Ink Disciple at that time, and Zha Gu was just making use of him. They were fundamentally on different sides, so Yang Kai had no qualms about killing him.
A Feudal Lord was still a pretty significant force on the battlefield, so if Yang Kai let him off on this day, some Humans might be killed by him in the future.
Zha Gu was still in the early stage of building his Fief, so he was the only Feudal Lord here and the rest of them were insignificant. There weren’t even that many High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
As Zha Gu was dead, these Black Ink Clansmen couldn’t possibly ward off Yang Kai. Despite their resistance, they were all killed within a cup of tea’s worth of time.
By the time Yang Kai was gone, no one was alive in the Fief.
Yang Kai initially wanted to destroy all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests under Hei Yuan’s wings, but what he saw in Zha Gu’s Fief made him realise that it wasn’t necessary to do so.
In fact, after a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed, all the sub-nests it spawned would be affected.
That explained why, after he destroyed Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, the Black Ink Clan became slower in their response. After Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed, not only was the information network in Hei Yuan’s territory disabled, but all the sub-nests had also withered. The Feudal Lords who had their own Fiefs must be flustered now, so they wouldn’t be in the mood to search for Yang Kai despite Hei Yuan’s order.
To play it safe, Yang Kai decided to head to another Feudal Lord’s Fief to see it for himself.
Just like what happened in Zha Gu’s Fief, the Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was withering, and its Black Ink Strength was leaking out. It would die in no time.
Finally, Yang Kai could set his mind at ease.
It never crossed his mind that destroying Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest would bring about such a pleasant surprise. It seemed that there were pros and cons when it came to the special connection between the Black Ink Nests.
Inferring from this, if the Black Ink Nest in the Royal City was destroyed, all the Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests would wither, which would lead to the decline and eventual fall of all the Black Ink Nests in Mu Guang’s territory.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but have the urge to head back to the Royal City and shatter the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Nevertheless, he soon gave up on the idea. This couldn’t be helped as, given his current strength, he could only make a scene in a Territory Lord’s territory as most of the Black Ink Clansmen had gone to the battlefield. However, if he barged into the Royal City, it would be akin to stepping right into the enemies’ trap; he would be doomed; after all, there was more than one Territory Lord guarding the Royal City.
At the thought of the Royal City, Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass. With the help of the ancient coin, a Void Corridor was formed and the Old Ancestor arrived and saved him before getting into a fight with Mu Guang. A few days had passed, so he wondered if there was any outcome now.
Although the Old Ancestor was powerful, the battle took place near the Royal City, after all, so she might not gain the upper hand since she was on her own. Nevertheless, he wasn’t in any position to worry about her. Given his current power, he was unable to intervene in the fight between the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor. Perhaps Eighth-Order Masters could assist the Old Ancestor in this situation, but a Seventh-Order Master like him was still too weak.
Yin-Yang Pass’ Army and the Black Ink Clan’s main force must be clashing at the frontline as well. Yang Kai had no idea what was going on over there, but judging from the collective powers between the two Races, the Human Army would have to return to the Inner Sanctum soon. That was because there was a huge gap between the numbers on both sides. Furthermore, the Black Ink Clan did not care about casualties. On the other hand, the life of every Human soldier was valuable. The Humans were in a disadvantageous position by fighting against the Black Ink Clan in the void. They could significantly reduce casualties by staying near Yin-Yang Pass.
The reason the Army had left Yin-Yang Pass this time was that they had to facilitate Yang Kai’s return; however, he was unable to circumvent the Black Ink Clan and join up with those from Yin-Yang Pass back then as he was in a horrible state. It was destined that the soldiers from Yin-Yang Pass wouldn’t achieve their goal.
Therefore, Yang Kai speculated that the soldiers from Yin-Yang Pass should have retreated by now. Presently, Yin-Yang Pass must be surrounded by the Black Ink Clan. The two Races had gotten into a battle where one side would defend while the other side would attack. It was the pattern of battle they were most familiar with.
Over the years, this kind of battle had taken place at every Great Pass numerous times. Be it the Humans or the Black Ink Clan, they were already familiar with how this would go.
If that was indeed the case, the situation would be in Yang Kai’s favour.
Since the Black Ink Clan’s Army had gathered outside of Yin-Yang Pass, there wouldn’t be any blockades in front of him. He could stealthily head to the battlefield and wait for a chance to return to the Inner Sanctum during the fighting.
He had done the same thing when he and Feng Ying saved several hundred Black Ink Disciples and brought them back to Blue Sky Pass previously.
However, Yang Kai didn’t intend to do that.
He had a taste of successfully destroying Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, which resulted in the fall of all its sub-nests. As this was a rare opportunity, Yang Kai naturally didn’t want to miss it as he reckoned that it wouldn’t come again.
Therefore, he left Hei Yuan’s territory several days later and headed towards another Territory Lord’s territory.
He had no idea whose territory it was, nor did he know where that Territory Lord’s home territory was. Regardless, it didn’t matter to him. He directly headed to the Feudal Lord’s Fief nearest to him and went on a killing spree.
In just half a day, most of the Black Ink Clansmen in this Fief were either dead or dying. Some of the Black Ink Clansmen seized the chance to flee from the place, but Yang Kai didn’t have the intention of pursuing them.
To him, destroying the Black Ink Clan’s foundation was the most important objective, while killing stray Black Ink Clansmen came second. Moreover, the most powerful Black Ink Clansmen in this Fief had followed their Feudal Lord and left for the battlefield, so the ones who stayed back were undoubtedly weak.
Yang Kai then directly barged into the Black Ink Nest in this place.
This was a Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, and with the prior experience of visiting Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai soon realised that the inner structures of all Black Ink Nests were more or less the same.
There were still some Black Ink Clansmen inside the Black Ink Nest, but they appeared oblivious to what had happened outside. The moment they saw a Human entering this place, they were puzzled.
They were all killed by Yang Kai before they realized what was happening.
A moment later, Yang Kai stood inside an empty chamber and opened the portal of his Small Universe. His Word Force was instantly drawn by a powerful force and absorbed by the Black Ink Nest.
With his World Force serving as a bridge, he was soon connected to the consciousness of this Black Ink Nest.
He had done the same thing in Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest back then, so he was familiar with the process.
The next instant, Yang Kai found himself in a special space where a lot of consciousnesses wandered around.
This was the secret behind the information network that the Black Ink Clan had built using the Black Ink Nests.
These Black Ink Clansmen had entered this place through the consciousnesses of the Feudal Lords’ Black Ink Nests. They could then exchange all sorts of information here and find out what was going on in the other Feudal Lords’ Fiefs.
The arrival of a new consciousness like Yang Kai’s didn’t catch the attention of the Black Ink Clansmen; after all, there would be unfamiliar consciousnesses entering the place from time to time, so they were used to it.
After listening to them for a while, Yang Kai realised that he couldn’t gather any useful information. He wanted to find out what was going on at the front lines through the conversations between these consciousnesses, but the latest information from the battlefield was apparently not available to these Black Ink Clansmen who stayed behind.
Just when he was ready to carry out his plan, a message was sent from a consciousness. The message wasn’t encrypted in any way, so the other consciousnesses could easily read it.
Yang Kai soon found out what the message was about.
“The Royal Lord is still in a fight with that Human. I wonder if she can kill her.”
Another consciousness replied, “That Human is the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass. Although the Royal Lord is powerful, it’s not easy for her to kill that Human. However, I heard that several Territory Lords have gone over to help. With their assistance, I believe that Human will be defeated.”
“No. From the looks of it, the Royal Lord is in a disadvantageous situation. Although she has the help of several Territory Lords, both parties are only equally matched now.”
The moment the message was sent, the other consciousnesses were evidently shocked. One of the consciousnesses asked, “How could it be that the Royal Lord is at a disadvantage? They’ve fought with each other countless times in the past, and they’ve always been equally matched. Neither side could defeat the other. What happened this time?”
The consciousness from earlier replied, “I have no idea, but for some reason, they arrived somewhere near our Fief and continued fighting. My Feudal Lord was the one who saw it. Fortunately, they soon left; otherwise, our Fief would’ve been destroyed. We wouldn’t be able to defend against the fallout from their battle.”
“Could it be that the Royal Lord hasn’t recovered?”
“That’s possible.”
“However, the Royal Lord has the help of some Territory Lords now, so the Human Old Ancestor certainly won’t get the upper hand.”
…..
The consciousnesses continued chatting and soon changed the topic.
Although Yang Kai hadn’t gathered a lot of information, he had at least found out that the Old Ancestor was fine. On the other hand, he was surprised at the fact that the Royal Lord had fallen into a disadvantageous position. It never crossed his mind that the seemingly unreliable Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass would be so powerful, able to battle against the Royal Lord and several Territory Lords on her own.
He wondered what the outcome of the battle would be.
Nevertheless, he didn’t have the right to interfere in this matter, and he had bigger fish to fry.
He then focused on sensing his surroundings.
According to Zha Gu, this special space was actually a platform linked to the consciousness of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. The consciousnesses of the sub-nests could easily connect to it, which allowed the Feudal Lords to communicate with one another.
In that case, Yang Kai reckoned that he could make use of it and find out the whereabouts of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Following the faint traces, Yang Kai’s consciousness tracked the signs back to the source and soon found what he was looking for.
Although he wasn’t certain about the exact location of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, he was confident that he got the direction right. As long as he moved in that direction, he would find the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Since he had achieved his goal, he retracted his Divine Sense and left the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nest before shooting into the sky.
He didn’t waste any of his energy to destroy this Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest since all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests were linked to the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. As long as he destroyed the source, all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests would wither as well.
The moment Yang Kai’s consciousness left this special space, a certain consciousness temporarily fell into a dazed state in another similar but even more magnificent space.
The consciousnesses of the Feudal Lords’ Black Ink Nests would gather together in the special space transformed from the consciousness of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. Similarly, the consciousnesses of the Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests would assemble in the special space transformed from the consciousness of the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
This even bigger space was where the consciousness of the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was located. The consciousnesses that had gathered together in this place came from the Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests. Hence, the consciousnesses in this place represented the Territory Lords.
Upon detecting the anomaly, the other consciousnesses quickly inquired about it.
The consciousness from earlier fell silent for a moment and said hesitantly, “Just now, someone seemed to be searching for my location.”
“Someone was searching for your location?” Another consciousness asked curiously.
The third consciousness was equally inquisitive, “What’s the point of ascertaining your location? Are you mistaken?”
The first consciousness replied, “Maybe. I’m not sure about it.”
Since he had said so, the other consciousnesses stopped asking about it. This matter ended here, and they went on to talk about another topic.
“What’s going on with that Human named Yang Kai? Has Sir Hei Yuan captured him?”
“There’s no news about him yet, but it seems that Human has destroyed Sir Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest.”
“What? Sir Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed? When did that happen?” Another consciousness exclaimed. It was apparent that he had not heard about this news yet.
“It happened not long ago. The person guarding the Black Ink Nest sent me a message at the last moment. Apparently, the Human named Yang Kai directly invaded Sir Hei Yuan’s home territory. Now, we can’t contact anyone from Sir Hei Yuan’s side. Our connection with them has been cut off.”
The other consciousnesses fell into silence.
Something must have gone wrong as they were unable to contact anyone from Hei Yuan’s side. The only possibility was that Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest had been destroyed; otherwise, this shouldn’t have happened.
All of these consciousnesses felt their hearts sinking at the revelation that a Human had destroyed a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. At the same time, they felt furious and humiliated.
The only thing they knew was that Hei Yuan was chasing after the Human, but they had no idea whether he would succeed.
The consciousnesses felt that the topic was too depressing, so they quickly moved on to another. They started discussing the war between the two Races and tried to speculate on the outcome.
While they were engrossed in the discussion, a certain consciousness suddenly exclaimed.
As the conversation was cut off, the other consciousnesses looked at him in puzzlement.
The consciousness explained, “Some Feudal Lords reported to me that the Human named Yang Kai came to our territory.”
“He’s in your territory? What is he doing there?”
“Regardless of what he is up to, quickly inform Sir Hei Yuan about it so that he can come over to help. Also, mobilise the Black Ink Clansmen in your territory and restrain the Human until Sir Hei Yuan arrives. We must not let him flee!”
“Got it.” The moment the consciousness finished speaking, he passed on an order through the Black Ink Nest network and the Black Ink Clansmen in his territory started taking action.
The other consciousnesses waited with concern as they asked about what was going on from time to time. Certainly, the consciousness wouldn’t hide anything from them.
Half a day later, a consciousness suddenly said in a puzzled manner, “The Human doesn’t seem to be running away from Sir Hei Yuan. Instead…”
“Go on.”
“It seems that he has targeted my Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.”
Upon hearing that, the other consciousnesses paled, especially the one who represented the area of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest where Yang Kai was located.
Just then, another consciousness said, “Earlier, you said that someone was trying to figure out your location, right?”
The consciousness that represented the area of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest where Yang Kai was located replied, “Yes, that’s what I felt. Wait, you mean…”
“That’s right. The Human named Yang Kai didn’t know the exact location of your Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, so he made use of a Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest to find it. He then headed straight to your place after that. His target is the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest!”
“What?” the consciousness exclaimed, “What should I do?”
“What about Sir Hei Yuan? Have you reached him?”
“Sir Hei Yuan is on his way, but he’s still far away from the Human. It seems that he can’t arrive in time to stop him.”
“Assemble the Feudal Lords to stall him! We must not let that Human destroy another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. Otherwise, it will be a humiliation we can never wipe away! When Sir Hei Yuan reaches there, he’ll easily capture that Human!”
“It’s too late…” The consciousness sounded despondent.
“Why?”
“It seems that Yang Kai has arrived. I can feel the fluctuations of battle outside.”
“How is it possible that he has arrived so soon?” The other consciousnesses were astounded, “Are you sure that Human is there?”
“It’s not a Human. It’s…”
“What are you talking about? What do you see?”
“It’s a monster that’s several tens of thousands of metres long with a humongous spear in its claws. The Feudal Lords can’t block him… it’s heading straight for the Black Ink… Argh!”
The shriek sent a shockwave across the other consciousnesses. Although they were not the ones experiencing the disaster, they could feel how heart-wrenching it must have been for their companion the moment they heard the shriek. Feelings of panic and fear overwhelmed these consciousnesses, causing them to tremble.
The Black Ink Nest’s consciousness was a medium through which one could connect with the other consciousnesses via Divine Sense. Although one could communicate with others swiftly and easily, he had to promptly cut off the connection when he fell into danger; otherwise, his Soul would die following the destruction of the Black Ink Nest. This was an unbearable pain for any living creature.
“This won’t end here!” The consciousness wailed. The message made the entire space descend into despair. The next moment, the consciousness vanished into thin air, as though he had never existed before.
The other consciousness fell into silence in this special space.
Another consciousness tried to contact him, but regardless of how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the other side.
In the meantime, in a particular Territory Lord’s home territory, a colossal Black Ink Nest was cut down by the Azure Dragon Spear. A violent force caused the entire Black Ink Nest to collapse and countless Black Ink Clansmen lost their lives while the expansive territory shattered.
Those Black Ink Clansmen tried their hardest to repel the enemy, and many attacks of varying power were sent out at the 30,000-metre-long Dragon. Although most of the attacks were weak, they came in massive numbers.
The Golden Dragon Scales on the Dragon trembled upon impact and as its gigantic figure flew across the void, Dragon Blood fell to the ground.
Yang Kai didn’t intend to keep fighting with them. After destroying the Black Ink Nest and killing those who got in his way, he went on to snatch up as many resources as he could before turning around and escaping. A while later, he withdrew his Dragon Form and returned to his Human Form. Following that, he manipulated Space Principles and disappeared from the place with a flicker.
The Black Ink Clansmen dashed out of the broken territory and fearlessly pursued their hated enemy; however, they soon lost track of Yang Kai and could only aimlessly search for him. The Territory Lord’s territory behind them was now in a giant mess.
After a long time of silence, the consciousnesses that had gathered together in the grand space formed from the consciousness of the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest finally started reacting.
One of the consciousnesses said, “Another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest has been destroyed.”
“We haven’t received any definitive news yet, so it’s too early to say that.”
“The truth is right before our eyes, why else wouldn’t we be able to contact them? You might want to deny it, but you can’t change the fact that a calamity has happened.”
“It was a several tens of thousands of metres long monster with a huge spear in its claws that destroyed the Black Ink Nest? What was it?”
“It’s a Grand Dragon! According to the Black Ink Disciples, a Grand Dragon is a powerful being. Sir Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed by that same Grand Dragon. Furthermore, from what I’ve gathered, Yang Kai is not a Human. The Grand Dragon is his true form.”
“I don’t care whether he’s a Human or Grand Dragon, he’s destroyed two Territory Lord Black Ink Nests so far, and I don’t have to remind all of you that before our comrade passed away earlier, he said that ‘it won’t end here’. I’m sure you all know what that means.”
A consciousness asked in horror, “Does that mean that Yang Kai is going to destroy even more Territory Lord Black Ink Nests?”
“In order to repel the Human Army, the Territory Lords have left for the battlefield with their respective Armies. Apart from a few Territory Lords who have remained in the Royal Lord’s territory to guard the Royal City and coordinate other matters, there are no powerful Masters left. Moreover, some of those Territory Lords had to join up with the Royal Lord to fight against the Human Old Ancestor. It’s not surprising that Yang Kai would seize this chance to raise chaos. Although Sir Hei Yuan has been hunting him down, he hasn’t managed to achieve his goal so far. The Human’s next target could be me, or any one of you.”
Upon hearing that, those consciousnesses became apprehensive.
“We can’t pin all our hopes on Sir Hei Yuan. To put it bluntly, if he was able to capture the Human, the second Black Ink Nest wouldn’t have been destroyed. We have to save ourselves.”
“How are you going to do that? That Human is too powerful. We can’t fend him off even if we have a lot of subordinates with us.”
“Regardless of how powerful he is, he is on his own; moreover, he must be injured after destroying two Territory Lord Black Ink Nest. I believe he’ll have to recuperate for some time before acting again, so all of you don’t have to worry. However, once he recovers, he’ll probably make a move again.”
“Do you have a suggestion? Tell us about it.”
The consciousness then told everyone about his plan, and the rest of them nodded in agreement.
Life hadn’t been peaceful in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain recently. First of all, the Royal Lord’s plan that was hundreds of years in the making was derailed by a Human just before its imminent success, flushing all her efforts down the drain. Then, the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass suddenly appeared in her territory and started a huge fight against her and several Territory Lords. Space shattered and many Black Ink Clan Fiefs were devastated while countless Black Ink Clansmen were killed from the fallout of their battle.
The Human Army from Yin-Yang Pass had also gone all out. The Territory Lords in the Royal Domain had no choice but to lead their own armies to deal with the Humans.
The Black Ink Clansmen who stayed behind had no idea what was going on at the frontline. Usually, they just had to wait patiently; after all, even though the Humans were powerful, they could never break through the Black Ink Clan’s blockade and storm the Royal Domain.
However, there was now a lone Human who was raising all kinds of havoc in the Royal Domain when most of the powerful Black Ink Clansmen were not around. He was the very Human who derailed the Royal Lord’s plan.
This Human wasn’t particularly powerful. According to the classification of the Humans, he was just a Seventh-Order Master, equivalent to a Feudal Lord.
Nevertheless, it was this Seventh-Order Human who threw Mu Guang’s Royal Domain into absolute chaos.
In just half a month, he managed to destroy two Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and killed several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen. Although Hei Yuan was personally hunting him down, he hadn’t achieved his goal so far.
From what they had gathered, this Human could transform into a several tens of thousands of metres long Grand Dragon and wield a gigantic spear in his claws. Once he got close, he could destroy a Territory Lord Black Ink Nest with one strike and shatter the universe fragment it sat on.
The reason he was able to evade Hei Yuan’s pursuit for so long was that he was a Master in the Dao of Space.
With the help of Space Secret Techniques, this Human could move with shocking speed. Even if Hei Yuan was stronger than he was, he couldn’t capture the Human intruder without being able to restrict his movements first.
After destroying two Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, the Human went missing; however, the consciousnesses staying in the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests believed that he was recuperating somewhere. When he fully recovered, he would make a move on another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
This made the consciousnesses staying in the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests feel anxious as they were worried that one of them would be Yang Kai’s next target.
Black Ink Clansmen were seen thoroughly searching for Yang Kai across the void, leaving no stone unturned.
Nevertheless, they couldn’t find the Human after several days, as though he had vanished into thin air. This made many Black Ink Clansmen suspect that Yang Kai might have left Mu Guang’s Royal Domain.
One day, a team of 2o or so were examining a cluster of thick Black Ink Clouds. From what they had gathered, this Human liked hiding in places like this; therefore, the Black Ink Clouds of different sizes that scattered across the void would be thoroughly inspected. After all, no one knew if he was hiding in a certain Black Ink Cloud, just waiting to catch the nearby Black Ink Clansmen off guard.
After they inspected all of the Black Ink Clouds here though, they still couldn’t find the Human.
Just when the team of Black Ink Clansmen were preparing to leave, the leading High-Rank Clansman detected something and turned to look in a particular direction.
What came into his sight astounded him, for a series of ripples had suddenly appeared in the void. As the ripples expanded, a portal glowing with a faint light abruptly formed.
This High-Rank Black Ink Clansman was a quick-witted person, instantly realised something, and hurriedly ordered, “Hide!”
After he finished speaking, he led his team to charge into the nearest Black Ink Cloud. They concealed themselves and withdrew their auras as best they could as quickly as possible.
As they lifted their gazes, they saw that a portal had fully taken shape. While the ripples continued to expand, a figure appeared all of a sudden.
He was the Human that the Black Ink Clan had been looking for!
The High-Rank Clansman narrowed his eyes and soon realised something. It was no wonder that so many Black Ink Clansmen were unable to find a trace of this Human even after several days of searching, it turned out he had been hiding inside a Sealed World! The portal that suddenly opened up was obviously a portal that led to that Sealed World. Despite the distance between them, the High-Rank Clansman could clearly feel the aura coming from the portal. It was the aura of the World Force that the Black Ink Clan loved the most.
[So, that’s how it is!] Upon figuring out everything, the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman couldn’t help but think that Yang Kai was blessed with luck to have found a Sealed World and hidden inside it.
It seemed that the news they had received was true. Yang Kai had been badly injured when destroying the previous Territory Lord Black Ink Nest and was hiding and recuperating recently.
Although there were over 20 members in the group he led, this High-Rank Black Ink Clansman didn’t dare to make a rash move upon sighting Yang Kai. He knew that this Human was too powerful for them and he and his team were no match for him. Exposing themselves at this point would be no different from committing suicide.
Despite acting swiftly though, Yang Kai, who had just stepped out of the Sealed World, still sensed something and quickly looked in their direction. Apparently, he had realised they were there. As their eyes met, the High-Rank Clansman felt a chill shoot up his spine.
Before he could react, Yang Kai pushed out his palm as his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm’s World Force burst forth. Without having a chance to resist, the Black Ink Clansmen hiding in the Black Ink Cloud were all instantly killed.
The High-Rank Black Ink Clansman thought that Yang Kai was simply lucky enough to have found a Sealed World to recuperate in, but the truth was that luck only played a part in it. As a Master of the Dao of Space, Yang Kai could easily find Sealed Worlds that the Black Ink Clan hadn’t discovered.
Not only had he been recuperating during this period of time, but he had also picked clean all of the resources in this particular Sealed World.
Although he had already obtained an astonishing harvest from robbing the home territories of two Territory Lords, Yang Kai didn’t mind collecting even more resources.
He was already pleased that he could snatch so much from the Black Ink Clan, and it was even more satisfying that he had also destroyed two Territory Lord Black Ink Nests.
Just like the Black Ink Clan expected, Yang Kai’s next target was still a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Nevertheless, even though he had killed this search party, another nearby group of Black Ink Clansmen soon noticed what happened. Realising that Yang Kai might have appeared, they quickly spread the word.
By the time everyone found out that Yang Kai had reappeared, he had arrived at a Feudal Lord’s Fief.
With the previous experiences, Yang Kai was already familiar with how to look for the local Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The Black Ink Clansmen in this Feudal Lord’s Fief were weak, so it only took Yang Kai a little effort to kill them all. He then headed straight to the Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The moment he entered the central chamber, he opened his Small Universe and let the Black Ink Nest absorb his World Force. With that serving as a bridge, he connected himself with the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness.
Just a moment later, his Divine Sense entered the special space with the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness as the medium.
As usual, there were a lot of consciousnesses in this special space. These consciousnesses represented the Feudal Lords who had their own Fiefs and Black Ink Nests. Many of the Feudal Lords had left for the battlefield to fight against the Humans. Despite that, other Black Ink Clansmen could stay back and guard their Black Ink Nests.
Hence, Yang Kai wasn’t surprised one bit.
However, he soon realised that something was off.
Previously, when he entered this space with his consciousness, the other consciousnesses didn’t pay much attention to him; however, on this day, all the consciousnesses around him appeared hostile to him.
Yang Kai could clearly feel that these consciousnesses were paying close attention to him. Hostility and formidable powers exuded from these consciousnesses.
[Was I exposed?] A thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, but he soon realised something. In fact, it wasn’t surprising. He had done the same thing before, so it was expected that the Black Ink Clan had put their guard up.
Nevertheless, since he had the audacity to make a move, he had the confidence to keep himself safe.
The consciousnesses didn’t intend to say anything to Yang Kai. The moment Yang Kai understood all this, however, the special space froze as a restrictive power spread across it, like a Heaven sealing Earth locking array.
Yang Kai instantly appeared surprised, for he had never expected that such a turn of events would happen in this space. With that said, this space was transformed from the consciousness of a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, so it wasn’t surprising that there were secrets that he wasn’t aware of.
He tried cutting off his connection with the Black Ink Nest, but he realised that it wasn’t possible to do so. The space had been completely sealed up, so unless he could shatter this place’s barriers, he couldn’t possibly withdraw his Divine Sense. If he forcefully tried, his Soul might be damaged.
It seemed that his consciousness had been locked inside this space.
“I’ve been waiting for you!” The moment the space was sealed off, a voice reached him, one that sounded furious and vexed.
Yang Kai could sense that this consciousness gave off a familiar aura. Moreover, this consciousness was unlike the others, it was far more powerful. It was like a crane standing among the chickens.
A doubtful Yang Kai asked, “Hei Yuan?”
The consciousness roared, “I’m glad that you recognise me!”
Yang Kai was astounded, “It’s really you! So, you were waiting for me?”
Hei Yuan replied, “En. I knew that you wouldn’t stop trying to destroy the other Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests, so I chose one and waited for you. It surprises me that you really came to Kong Chan’s territory. It seems that I’m in luck.”
Yang Kai had no idea who Kong Chan was, but he reckoned that he was the owner of this territory, and a Territory Lord.
The reason Hei Yuan decided to wait here was that Kong Chan’s territory was the closest to the Territory Lord’s territory where the Black Ink Nest was previously destroyed by Yang Kai. He reckoned that Yang Kai would most likely come to this area.
Now, it seemed that his wait was worth it, for Yang Kai had really come to this place. At that instant, Hei Yuan felt slightly less aggrieved.
As a Territory Lord, he was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; however, he had been trying to hunt Yang Kai down recently, but he couldn’t even find out the latter’s whereabouts. It was expected that he was frustrated.
Having fought with Yang Kai several times, Hei Yuan was now aware that the other man was proficient in the Dao of Space, which could be utilised to swiftly escape from his enemies. That was the reason Yang Kai could always shake off his pursuit.
Presently though, Yang Kai’s consciousness was sealed off in this space. Since he was unable to use his biggest strength, he was basically trapped.
“Keep him alive. Don’t kill him!” Hei Yuan ordered. He still remembered Mu Guang’s order that Yang Kai had to be captured alive so that he could replace Nie An to preside over the construction of Warships. If he killed Yang Kai here, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself to the Royal Lord.
Following his command, the surrounding consciousnesses exuded powerful forces which then blasted at Yang Kai.
Every Territory Lord had a few dozen Feudal Lords who had their own Fiefs, and Kong Chan was no exception. He had about 30 Feudal Lords who had their own Fiefs; therefore, roughly the same amount of consciousnesses belonging to Feudal Lords were here.
If these Feudal Lords came across Yang Kai in their physical bodies, they wouldn’t dare to provoke him; after all, a large number of Feudal Lords were killed by Yang Kai recently. Despite being a Seventh-Order Human, he was more powerful than any Seventh-Order Master they had dealt with before.
However, this space was transformed from the Black Ink Nests’ consciousnesses, so the Feudal Lords didn’t have to directly face Yang Kai. They could achieve their goal simply by confronting Yang Kai’s consciousness.
That was the solution that they came up with after Yang Kai went missing previously. It was a trap targeted specifically at Yang Kai.
This wasn’t the only trap though as similar traps had been set up in every Territory Lord’s territory. In other words, whichever Territory Lord’s territory that Yang Kai headed to, he would fall into the same trap if he dared to make use of the Black Ink Nests.
The only difference was that only Kong Chan’s territory had Hei Yuan assuming command. The other Territory Lord’s territories only had Feudal Lords who were patiently waiting for Yang Kai to show up.
With that said, regardless of whether there was a Territory Lord around or not, as long as Yang Kai stepped into such a trap, he would never be able to run away. He could only escape by defeating all the consciousnesses here, but that was practically impossible.
These consciousnesses exuded powerful forces as a tide of violent energy soon formed in this special space and shot towards Yang Kai like a tsunami.
This became a battle between Souls.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but turn solemn. He had never expected that the Black Ink Clan would deal with him using such a trick, nor was he aware that the space transformed from the Black Ink Nests’ consciousnesses could trap a person’s consciousness inside. Nevertheless, since he had fallen into the trap, he had no choice but to act accordingly.
Fortunately, he was no ordinary Open Heaven Realm Master.
Faced with the tide of powerful attacks, Yang Kai’s consciousness appeared small in comparison. It seemed that he would directly perish the moment the waves struck him.
Hei Yuan, who was watching on the side, couldn’t help but be worried. What if Yang Kai couldn’t withstand this bombardment and was killed directly? It had to be noted that if a consciousness passed away in this space, its body back in the Black Ink Nest would become a Soulless husk. It was just a matter of time before such a person would die.
While Hei Yuan was watching with concern, Yang Kai’s consciousness was drowned in the tide. All of a sudden, an explosive power burst out from Yang Kai’s consciousness and warded off the strike. He was as unshakable as a rock.
An astounded Hei Yuan exclaimed, “Impossible!”
If he were in Yang Kai’s place, he wouldn’t have been able to fend off the joint assault of 30 Feudal Lords. According to his estimation, the best outcome would be that Yang Kai’s consciousness was instantly injured. Once that happened, he would lose the ability to fight. Presently, following Hei Yuan’s order, a large number of Black Ink Clansmen were rushing towards Yang Kai’s real body. As Yang Kai would be unable to flee, they could easily capture him.
However, the sight before Hei Yuan’s eyes was simply unbelievable, for Yang Kai had flawlessly defended himself against all the attacks from the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses.
How was that even possible? Why was a Seventh-Order Human’s Soul so powerful? Although the Feudal Lords didn’t use their full powers following Hei Yuan’s order, the sight before the latter’s eyes was still inconceivable.
Besides Hei Yuan, these Feudal Lords couldn’t believe their eyes either and they promptly exerted more force with their attacks.
The tide rose again and became even more violent.
Yang Kai’s consciousness was finally affected. Faced with the bombardment of the Black Ink Clansmen, he felt his Spiritual Energy being drained rapidly. He couldn’t endure attacks of such intensity for long.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had obtained the Soul Warming Lotus when he was just a budding cultivator. Over the years, his Soul became much stronger than other cultivators in the same Realm because he had continuous nourishment coming from the Soul Warming Lotus. Furthermore, his Spiritual Energy had increased significantly after he obtained Yu Ru Meng’s Primordial Yin. It had to be noted that Charm Demons were the best when it came to utilising Spiritual Energy, not to mention that Yu Ru Meng was a Demon Saint at the time.
Although he was just a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, Yang Kai’s Soul was on par with an Eighth-Order Human Master’s. That was the reason he could ward off the tide of the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses on his own.
In this space, a consciousness was the manifestation of one’s Soul, so the stronger a person’s Soul was, the stronger they were in this place.
On top of that, most of the Black Ink Clansmen were not experts in using their Souls. However, Yang Kai reckoned that the Royal Lord Secret Technique that was exclusive to the Royal Lords must be a form of Soul Technique.
These Feudal Lords were basically trying to show off meagre skills before an expert by trying to fight Yang Kai with their consciousnesses alone.
With that said, even though he could temporarily defend himself from the bombardment, he couldn’t persevere for long; after all, he couldn’t endure the barrage of attacks forever, regardless of how impenetrable his defence was.
Furthermore, his consciousness was trapped in this special space, so he had no idea what was going on in the outside world. If the Black Ink Clan seized the chance to harm his physical body, he wouldn’t even be able to defend himself.
Therefore, after tentatively defending himself for a moment, he decided to act ruthlessly.
The Black Ink Clansmen, who were ready to channel more of their powers to suppress Yang Kai, suddenly felt chills running down their spines. Before they could figure out what was going on, Yang Kai’s aura flared up.
His powerful consciousness slowly solidified in this special space and turned into a Soul Avatar. What astonished these Feudal Lords was that this Soul Avatar was holding a sabre!
The Feudal Lords were befuddled while Hei Yuan was flabbergasted.
Over the years, they had never seen a consciousness that could take on his true form in this place. The communication between consciousnesses had always been accomplished in a kind of intangible form. How powerful must a person’s Soul be in order to actually take on a visible, almost solid form?
What made them feel despondent was that they had no idea why there was a sabre here. How did Yang Kai bring an artifact to this space where only consciousnesses were supposed to exist? Was this a special skill unique to the Humans?
They had never interacted with the Humans’ consciousnesses before; however, the Black Ink Nests belonged to the Black Ink Clan, so why was a Human in a favourable position in this place?
The Feudal Lords thought that the sabre was an artifact Yang Kai brought to this place, and in fact, they weren’t wrong; however, this weapon was no ordinary artifact.
It was a Soul-type artifact.
It was the Emperor Artifact, Soul Splitting Saber!
This was an artifact that Yang Kai had obtained all the way back when he was still in the Heng Luo Star Field. He was still weak at that time, so this Emperor Artifact was of great help to him when it came to killing his enemies. However, as his strength increased, this Emperor Artifact was no longer useful to him. He simply kept Soul Splitting Saber in his Soul and had not used it for years.
It never crossed his mind that he would use this Emperor Artifact again one day.
Although this Emperor Artifact was too weak compared to his current Realm, it was better than fighting against the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses with only his raw Spiritual Energy; after all, he was on his own while the Black Ink Clansmen came at him in large numbers.
With the Soul Splitting Saber in hand, Yang Kai felt his murderous intent surging and grinned, “Don’t worry. I’ll make this quick!”
The moment he finished speaking, he brandished his sabre as a cold light slashed across this special space. Yang Kai’s powerful Spiritual Energy allowed the light of the Soul Splitting Saber to fill the entire space.
Following the attack, the consciousnesses of 4 Feudal Lords died in silence.
At the same time, the Feudal Lords, who were respectively in charge of 4 Black Ink Nests in Kong Chan’s territory, collapsed to the ground. Although they were still technically alive, they were now completely immobile.
The destruction of their consciousnesses meant that they wouldn’t survive for long.
The power of the sabre astonished the Feudal Lords. The barrage of attacks, which was the agglomeration of the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses, instantly weakened. With most of the pressure lifted off, Yang Kai slashed with his sabre again.
This time, the Feudal Lords promptly dodged the attack so only 2 were killed; still, they were shaken to the core after witnessing the power of the sabre twice.
They initially thought that they could easily capture Yang Kai with this trap, but they had never expected that this Human was actually so ferocious. Even though he was in a trap set up by the Black Ink Clan, he was still the one slaughtering them.
Faced with the threat of death, the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses tried to flee from this place in a hurry; after all, none of them wanted to be killed, especially when Yang Kai was chasing after them with his strange sabre.
To their dismay though, they soon realised that they were unable to leave this place.
The moment Yang Kai’s consciousness barged into this special space, it was completely sealed off. Only Hei Yuan, who was in charge of this place, could open it again.
Apparently, Hei Yuan didn’t have the intention of opening this space. The turn of events not only startled the Feudal Lords, but also Hei Yuan. He had never expected that instead of harming Yang Kai, the trap they had set up in advance became a battlefield where they were the ones being slaughtered.
Nevertheless, he soon came to his senses. Seeing that the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses were trying to run away from Yang Kai, he roared, “Stand and fight! We must not let him flee this time!”
This chance was hard to come by, and if they let Yang Kai escape, Hei Yuan didn’t have the confidence to trap him again. Regardless of the price he had to pay, he had to defeat and capture Yang Kai today.
The next instant, Hei Yuan took the initiative to charge towards Yang Kai. His consciousness, which was even more powerful than the rest, clashed with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s consciousness, which had basically replicated his true form, was caught off guard and staggered backwards upon impact while the light around him also dimmed.
The instant Yang Kai was attacked, he responded with his sabre. Hei Yuan’s consciousness promptly backed off, but he couldn’t be as quick as the sabre light.
Struck by the sabre light, Hei Yuan groaned in pain like an injured beast. His powerful consciousness weakened in an instant and it was obvious that he was wounded.
As horror overwhelmed him, thinking that he was doomed, Hei Yuan heard something crack. As his consciousness refocused, he realised that the sabre in the hands of Yang Kai’s Avatar had shattered upon impact.
An elated Hei Yuan roared at the Feudal Lords who were running away, “His weapon has been destroyed! Do not fear!”
Upon hearing that, the Feudal Lords turned around and realised that, just like what Hei Yuan had said, the sabre in Yang Kai’s hands had fallen apart for some reason. In an instant, they become energised.
The consciousnesses were all essentially naked, so the Feudal Lords were stunned when they saw Yang Kai summoning a sabre.
After Hei Yuan was done barking, he madly activated his power and charged towards Yang Kai. Seeing that, the Feudal Lords promptly assisted him.
At that moment, Yang Kai was immensely pressured.
In the end, the Soul Splitting Saber was just an Emperor Artifact. Although it had been nurtured in his Soul over the years, its original quality couldn’t be changed. It couldn’t bear the power of Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy, so three strikes had been its limit. Therefore, before Yang Kai could kill all of his enemies, the sabre broke apart.
Presently, with Hei Yuan leading the charge, the attacks from the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses came right at Yang Kai in a continuous manner from all directions. Regardless of how powerful Yang Kai’s Soul was, he couldn’t possibly bear such a bombardment.
Seeing that Yang Kai’s consciousness became immobile, as though it had been suppressed, the Feudal Lords struck their opponent harder, determined to take him down.
Yang Kai was aware that he was in an unfavourable position. It had to be said that the Black Ink Clan had come up with a brilliant method to deal with him. In such a place, Space Principles were practically useless. This was purely a contest of the strength of their Spiritual Energy.
He had to quickly come up with a solution; otherwise, he would be doomed.
At the most critical moment, Yang Kai realised that since he could summon the Soul Splitting Saber to this place, what about the Soul Warming Lotus? The Soul Warming Lotus was a Supreme Treasure, so if he could summon it, there wouldn’t be any suspense regarding the outcome of this battle.
However, he had never summoned the Soul Warming Lotus to fight his enemies before. Usually, he would only counterattack when others attempted to invade his Knowledge Sea, so the idea of summoning it hadn’t crossed his mind.
As he thought about this, a seven-coloured light burst from his figure.
When the Feudal Lords, who were bombarding Yang Kai with their attacks, saw the light, they were bewildered. Hei Yuan had no idea what was going on either, but through his battles with Yang Kai, he came to realise that this Human had all sorts of tricks up his sleeve; therefore, the moment the seven-coloured light appeared, he felt that something was off and promptly shouted, “Take him down, now!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he focused all of his power and charged towards Yang Kai. At this moment, he had no choice but to ignore the Royal Lord’s order that Yang Kai had to be captured alive. Whether Yang Kai could survive this strike would depend on his luck.
Following Hei Yuan’s order, the Feudal Lords wouldn’t dare to hold back any of their strength and madly attacked.
Invisible attacks came right at Yang Kai from all directions and drowned him; however, the seven-coloured light only became brighter and soon filled the space.
The Feudal Lords watched apprehensively while Hei Yuan turned solemn.
A moment later, the storm subsided as the originally noisy space fell silent. A lotus that radiated a light of seven colours abruptly appeared in the place where Yang Kai previously stood. The lotus spun gently, exuding an aura that the Black Ink Clansmen coveted.
“What is that?” One of the puzzled Feudal Lords asked. Although he had no idea what this seven-coloured lotus was, he could clearly feel that it was hugely beneficial to any Black Ink Clansman who could possess it.
“Where is he?” There was another Feudal Lord who was concerned about Yang Kai’s whereabouts. Other than the seven-coloured lotus sitting in the place where Yang Kai previously stood, the Human himself was nowhere in sight.
“I suppose he’s dead. Although he is strong, he couldn’t possibly survive that bombardment.”
“Well done! That Human was too arrogant as he had no regard for us. He deserved his death!”
…..
Besides these Feudal Lords, Hei Yuan also believed that Yang Kai had perished. Yang Kai had indeed showcased powerful Spiritual Energy, but regardless of how formidable he was, he couldn’t possibly stave off the joint attack of all the Feudal Lords and Hei Yuan.
However, if Yang Kai was really killed, how was Hei Yuan going to explain himself to the Royal Lord?
This was giving Hei Yuan a headache. Also, what was this seven-coloured lotus that Yang Kai had left behind?
While he was puzzled, the flower petals of the spinning seven-coloured lotus started to unfurl, and as that happened, a figure revealed itself. Seated among the stamens, this person radiated a vague glow.
Upon making out the person’s face, Hei Yuan was shocked.
That was because not only wasn’t Yang Kai dead, he wasn’t even wounded!
[How can this be?]
He might have been lucky enough to have survived the bombardment of attacks, but how was it possible that he wasn’t injured at all? Could the strange lotus have blocked all their attacks?
Before Hei Yuan could figure it out, Yang Kai’s Soul power burst forth. The power of this Soul was as magnificent as the ocean and as profound as the abyss. As the mass of Spiritual Energy increased in intensity, the special space started trembling.
“It wouldn’t be polite if I didn’t offer a gift in return! Please accept this!”
The moment the clear voice reverberated across the space, clearly discernible Spirit Energy turned into visible sabre lights that pointed in all directions as they hovered above Yang Kai’s head.
Faced with the sabre lights, the Feudal Lords felt chills running down their spines.
As soon as Yang Kai finished speaking, the Spiritual Energy sabre lights shot out in all directions and mercilessly rained down on them.
The Feudal Lords were horrified as they all scrambled to escape or defend themselves.
Nevertheless, their efforts were futile. As the sabre lights swept across the space, half of the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses were destroyed. Even Hei Yuan was struck by two sabre lights and roared in pain. The surviving Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses all trembled in fear.
Hei Yuan knew that if they let Yang Kai attack again, all of the Black Ink Clansmen here would be killed. Yang Kai’s Soul was unimaginably powerful. Besides that, he had a lot of special offensive skills when it came to the Soul, something that the Black Ink Clan were not aware of previously.
Ignoring his own injuries, Hei Yuan launched another attack in an attempt to turn the tide. Seeing that, some of the Feudal Lords joined in and made a move; however, the incident that took place the next moment sent Hei Yuan into a state of despair.
The attacks of Hei Yuan and the Feudal Lords were all blocked by the seven-coloured lotus. As a result, Yang Kai wasn’t harmed one bit.
Now, Hei Yuan could confirm that the reason Yang Kai was safe earlier was that the latter had this strange seven-coloured lotus. He wondered what kind of treasure it was that could defend against so many Spiritual Energy attacks. Even a Territory Lord like him was unable to hurt Yang Kai despite having personally made a move.
The defensive strength of the seven-coloured lotus was simply impenetrable.
With the protection of the seven-coloured Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai had no more worries. As his Spiritual Energy condensed into another attack, he slashed out at the surviving Black Ink Clansmen.
More and more of the Feudal Lords’ were eliminated, and inside the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests in Kong Chan’s territory, numerous bodies passed out and collapsed to the ground. These Feudal Lords no longer reacted regardless of how loud the other Black Ink Clansmen called out to them.
Within moments, fewer than 5 of the original 30 Feudal Lord remained. These consciousnesses were running about madly as Yang Kai relentlessly chased after them, completely powerless to counterattack. Hei Yuan’s aura was also weakening by the breath.
It was not possible to use any kind of technique in a pure clash of Spiritual Energy, so in such a place, it was hard for Hei Yuan to use his formidable strength.
Finally, one of the Feudal Lords shouted, “Sir Hei Yuan, we can’t persevere any longer. Please open this space; otherwise, all of us will die!”
Hei Yuan was unperturbed though, for he firmly believed that the seven-coloured lotus wasn’t as impenetrable as it seemed. He thought that by exerting more force with his attacks, he could shatter the lotus’ defence. However, his goal was still not achieved after so many of the Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses perished.
Regardless, their defeat in this place didn’t mean that the Black Ink Clan had lost. They still had a chance to turn things around.
That was because the moment Yang Kai entered this space through the Black Ink Nest’s power, Hei Yuan managed to ascertain his whereabouts.
This could be achieved easily, for Yang Kai made use of a Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest to come into this space. Just by finding out which Black Ink Nest it was, Hei Yuan could effortlessly discover where Yang Kai was.
After all, the Fiefs and Black Ink Nests of the Feudal Lords were fixed.
Therefore, the moment Yang Kai’s consciousness entered this space, Hei Yuan ordered more than 10 Feudal Lords to rush over to Yang Kai’s location.
Hei Yuan’s initial plan was to damage Yang Kai’s consciousness so that this team could easily capture him in a weakened state.
However, things were not going to plan. Not only was Yang Kai not injured, but he had also made use of a seven-coloured lotus to commit a massacre. They were not in a favourable position in this special space, so it was inevitable that so many Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses were wiped out.
Nevertheless, as long as Yang Kai’s consciousness was trapped here, he couldn’t return to his body, and the team that Hei Yuan had sent would soon capture Yang Kai.
That was the reason Hei Yuan refused to open this space despite the fact that so many Feudal Lords were injured or dead.
There was still a ray of hope for them to turn things around.
With that said, regardless of how swift the team of Feudal Lords were, it would take them at least four hours to arrive at the Black Ink Nest where Yang Kai was located.
Could Hei Yuan persevere for another four hours?
He had no idea, but he knew that there were not a lot of Feudal Lords’ consciousnesses left. Once they were all dead, he would have to face Yang Kai alone.
Despite the fact that a lot of Feudal Lords were killed, Hei Yuan continuously channelled his power to attack the seven-coloured lotus in the hope that he could shatter its defence.
There was no doubt that the outcome was disappointing for him, as the Seven-Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was so impregnable that even a Territory Lord like him couldn’t hope to destroy it.
Shrieks were heard reverberating across this special space, each one representing the demise of a Feudal Lord’s consciousness.
Hei Yuan felt his heart sinking.
When the last Feudal Lord’s consciousness died, Yang Kai slowly turned around. While standing on the Seven-Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, he stared dispassionately at Hei Yuan’s consciousness.
The tide of Spiritual Energy swirled around Yang Kai like a violent storm.
“You’re the only one left, Hei Yuan. Are you ready to die?” Yang Kai stepped towards his enemy, the Seven-Coloured Soul Warming Lotus following closely.
Hei Yuan roared, “You’ll pay for underestimating me!”
Despite the ferocity in his tone, it was apparent that he was just acting tough. Just now, he had joined forces with more than 30 Feudal Lords, but they still couldn’t hurt Yang Kai at all. Instead, they were the ones that were wiped out. More than 30 Feudal Lords had died, and he was the only one left now, so how was he supposed to be a match for Yang Kai?
The only thing he could do was to stall for time so that the team he had sent could capture Yang Kai.
After a sneer, Yang Kai said, “Let’s see how you’re going to make me pay then!”
Upon finishing his words, he drove the Soul Warming Lotus to charge towards Hei Yuan.
A flustered Hei Yuan promptly ran away.
While relentlessly chasing after him, Yang Kai mocked him by saying, “Didn’t you say you’ll make me pay the price? Is this how you do it? It’s an eye-opener for me, Sir Hei Yuan!”
Hei Yuan was thoroughly ashamed and had the urge to stop in his tracks and fight it out with Yang Kai, but he didn’t have the courage to do so. His consciousness was already wounded after the exchanges of moves with Yang Kai. If his injuries were exacerbated, he would have to get into a Black Ink Nest and recuperate for a long time.
Therefore, he did his best to avoid fighting with Yang Kai so that he wouldn’t get hurt.
Yang Kai wasn’t a fool, so he soon realised what the other man was trying to achieve, “Are you stalling for time?”
Certainly, Hei Yuan wouldn’t respond to him, but his silence only confirmed Yang Kai’s speculations. After giving it a thought, he figured out the other man’s plan, “If I’m not mistaken, there should be some Black Ink Clansmen coming to capture me. Am I right?”
Hei Yuan finally responded, saying, “You can’t flee. Surrender without a fight now.”
Yang Kai sneered, “We’ll talk if you can survive.”
Upon figuring out Hei Yuan’s plan, Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t waste any time on him. He was worried that his physical body would be harmed by the Black Ink Clansmen coming to attack him, so he exerted even more force with his attacks. Although Hei Yuan was trying to dodge, it was hard for him to do so.
Left with no choice, he had to exchange moves with Yang Kai several times, which resulted in his aura weakening even further. On the other hand, with the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai became increasingly ferocious, abandoning all semblance of defence and only attacking.
Barely an incense stick later, Hei Yuan realised that he could no longer persevere.
His consciousness was badly wounded. It would take him several hundred years to heal this kind of injury. If he clashed with Yang Kai again, his consciousness would be destroyed, just like what happened to the Feudal Lords.
Despite his unwillingness, there was nothing else he could do. He had paid a huge price, losing more than 30 Feudal Lords and suffering horrible injuries himself; however, he still hadn’t managed to capture one Seventh-Order Human like Yang Kai.
This was the biggest humiliation in his life.
Nevertheless, things had come to such a point where he could no longer turn things around. If Hei Yuan still didn’t give up, he would be killed by Yang Kai before the team of Feudal Lords he sent could capture him.
Therefore, at the last moment, he promptly decided to escape.
Just as Yang Kai dashed forward with his violent tide of Spiritual Energy, he realised that Hei Yuan was nowhere in sight. At the same time, this special space, which had been locked since his arrival, was reopened.
[He ran away!] Yang Kai ground his teeth, thinking that it was such a shame. If he could keep fighting with Hei Yuan, he had the confidence to kill the latter’s consciousness. Unfortunately, Hei Yuan was the one who could decide whether he would open up the space, and he didn’t give Yang Kai a chance to kill him.
Killing a Territory Lord would be a huge contribution. By doing so, not only could it significantly weaken the Black Ink Clan’s power, but it could also reduce the possible casualties of the Human soldiers on the battlefield.
Although Yang Kai had killed a Territory Lord before, he had joined forces with Bai Yi at that time to do so, and Zhu Feng, the Territory Lord in question, was already badly injured. Despite that, it had still been a perilous situation. In the end, Yang Kai managed to deal a lethal blow to Zhu Feng only by resorting to his Dragon Bead.
The chance to fight with Hei Yuan this time was rare, and it was impossible to have such a chance again.
However, even though Hei Yuan had fled, it wasn’t like Yang Kai had achieved nothing.
When he was dealing with Hei Yuan just now, he managed to ascertain his whereabouts. If he raced after him now, he might be able to kill him.
Therefore, the instant Yang Kai realised that Hei Yuan had fled, he quickly retracted his consciousness and dashed out of the Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
It was silent all around him with no Black Ink Clansmen in sight, so he turned to look in a particular direction and shot into the sky.
As Space Principles undulated, Yang Kai charged forward swiftly.
About an hour later, he saw a group of Black Ink Clansmen rushing over in his direction. What surprised him was that this team was entirely composed of Feudal Lords, about a dozen in total.
This was obviously unusual.
The strongest Black Ink Clansmen had left to deal with the Human Army from Yin-Yang Pass, and although there were still a lot who stayed back, and Yang Kai had come across many of them recently, it was the first time he saw a group that consisted of only Feudal Lords.
This powerful team was obviously tasked with capturing Yang Kai.
Was this the arrangement Hei Yuan had made? When Yang Kai was dealing with Hei Yuan earlier, these Feudal Lords must have been heading in his direction. Unfortunately, they came too late as the battle in the special space had ended long ago. They were still on their way when Yang Kai happened to run into them.
It seemed that Hei Yuan was really located in that direction.
While Yang Kai had discovered the team of Feudal Lords, the other party had certainly seen him as well. These Feudal Lords, who were moving at full speed, were flabbergasted as they stopped in their tracks and got ready to fight.
Recently, Yang Kai had sent a shockwave across the Black Ink Clan. All the teams that had come across Yang Kai were destroyed. Although they were all Feudal Lords, they still didn’t have the confidence to defeat Yang Kai here.
However, this Human’s consciousness was supposed to be trapped inside the Black Ink Nest’s network, and they just had to go over and capture his body. So, why was he here? Had Hei Yuan failed in his attempt to injure this Human in that special space?
Before these Feudal Lords could figure it out, Yang Kai was seen turning into a ray of light and charging towards them.
Before he even arrived, his spear turned into countless shadows.
The instant both parties clashed, the Feudal Lords exclaimed and grunted, feeling that the violent force had torn their defences apart. In an instant, they were all blown backwards.
Yang Kai directly moved past them and left this place without turning his head, soon disappearing from sight.
The place was in a mess as black blood and Black Ink Strength scattered everywhere. The Feudal Lords looked around with horrified expressions. Three of them were killed by Yang Kai in the blink of an eye, and the rest were injured.
It seemed that this Human was even more powerful than they had heard.
The surviving Feudal Lords were glad that Yang Kai didn’t intend to kill them. They had no idea why he was in a hurry as he only attacked them once and left; otherwise, all of them would’ve lost their lives.
One of the Feudal Lords suddenly realised something, “Is he after Sir Hei Yuan?”
When the Feudal Lords heard that, a myriad of expressions came over them. Even if that was true, there was nothing they could do. Now, they could only hope that Hei Yuan could capture that Human; otherwise, all the Black Ink Clansmen in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain would be humiliated.
It only took Yang Kai another hour to rush over to a certain Feudal Lord’s Fief.
The Feudal Lords guarding this Fief were startled upon seeing Yang Kai, and before they could figure out what was going on, they were easily killed.
When the only two Feudal Lords were dead, the other Black Ink Clansmen in the Fief certainly wouldn’t be able to counterattack.
Yang Kai directly barged into the Black Ink Nest and searched around, but Hei Yuan was nowhere in sight. However, some of Hei Yuan’s aura was left in the chamber inside the Black Ink Nest, which suggested that he had been here not long ago.
After dashing out of the Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai caught a horrified High-Rank Black Ink Clansman by the throat and asked in a grim voice, “Where’s Hei Yuan?”
The High-Rank Black Ink Clansman breathed out a puff of Black Ink Strength in an attempt to corrupt Yang Kai, but an unperturbed Yang Kai simply exerted more force with his hand and broke the other party’s neck. He then caught another Black Ink Clansman and asked, “Where’s Hei Yuan?”
Having witnessed what happened just now, the Black Ink Clansman replied in horror, “I have no idea where Sir Hei Yuan went! He left in a hurry just now!”
“In what direction did he head?”
The Black Ink Clansman quickly pointed in a particular direction.
Yang Kai tossed him away, and by the time the Black Ink Clansman landed, he had lost his life.
In the meantime, Yang Kai shot into the sky and raced after Hei Yuan.
Since Hei Yuan had fled, it suggested that he was badly injured, and he had speculated that Yang Kai would come for him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have immediately run away after leaving the special space. Although Yang Kai had promptly pursued, he was still too late.
Even if Yang Kai chased after Hei Yuan now, he might not be able to find him as the void was too vast. He also wouldn’t have any solution if Hei Yuan was determined to hide.
However, he wouldn’t want to miss this rare chance. It would be best if he could kill Hei Yuan, but there was nothing he could do if he couldn’t find him.
One day later, Yang Kai stopped in his tracks somewhere in the void.
Although he had searched around a large area for the entire day, he still hadn’t discovered Hei Yuan’s whereabouts. He felt that it was such a shame.
With that said, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him.
Most of the Black Ink Clansmen had left Mu Guang’s Royal Domain to fight with the Humans from Yin-Yang Pass, so there were not a lot of them left in this place. The Territory Lords who stayed back had to assist Mu Guang to deal with the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass, so they wouldn’t have time to hunt Yang Kai down.
Previously, he had to put his guard up as Hei Yuan was relentlessly pursuing him. Now that Hei Yuan had gone into hiding though, no one else in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain could restrain him.
In other words, Yang Kai could basically go anywhere in this Royal Domain. Given his mastery of the Dao of Space, he wouldn’t fall into danger as long as he was cautious enough.
At the thought of this, he turned to look in a particular direction and grinned.
Kong Chan’s home territory was located in a dead Universe World where there was a magnificent Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest. Over the years, the Black Ink Strength that had been emanating from the Black Ink Nest had enveloped everything. There were over a million Black Ink Clansmen living in this place, which was just as flourishing as Hei Yuan’s territory.
The strongest and most competent Black Ink Clansmen had left with Kong Chan to intercept the Human Army, so although there were some Feudal Lords around, the rest of them were mostly High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
Over the past few days, a slight sense of tension could be felt among the Black Ink Clansmen in Kong Chan’s territory. Rumour had it that a Human named Yang Kai was on a killing spree in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain. He had already destroyed two Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, and his next target was Kong Chan’s.
Most of the Black Ink Clansmen didn’t believe this rumour. As far as they were concerned, even though the Humans were strong and resilient, they couldn’t resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength; therefore, they had been hiding in their Great Passes all these years. Faced with the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers, they could only defend themselves. How was it possible that a single Human had barged into the Black Ink Clan’s territory and even destroyed Black Ink Nests belonging to the powerful Territory Lords?
One day though, a 30,000-metre-long creature, which was covered in scales and radiating a golden light, arrived at this place, wielding a giant spear in its claws. The horrifying pressure this creature exuded sent chills down the spines of these High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
The humongous creature descended from the sky and forcefully swept his spear across the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The Black Ink Nest, which had stood in this place for tens of thousands of years, given birth to countless Black Ink Clansmen, and provided a resting place for all the Black Ink Clansmen who were born here, was cut in half with just one strike.
As the Black Ink Nest fell, Black Ink Strength gushed out of it like a flood. The Black Ink Clansmen in Kong Chan’s territory were naturally flustered.
The Feudal Lords promptly shot into the sky to repel the enemy; however, the Black Ink Clansmen, who were much larger than ordinary Humans, appeared as petite as ants in front of this behemoth.
The terrifying creature didn’t even spare these Feudal Lords a glance as he opened his mouth and spat out a horrifying flame.
In an instant, many Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered. Kong Chan’s territory was set ablaze, and countless Black Ink Clansmen perished.
The terrifying creature flitted across the sky, and wherever he went, he easily killed all the Black Ink Clansmen within his reach. On top of that, he swept his claws across all the shops that were filled with resources. The moment his claws came into contact with the shops, they simply disappeared.
Barely a cup of tea’s time later, Kong Chan’s territory was dyed with black blood.
The Black Ink Clansmen tried their best to resist by bombarding the creature with their attacks. Their attempt wasn’t effective in the beginning, but soon, the creature grunted in pain as his blood scattered about.
The battle didn’t last for long. Only an incense stick of time had passed from when the terrifying creature appeared to when he was forced to retreat.
Despite that, over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives and Kong Chan’s territory had been destroyed. Innumerable amounts of resources and manpower were lost.
What sent these Black Ink Clansmen into despair though was that Kong Chan’s Black Ink Nest was thoroughly destroyed.
Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. It could be said that all the Black Ink Clansmen living in this place were nurtured by this Black Ink Nest. To them, Kong Chan’s Black Ink Nest was profoundly important to them, a symbol of their very lives.
But now, this Black Ink Nest was destroyed. Although it was still alive, it would inevitably wither after it was cut down by the giant creature. Soon, this Black Ink Nest would perish.
These Black Ink Clansmen were furious as they vowed to get their revenge, but how were they supposed to look for the colossal creature?
After breaking the siege, the creature abruptly disappeared.
Furthermore, after the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed, all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests in Kong Chan’s territory died. The information network had been disabled, so their ability to coordinate their efforts was severely hampered.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was hiding inside a Black Ink Cloud and recuperating.
In the past, he would be nervous when he recuperated as he was worried that Hei Yuan would find him; however, he didn’t have to worry about that now. In the Black Ink Nest space, he had severely injured Hei Yuan’s Soul. Just like him, Hei Yuan was probably hiding somewhere and recuperating, so he wouldn’t dare to mess with Yang Kai. He should be glad that Yang Kai stopped trying to look for him.
Without any Territory Lords around, Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of the other Black Ink Clansmen given his current strength.
In such a situation, his presence in the Black Ink Clan was like a Flood Dragon plunging into an ocean or a tiger in the mountains. He was simply unstoppable.
Several days later, Yang Kai dashed out of the Black Ink Cloud and headed straight in a particular direction. Although he ran into some Black Ink Clansmen on his way, he easily killed them off as they were no match for him.
Sometime later, he arrived at a new Territory Lord’s territory.
He had destroyed three Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests already, so the Black Ink Clansmen were obviously aware of his plans. Knowing that he had targeted the Black Ink Nests belonging to the Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clansmen resisted in an even more ferocious manner.
The instant Yang Kai assumed his Grand Dragon Form, the Feudal Lords, who had been hiding, rushed out to deal with him.
Upon seeing so many Black Ink Feudal Lords, Yang Kai counted and realised there were over 100 of them.
Despite being a Grand Dragon, Yang Kai still felt apprehensive. He was indeed powerful and able to escape from a Territory Lord as he was no match for such a Master; however, there was no way he could defeat 100 Feudal Lords in a frontal clash.
Yang Kai had no idea whose territory this was, but from the looks of it, he knew that all of the Feudal Lords who stayed behind had gathered together in this place to defend the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
It was no wonder that when he arrived at a Feudal Lord Black Ink Nest to ascertain the location of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest earlier, he faced no organized resistance at all.
That was because they were all waiting for him here.
After a moment of hesitation, Yang Kai still charged at the Feudal Lords, who apparently hadn’t expected that he would be so unrelenting. Seeing that the 30,000-metre creature was coming at them with a gigantic spear, the Feudal Lords instinctively dodged.
The Grand Dragon directly ploughed through the Feudal Lords’ lines, forcefully enduring the attacks that came at him. Dragon Blood splashed everywhere and Dragon Scales were shattered and broken while some unlucky Feudal Lords were instantly killed as they came into contact with Azure Dragon Spear. With that said, the casualties were insignificant compared to the total number of Feudal Lords in this place.
Regardless, Yang Kai just had to break through their blockade. Ignoring the attacks coming from behind, he directly struck the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest with his Azure Dragon Spear.
After a long time of dealing with the Black Ink Clan, Yang Kai came to realise that the Black Ink Nests were actually quite frail. Basically, the Black Ink Nests were defenceless. Even if he was in his Human form, he could easily destroy a Black Ink Nest with one strike, not to mention in his Grand Dragon Form with the Azure Dragon Spear in his claws.
Therefore, Yang Kai didn’t need to get tangled up with these Feudal Lords. His target had always been to destroy the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
As a Grand Dragon with the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai’s attack was unimaginably destructive. Following the strike, the Black Ink Nest collapsed to the ground.
Yang Kai didn’t even take another glance at it as he flew across the sky above the prosperous city and spat out Dragon Breath, instantly killing tens of thousands of weaker Black Ink Clansmen. The 100 Feudal Lords were relentlessly pursuing him from behind as they continuously cast violent attacks at him in an attempt to take him down.
Although Yang Kai did his best to dodge the attacks, his figure was too massive, so almost all of them struck him, causing him to tremble and roar.
In such a situation, he couldn’t possibly rob the shops as a moment of delay would greatly exacerbate his injuries.
Despite thinking that it was such a shame, he had achieved his main goal; therefore, Yang Kai did not hesitate to shoot into the sky and leave.
The Feudal Lords were still chasing after him; however, after Yang Kai returned to his Human Form, he manipulated Space Principles several times and easily shook off his pursuers.
Since Yang Kai was nowhere in sight, these Feudal Lords had no choice but to give up. They turned around and saw that the Black Ink Nest was withering and could not be saved. Although they had caused some damage to the Grand Dragon, they didn’t manage to make him stay behind and he had successfully fled in the end.
Another Territory Lord Black Ink Nest was destroyed and all of the Black Ink Clansmen in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain were alerted. No one knew when Yang Kai would jump out of nowhere and make a move on another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. More importantly, no one knew which Territory Lord Black Ink Nest would be his next target.
Based on this experience though, they understood that even 100 Feudal Lords couldn’t stop Yang Kai from destroying a Black Ink Nest. It wasn’t that they were unable to defeat Yang Kai, but that he could break through their formation and head straight to the Black Ink Nest, though he would be injured in the process.
Presently, the Royal Lord and several Territory Lords were dealing with the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass while Hei Yuan had gone missing. The Feudal Lords couldn’t find anyone who could take charge, leaving the entire Royal Domain leaderless and flustered.
Now, the only thing the Feudal Lords could do was to gather together around their respective Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests and wait. They had to prepare should Yang Kai launch a surprise attack on them all of a sudden, and they could only hope that they could stop him or kill him on the spot eventually.
Therefore, in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, every Territory Lord Black Ink Nest now had over 100 Feudal Lords surrounding it. Through the Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests that hadn’t been affected, they constantly exchanged information and reported on Yang Kai’s whereabouts. The Territory Lord’s territories neighbouring the Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai previously destroyed were the centre of attention.
They speculated that Yang Kai’s next target would be one of those Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests.
Therefore, countless weaker Black Ink Clansmen were sent from these Territory Lords’ territories to search for Yang Kai. As time passed, Yang Kai was still nowhere in sight though, and the pressure on the Black Ink Clan intensified.
Based on past experiences, Yang Kai would go into hiding every time he destroyed a Black Ink Nest, but when he reappeared, he would stir up a bloody storm.
The Black Ink Clan speculated that Yang Kai was probably hiding somewhere to recuperate; after all, every time he appeared, he would be wounded. However, it wouldn’t take him a long time to recover. The Human named Yang Kai seemed to have an incredible restorative ability. Regardless of how badly injured he was, he could always recover in ten days to half a month.
Based on the information they had gathered from the Black Ink Disciples, this kind of restorative power must have something to do with his Dragon Clan bloodline. Dragon Clan members were known to be able to heal their wounds quickly.
As expected, Yang Kai reappeared half a month later. Just like the Black Ink Clan had speculated, he appeared in a neighbouring Territory Lord’s territory of the Black Ink Nest that he previously destroyed.
Although over 100 Feudal Lords were already waiting there, and they had set up a restrictive Spirit Array with the help of the Black Ink Disciples, they still couldn’t ward off the 30,000-metre-long Grand Dragon.
Just like what happened previously, the Grand Dragon destroyed the Black Ink Nest and shattered the Universe World it sat on. Although he was badly injured, he still managed to break through the siege and escape.
Another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was gone for good.
This caused the Black Ink Clansmen to be furious. The destruction of the Black Ink Nests united all these Black Ink Clansmen as the Feudal Lords swore that they would kill Yang Kai for the humiliation he had inflicted upon them.
The Black Ink Clan intensified their search for Yang Kai, which made it hard for him to recuperate in peace.
Despite their best efforts though, a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest would be destroyed by Yang Kai every half a month. Faced with the ferocious Grand Dragon, these Black Ink Clansmen didn’t have a solution as there were no powerful Masters among them who could confront the enemy head-on.
One day, when Yang Kai transformed into a Grand Dragon and arrived at a Territory Lord’s direct territory, he saw nearly 200 Feudal Lords charging towards him.
After an intense battle, he managed to kill quite a number of them, but their defence line held, so he was unable to get close to the Black Ink Nest. Faced with so many Feudal Lords, he wouldn’t dare to be reckless; otherwise, he would most likely be killed.
Left with no choice, he fled for now.
It had been about half a year since Yang Kai destroyed the first Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. During this period of time, he had destroyed 10 Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests.
In the past, the Feudal Lords were unable to stave him off regardless of how hard they tried, but this time, they managed to force him to withdraw without achieving his goal.
Seeing that the Grand Dragon turned around to flee, the Feudal Lords became high-spirited and cheered in ecstasy. Some of the bold Feudal Lords even chased after Yang Kai, but they eventually lost track of him.
Although the Feudal Lords were unable to make Yang Kai stay, it was the first time they gained a victory against this opponent. With their hard work and perseverance, they saved a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai had targeted. This was a meaningful victory for all the Black Ink Clansmen that was worth celebrating.
Unlike how joyful the Black Ink Clansmen were, Yang Kai was extremely vexed.
He had repeatedly made a move recently, and even though he had made a huge contribution by destroying quite a number of Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and killing a lot of Feudal Lords, he came to the realisation that, as time passed, he faced increasingly strong resistance.
One thing he had noticed was that the number of Feudal Lords he had to face increased each time he arrived at a new Black Ink Nest.
Furthermore, he found many of the Feudal Lords familiar. In other words, he had seen them before.
After giving it a thought, he soon realised that those familiar-looking Feudal Lords came from the other territories to help.
His target was clear, which was to destroy Territory Lord Black Ink Nests.
Usually, a territory where a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was located would have 100 or so Feudal Lords inhabiting it. Once he managed to destroy the nest though, these Feudal Lords would head to the neighbouring Black Ink Nests to provide reinforcements. That was the reason he came across so many Feudal Lords on this day, and many of them looked familiar to him. It was apparent that he faced them before.
In that case, as he destroyed more Black Ink Nests, he would face stiffer resistance.
Yang Kai was unable to achieve his goal on this day as nearly 200 Feudal Lords went all out to protect the Black Ink Nest. Although he had turned into a Grand Dragon, he was still unable to break through their defences and instead, he was terribly injured.
It seemed that he had to stop this game at this point. If he still recklessly continued, an accident was likely to happen.
Fortunately, he had already destroyed a lot of Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, thus dealing a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan. He had also snatched vast amounts of resources from several Territory Lords’ territories and killed countless Black Ink Clansmen. It could be said that he had made a huge contribution.
Despite his reluctance, Yang Kai still decided to end his actions here.
He believed that after the chaos he raised this time, the foundation of the Black Ink Clan in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain had been severely damaged. It would take them several hundred to 1,000 years to fully recover. The Black Ink Clan must be extremely vexed that 10 Territory Lord Black Ink Nests had been destroyed, which resulted in several dozen more Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests withering as well.
Since he had made up his mind, Yang Kai found a remote place to recuperate in peace.
It was destined that his journey back home wouldn’t be smooth sailing though. Other than the fact that he would run into a lot of Black Ink Clansmen along the way, he would also have to deal with the Black Ink Clan Army besieging Yin-Yang Pass.
Several days later, Yang Kai, who was recuperating, suddenly thought of something. He turned into a Soul Avatar and appeared in his Small Universe.
This was a place with lush mountains and clear rivers. The 300 Artifact Refiners that Yang Kai had kept inside his Small Universe were settled down here. In any case, other than recuperating in such a serene place, there was nothing else they could do.
This was Yang Kai’s Small Universe, after all. If they activated their World Forces as they pleased, it would cause a burden on Yang Kai. They might even damage or contaminate Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
With that in mind, they had been doing nothing recently, which was why they were quite bored.
However, after such a long time, they still had no idea what was going on in the outside world, and Yang Kai didn’t seem to have the intention of releasing them. It was expected that Wu Xing He and the others were worried about Yang Kai, and they wanted to ask him what was going on.
Therefore, the moment Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar appeared, they promptly surrounded him.
“What’s wrong, Senior Brothers?” Yang Kai asked.
Wu Xing He said, “Junior Brother Yang, haven’t we returned to the Inner Sanctum?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Not yet. There’s been an accident. We’re still inside the Black Ink Clan’s territory.”
“We’re still in enemy territory?” Guan Ning was astounded.
Wang Si Bo asked with concern, “What kind of accident? Is there anything we can help you with?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “The Black Ink Clan’s territory is filled with Black Ink Clouds and Black Ink Strength, so it’s best you stay here lest you become corrupted again.”
Wu Xing He and the other Grandmaster Artifact Refiners had cut off large sections of their Small Universes, causing them to drop to the Sixth-Order from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm so that Yang Kai could easily keep them inside his own Small Universe. Now that their Orders had dropped and their Small Universes were incomplete, they would easily be invaded by Black Ink Strength. The other Artifact Refiners were unable to help either because they were only in the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“As for what accident occurred… It’s no big deal. Recently, I’ve been destroying some Black Ink Nests.” Yang Kai briefly told them what he had been up to. It wasn’t that he wanted to brag, but he understood that these Artifact Refiners were apprehensive as they had been staying in his Small Universe and unable to find out what was going on in the outside world. Therefore, he decided to tell them what he had done to let them know that it wasn’t that he was unable to return to the Inner Sanctum. He just didn’t want to go back without dealing a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan first.
Upon hearing that Yang Kai had single-handedly destroyed so many Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and killed countless Black Ink Clansmen, these Artifact Refiners were dumbfounded.
They couldn’t really believe what they had just heard.
After all, Yang Kai was just a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although most of the strongest Black Ink Clansmen had left the Royal Domain, even an Eighth-Order Division Commander would be unable to pull off such a feat.
However, they knew that it wasn’t necessary for Yang Kai to lie to them. In other words, such things had really happened.
Wu Xing He and the others were astonished as admiration was written all over their faces.
A moment later, Wu Xing He came to his senses and asked, “Junior Brother, you mean, after a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest is destroyed, all of the sub-nests that originated from that Black Ink Nest will wither as well?”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s right.”
Wu Xing He quickly ran the numbers in his mind, “A Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest is connected to several dozen Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests. In other words, hundreds of Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests have been destroyed as a result.”
“I think so.”
All of them gasped.
Wang Si Bo said in a shaking voice, “You’ve also injured Hei Yuan?”
Yang Kai nodded, “He wanted to fight me using only our Souls, but he had no idea that I possess the Soul Warming Lotus. He basically found the wrong opponent. Unfortunately, even though I’ve managed to wound his Soul, I have no idea where he is now. I’ve failed in my attempts to find him; otherwise, I could seize this chance and end his life.”
“The Soul Warming Lotus…” Wu Xing He muttered under his breath. He had certainly heard of this Supreme Treasure before, but it never crossed his mind that such a valuable item was in Yang Kai’s possession.
With the Soul Warming Lotus protecting Yang Kai’s Soul, it was expected that Hei Yuan would lose in such a contest.
“Anyway, the Black Ink Clan have suffered immense losses recently; however, the Feudal Lords who are still around have gathered together around the surviving Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, so I’m no longer able to keep attacking. It’s time we went home.”
Upon hearing that, Wu Xing He nodded, “You’d better keep yourself safe, Junior Brother. You’re just a Seventh-Order Master now, but you’ve managed to make such a huge contribution. When you ascend to the Eighth Order in the future, you’ll be a pillar of strength for the Human Race. You must prioritise your safety at all times.”
Yang Kai replied humbly, “Many thanks for your compliment, Senior Brother.”
“How confident are you that you can kill Hei Yuan if you find him?” Wang Si Bo suddenly asked.
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai shook his head, “I have no idea; however, since Hei Yuan’s Soul is damaged, he must be significantly weakened now. If I run into him, I’ll stand a chance to end his life. Why do you ask, Senior Brother Wang?”
A hint of hesitation flashed through Wang Si Bo’s face.
Realising something, Yang Kai asked, “Do you have a way to locate Hei Yuan?”
Wang Si Bo remained silent.
Nevertheless, his silence meant that he definitely had a way to find Hei Yuan. Yang Kai promptly said, “Senior Brother Wang, if you have a solution, why don’t you tell me about it? Although I’ve destroyed a lot of Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and severely damaged their foundation, Black Ink Nests can still be hatched again. It will just take them some time and energy to nurture these Black Ink Nests. However, it will be different if we have a chance to kill Hei Yuan, who is one of the top five Territory Lords serving Mu Guang. Killing Hei Yuan will deal much longer-lasting damage than destroying 10 Territory Lord Black Ink Nests. His death will be a severe blow to the Black Ink Clan.”
After a sigh, Wang Si Bo said, “I wouldn’t dare to say that I can definitely find him, but I can give it a try.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “I’m all ears.”
Wang Si Bo went on to say, “Hei Yuan has a defensive artifact that was made by me.”
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai soon realised what the other man was talking about, “That arm ring?”
Certainly, he was aware that there was an arm ring on Hei Yuan’s right arm; after all, he had frequently come into contact with him. Although Yang Kai knew that it was an artifact made by a Human Artifact Refiner, it never crossed his mind that it was crafted by Wang Si Bo.
As expected, Wang Si Bo nodded, “Indeed. It was an arm ring. Back then, Hei Yuan found me and told me to make a defensive artifact for him; therefore, I specifically made the arm ring for him. Although the defensive artifact isn’t very strong, it’s not weak either. It might save his life at a critical moment. Since you’ve seen it before, it means that he’s still wearing it.”
Yang Kai nodded, “En.”
“It will be easy, then,” Wang Si Bo put on a smile, “Junior Brother, you’re an Artifact Refiner yourself, so you know that we have a habit of leaving unique marks on the artifacts we make to show that they are our works.”
Certainly, Yang Kai was aware of this custom. Just like Wang Si Bo had said, many Artifact Refiners had a habit of leaving their unique mark on the artifacts they refined. Of course, they wouldn’t leave a mark on every artifact they crafted, only the special and unique ones. The reason Artifact Refiners did such a thing was that they wanted to make a name for themselves. On the other hand, an artifact with a unique mark of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster would be costly.
The marks could either be conspicuous or hidden, it was fully at the Artifact Refiner’s discretion.
In fact, Yang Kai had done such a thing as well; however, he didn’t leave a unique mark but instead a kind of hidden restriction. He left such a restriction in every artifact he refined for the Feudal Lords. When he dealt with Zha Gu, he activated the corresponding restrictions, disrupting the flow of energy in the artifacts on Zha Gu’s body, rendering them brittle and useless. That was how he managed to kill him with one strike back then.
Therefore, he could easily understand what Wang Si Bo was talking about at this moment, “Did you leave a mark in that arm ring?”
“En,” Wang Si Bo nodded. There was no doubt that the arm ring he made for Hei Yuan was valuable, which was why he left his unique mark on it, “I can make something to trace that mark. Perhaps it will allow you to find Hei Yuan. However, if he’s hiding in a Sealed World or if he’s too far away, it won’t work.”
If Hei Yuan was hiding in a Sealed Would, he couldn’t be traced as the signal from the mark couldn’t be traced across a World Barrier. On the other hand, if he was too far away, they simply would be able to connect to the mark.
With that said, it was worth giving it a try and Yang Kai promptly said, “In that case, please do what you can, Senior Brother Wang. It would be best if we can seize this chance to kill Hei Yuan, but if that’s not possible, we can just return to the Inner Sanctum.”
Certainly, Wang Si Bo wouldn’t turn him down.
However, he wasn’t able to freely use his power in Yang Kai’s Small Universe. Left with no choice, Yang Kai could only look for a safe place first.
Fortunately, there were a lot of Sealed Worlds within the Black Ink Clan’s territory. While Yang Kai was raising chaos, he discovered a lot of hidden portals to Sealed Worlds, but he didn’t have time to explore them; hence, it wasn’t hard for him to find a Sealed World now.
It only took him a day to locate a Sealed World, and after opening the portal, he entered and let Wang Si Bo out from his Small Universe. He had already prepared all the materials needed for Artifact Refining.
It wasn’t difficult to craft a tracker, but it would still most likely take Wang Si Bo several days. Yang Kai thus released Wu Xing He and the others so that they could protect Wang Si Bo while he searched around the Sealed World for any potential dangers. By doing so, he could explore this place as well.
If there were any rare Spirit Herbs or Profound Yin Spirit Fruits, he could pick them.
As he explored the Sealed World, Yang Kai pondered on where Hei Yuan was hiding.
Although Wang Si Bo could craft a tracker, it wouldn’t be useful if Hei Yuan was too far away; therefore, Yang Kai had to speculate where Hei Yuan was so that they could make better use of the tracker.
Since Hei Yuan’s Soul had been badly injured, he must be recuperating now.
A Black Ink Nest would be the best choice if a Black Ink Clansman wanted to recuperate. As a Territory Lord, Hei Yuan certainly had to go into a Territory Lord Rank Black Ink Nest to properly heal; however, Yang Kai was causing a storm in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, targeting Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. Hence, Hei Yuan might not have the guts to enter one. If he was cornered by Yang Kai in a Black Ink Nest, he would be in hot water.
Hence, Yang Kai was 80% sure that Hei Yuan wasn’t in any Black Ink Nest.
He believed that Hei Yuan would be hiding in a region where those Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest had already been destroyed. That was because there were no longer Black Ink Nests in such a place. Judging from what Yang Kai had been doing, he wouldn’t revisit such a place; thus, it would be considered a safe zone for Hei Yuan.
He might even be hiding in his own territory to fool his opponent.
A few days later, Yang Kai returned from the depths of the Sealed World. There were no valuable items in this Sealed World. He had picked a few herbs, but there were no Profound Yin Spirit Fruits.
During this period of time, Wang Si Bo had finished making the tracker.
Seeing Yang Kai, he passed something that looked like a compass to him and explained, “With the help of this thing, you’ll be able to detect the arm ring as long as it’s within range. You should find Hei Yuan when you detect the arm ring’s presence.”
“Got it.” Yang Kai nodded.
“Be cautious, Junior Brother. Although Hei Yuan has been weakened, he’s still a Territory Lord. Run away if you can’t defeat him,” Wang Si Bo said with concern.
Yang Kai replied, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I have to bring all of you back to the Inner Sanctum, so I won’t take any big risks.”
After moving Wang Si Bo and the others back inside his Small Universe, Yang Kai left the Sealed World. Upon identifying the direction with the help of his Universe Chart, he headed straight towards Hei Yuan’s territory.
Yang Kai held the compass in his hand, and he would take a look at it from time to time. Nevertheless, it didn’t react along the way.
Whenever he ran into a group of Black Ink Clansmen, he would directly kill them all. There wasn’t even a single Feudal Lord among the Black Ink Clansmen that he came across, so how were they supposed to stop him?
It seemed that his speculation was right. All the Feudal Lords had headed to the neighbouring Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests to help and waited for Yang Kai to arrive; therefore, there wasn’t a single Feudal Lord among the Black Ink Clansmen on patrol.
Yang Kai went on a killing spree for the next seven to eight days before he arrived at Hei Yuan’s territory.
He headed straight to Hei Yuan’s home territory, since he speculated that Hei Yuan was trying to deceive him by hiding in the least likely spot for him to look. This place also made sense for Hei Yuan though as this was where his foundation was. If he wanted to recuperate without relying on a Black Ink Nest, this place would be the best choice.
However, when Yang Kai arrived at the universe fragment and took a look at the compass, he realised that there was no reaction.
[Is Hei Yuan not here?]
Yang Kai frowned.
He certainly had trust in the thing Wang Si Bo crafted. This compass wasn’t a complicated artifact and Wang Si Bo was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, so the items he refined couldn’t possibly be useless.
Since the compass didn’t react, it suggested that Hei Yuan wasn’t here.
It seemed that Yang Kai’s speculation was wrong, so he was disappointed.
Nevertheless, since he was already here, he wouldn’t want to go back without achieving anything. As he took a glance at the shattered universe fragment, he activated the power of his Dragon Vein and roared. The next instant, he turned into a 30,000-metre-long Dragon.
Life hadn’t been peaceful for the Black Ink Clansmen living on this universe fragment.
When the Human named Yang Kai appeared as a Grand Dragon previously, not only did he destroy the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and kill a lot of Black Ink Clansmen, but he also shattered the universe fragment. As a result, the city was ruined, and a lot of the resources in the shops were stolen.
There was originally a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest that continuously produced Black Ink Strength here, which was the foundation that the Black Ink Clansmen relied on to survive. Now that the Black Ink Nest was destroyed, the Black Ink Strength around the universe fragment became thinner and thinner. A long time had passed, but the injured Black Ink Clansmen still hadn’t managed to recover.
It was imaginable that the remaining Black Ink Strength would be gone for good in no time. When that happened, the situation here would only exacerbate.
On the other hand, Hei Yuan was missing. Initially, there were still some Feudal Lords in this area, but they had left soon after. It seemed that they had headed out to protect other Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests.
The Black Ink Clansmen living on the universe fragment were apprehensive about their future. Although some High-Rank Clansmen assured them that Hei Yuan wouldn’t abandon them, and that he would get another Black Ink Nest to rebuild their foundation, their efforts did little to assuage these fears.
Just as the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment were lost in their own anxiety, they heard a Dragon Roar coming from the distance, and it sounded familiar.
The Black Ink Clansmen looked up and saw that there was a colossal Grand Dragon with a golden glow descending from the sky, shaking its head and flicking its tail as it swam towards them.
[Why is he here again!?]
The Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment were stunned. It was said that this Grand Dragon had been targeting Territory Lord Rank Black Ink Nests, but since the Black Ink Nest in this place had been destroyed, why was he here now?
Before they could figure out the reason, the Grand Dragon was upon them. Wherever he went, Black Ink Clansmen would die.
When Yang Kai arrived at this place as a Grand Dragon previously, he faced resistance from a lot of Feudal Lords; however, this time, the most powerful opponents were just High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Faced with Yang Kai’s intense Dragon Pressure, these Black Ink Clansmen were so terrified they ran away at first sight, not daring to clash with him.
The Grand Dragon destroyed everything in sight as though there was no one else in this place. As he breathed out his Dragon Breath, the Black Ink Clansmen screamed in terror and pain.
When Yang Kai left two hours later, the entire universe fragment was thoroughly shattered.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives during the carnage. It was estimated that over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen had perished. Although there wasn’t a Feudal Lord among them, these High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were still part of the Black Ink Clan’s foundation. Their deaths could potentially affect the Black Ink Clan’s survival as a whole.
What’s more, all the resources in all the shops had been snatched up.
Although Yang Kai had previously looted several shops, he didn’t obtain everything as he was in a hurry. This time, he could pillage without any worries, so he picked the Black Ink Clan clean.
The entire universe was shattered, and innumerable Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives. It could be said that Hei Yuan’s home territory was thoroughly destroyed.
This was probably the first Territory Lord territory to be completely wiped out by a Human in history.
Unfortunately, Hei Yuan wasn’t here.
Hei Yuan’s Soul had been damaged, so if Yang Kai could find him here, he had the confidence to kill him; however, the void was expansive, so Yang Kai wasn’t even sure where to start looking for him.
Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do at this point.
It was time he returned to Yin-Yang Pass. The Black Ink Clan’s Army was currently besieging the Great Pass, but Yang Kai had no idea about the specifics over there.
Since he had made up his mind, he headed straight towards Yin-Yang Pass. As Space Principles flared, his figure flickered. There weren’t any obstacles along the way. Perhaps the Black Ink Clansmen were too terrified of him now, so they wouldn’t dare to wander about.
Half a day later, just as he was about to leave Hei Yuan’s territory and enter another Territory Lord’s domain, the compass in his hand shook a little all of a sudden.
Although he didn’t find Hei Yuan in his home territory, Yang Kai still held out hope. Perhaps he might find a trace that would lead him to Hei Yuan on his way back, so he kept the compass made by Wang Si Bo on his person the whole time.
Hence, he was pleasantly surprised that it finally reacted.
The vibration was weak; however, Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had been hoping to find Hei Yuan, so he had been paying close attention to the compass. Therefore, the moment the compass vibrated, he immediately noticed it.
Yang Kai abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked down, only to see that the pointer was slightly swaying as it pointed in a particular direction.
His eyes brightened. Since the compass was reacting, it suggested that it had detected the arm ring’s presence. Hei Yuan was always wearing the arm ring on his right arm, so wherever it was, Hei Yuan should be hiding there.
The reason the pointer was swaying was that Hei Yuan was still far away. It was barely within the range where the compass could detect the arm ring, so it could only roughly point out a direction.
That was enough though.
Yang Kai was ecstatic. He initially thought that he would miss the chance to kill Hei Yuan, so he was surprised at the turn of events.
He immediately concealed his aura and charged in the direction that the compass had pointed.
There was no doubt that Hei Yuan was recuperating. Although his Soul had been injured, he was still a Territory Lord; therefore, it wouldn’t be easy to take him down. Yang Kai reckoned that his best hope was to launch a sneak attack on him.
As he got closer, the pointer gradually stabilised and eventually stopped swaying.
Half a day later, Yang Kai hid inside a Black Ink Cloud and silently examined the universe fragment in front of him.
The universe fragment was pretty huge as it was left behind from a shattered Universe World. Such universe fragments were innumerable on the Black Ink Battlefield, especially inside the Black Ink Clan’s territory. Many Feudal Lords and Territory Lords built their bases on such universe fragments.
Hei Yuan’s home territory was also built on a universe fragment.
As Yang Kai observed this place, he realised that there were no Black Ink Clansmen moving around on the universe fragment. Hei Yuan was nowhere in sight, nor could he detect his aura.
However, the compass was pointing in this direction. In other words, Hei Yuan must be hiding in this universe fragment.
After observing for a bit, he still couldn’t find Hei Yuan. Yang Kai frowned and dashed out of the Black Ink Cloud before charging towards the universe fragment.
Since he had no idea where Hei Yuan was, he could only search for him.
He did his best to conceal himself as he moved around the universe fragment like a ghost. Initially, Yang Kai was worried that his whereabouts would be exposed; after all, regardless of how well he could conceal his aura, Hei Yuan might detect his presence in such close proximity. However, after he searched around most of the universe fragment, there was still no reaction from Hei Yuan.
It was only then that Yang Kai set his mind at ease. It seemed that Hei Yuan was indeed badly injured. When a Black Ink Clansman was horribly injured, the best way to recuperate was to enter an unconscious state. In other words, Hei Yuan was probably hibernating somewhere on this universe fragment.
That would allow Yang Kai to make a move with ease.
However, after inspecting most of the places on the universe fragment, he still couldn’t find Hei Yuan. Fortunately, there came a moment when a hint of Black Ink Strength caught his attention.
In the Black Ink Clan’s territory, Black Ink Strength was practically omnipresent. Some of it had even formed into Black Ink Clouds; therefore, Yang Kai didn’t pay attention to this wisp of Black Ink Strength initially.
It wasn’t until he realised there was something off about this particular patch of Black Ink Strength that he decided to examine it.
A moment later, he noticed that the source of the Black Ink Strength was inside the universe fragment; in other words, Hei Yuan was hiding within the universe fragment.
It was no wonder that Yang Kai was unable to find him even after such a long time.
With that thought in mind, he traced the Black Ink Strength and soon found a cave that led to the depths of the universe fragment.
As he held his breath, Yang Kai snuck into the cave and descended for quite some time. The deeper he went, the thicker the Black Ink Strength was. This led him to believe that his judgment was right.
There came a moment when he saw light at the other end of the cave.
There was a huge empty space in the centre of the universe fragment, and as he looked up, Yang Kai couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
That was because there was a several-dozen-metre tall Black Ink Nest in the centre of this universe fragment. Just like the other Black Ink Nests that Yang Kai had seen before, this one looked like a dark flower bud and as it breathed, the entire Black Ink Nest pulsated like a heart.
He was surprised that there was a Black Ink Nest in this place.
One had to know that he had destroyed Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, so supposedly, all the sub-nests bred from it should have withered by now. Why was there still a Black Ink Nest here?
The only possibility was that this Black Ink Nest wasn’t a sub-nest of Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, nor was it a sub-nest of any of the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests Yang Kai had destroyed.
This might even be another Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest; otherwise, it couldn’t possibly have survived.
However, its scale wasn’t even comparable to the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests. Hei Yuan must have hatched it in a hurry to help him recuperate, so he didn’t have time to grow it yet.
As Yang Kai looked down at the compass, the pointer was pointing at the Black Ink Nest.
[Found you!] Yang Kai stored the compass and examined the Black Ink Nest in front of him.
The entire Black Ink Nest had been sealed up, so it was impossible for him to sneak inside without alerting Hei Yuan.
Nevertheless, Hei Yuan still didn’t react even though Yang Kai was in such close proximity. It seemed that he was really in a state of deep sleep.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and reached out his hand, summoning the Azure Dragon Spear into his grip. The next instant, he madly pushed the power of his Small Universe.
As a Golden Crow cawed, a Great Sun leapt up from behind Yang Kai. Fixing the Great Sun at the tip of his spear, he hurled it towards the Black Ink Nest. At the same time, Space Principles flared, turning the local space viscous, giving Hei Yuan no chance to flee.
Under the Great Sun, the several-dozen-metre tall Black Ink Nest was blown away. Right then, a roar with a hint of fury reverberated across the space. The next instant, a golden light dazzled Yang Kai’s eyes as a ring-shaped light shield appeared and blocked his attack.
It was the arm ring refined by Wang Si Bo!
Yang Kai long ago realised that the arm ring was a defensive artifact that Hei Yuan wore on his right arm. Although he had been sound asleep, he, as a Territory Lord, still instinctively reacted to the danger the moment Yang Kai launched the attack and the arm ring’s shield was instantly activated.
Wang Si Bo was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, so the defensive artifact with his unique mark that he had personally refined certainly wouldn’t be weak when it came to its defence.
However, it wasn’t enough to withstand Yang Kai’s attack either; after all, he was significantly more powerful than an average Seventh-Order Master. Furthermore, Golden Crow Casts the Sun was a Divine Manifestation, so ordinary Secret Techniques were not comparable to it.
Under the Great Sun, the golden defence shattered and Yang Kai directly thrust his Azure Dragon Spear towards Hei Yuan’s chest.
It was expected that Hei Yuan was in a terrible mood as he was faced with such an attack right after he awakened. As his power burst forth, he forcefully threw out his fist.
In an instant, the ground cracked and rocks flew around.
The universe fragment, which had been drifting around the void in silence over countless years, was subject to a violent clash, and in the next instant, it exploded into pieces.
Two figures shot out of it. While in mid-air, Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as a sheet.
He almost couldn’t bear Hei Yuan’s all-out attack. Some of his ribs were broken and his five viscera and six organs were throbbing. Just like what Wang Si Bo had said, even though Hei Yuan had been weakened, he was still a Territory Lord.
Yang Kai stabilised himself and lifted his gaze, only to see that Hei Yuan was looking furious. There was a hint of puzzlement behind his eyes, as it was apparent that he hadn’t figured out what was going on yet.
The arm ring on his right arm had turned dim with cracks all over it. Most of its spirituality had been lost.
It was only thanks to this arm ring that blocked Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun at the critical moment that his life was saved; otherwise, he could’ve been killed by Yang Kai in that sneak attack.
Even so, blood was still streaming from his chest at this moment as the blow had still hurt him.
A short while later, Hei Yuan figured out what was going on. As he looked up and made out the person who launched a sneak attack on him, he said through clenched teeth, “It’s you!”
Yang Kai spat out the blood in his mouth and sneered, “You’re pretty lucky.”
It was thanks to the arm ring that Wang Si Bo had made for Hei Yuan that Yang Kai could find Hei Yuan. Nevertheless, it was also because of the arm ring that his strike was rendered ineffective. His success and failure were all because of Wang Si Bo.
With that said, he had found Hei Yuan at the very least, and the battle had just started.
“How did you know that I was here?” Hei Yuan was both surprised and shocked as he couldn’t figure it out. The void was vast, and he was hiding inside an empty universe fragment to recuperate. How did Yang Kai discover him?
One had to know that he randomly chose this place to settle down for the time being. No one else was aware of his whereabouts.
Despite that, Yang Kai had still accurately located him and launched a sneak attack on him, which was inconceivable.
“Is it hard to find you?” Yang Kai sneered as he wielded his spear, “I can smell the stench coming from your body even if we’re billions of kilometres apart. So, don’t even think about hiding from me. Wherever you are, I can find you and kill you.”
Hei Yuan’s expression darkened, “Do you think you’re capable of doing it?”
“You’ll soon find out if I’m capable or not!” Yang Kai snorted, looking high-spirited as he pointed his spear at his opponent, “Don’t even think about running away, as today, either you die, or I perish, there is no third possibility!”
“Run?” Hei Yuan was so furious that he started laughing as his Territory Lord aura rose. Black Ink Strength swirled around his burly figure as he roared, “How dare a trivial ant like you challenge this Lord! You court death!”
As his horrifying pressure burst forth, space started contorting. Under the influence of his fury, Hei Yuan’s robust figure expanded and became even more intimidating.
Standing in front of Hei Yuan, Yang Kai was so petite that it was as though he was really just an ant.
In the next instant, a huge fist came at Yang Kai. Faced with such an imposing attack, Yang Kai had never been more solemn, because wherever the fist went, space would shatter apart.
This showed how powerful a Territory Lord truly was, and the situation was quite unlike what Yang Kai had imagined. The damage to Hei Yuan’s Soul didn’t seem to affect his strength at all.
This reality surprised Yang Kai, but he didn’t have time to ponder on it. Faced with Hei Yuan’s punch, he didn’t hesitate to cover himself in spear light and charge towards his opponent. As he infused his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm World Force into the Azure Dragon Spear, he was determined to pierce through whatever stood in front of him.
As the violent forces clashed, Yang Kai felt an immense power sweeping across his figure. He almost lost grip of his spear as the force easily shattered all of his defences, causing him to see stars as he was sent flying backwards while spraying out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
If not for the fact that he had the World Tree’s clone, his Small Universe would have turned upside down because of this one attack. Once a cultivator’s Small Universe was shaken, his power would severely weaken. When that happened, his life or death would be controlled by his opponent.
Despite the fact that Yang Kai’s Small Universe was robust, he couldn’t make up for the gap between their powers.
A relentless Hei Yuan was determined to capture Yang Kai and charged forward, throwing out his fist again.
Yang Kai raised his spear to intercept the attack, but his attempt was futile and he was sent flying away again.
*Hong hong hong…*
A violent force swept across the void with every attack that Hei Yuan launched. Despite being defiant, Yang Kai was powerless to counterattack, as though he was a mere sandbag.
Barely a moment later, he was covered in blood, looking completely battered.
Struck by Hei Yuan’s fist again, Yang Kai flew out several hundred kilometres and crashed into a universe fragment and remained there, unmoving.
Hei Yuan strode towards Yang Kai, and with every step he took, he crossed several dozen kilometres. It only took him a moment to reach Yang Kai, and as he looked down at him, he spoke in a voice so loud that it reverberated across the void, “Have you lost all hope, ant? Don’t worry. I won’t kill you, for you are still useful to the Royal Lord. I initially had no idea where to look for you, but since you’ve delivered yourself right to me, I’ll not let you go.”
Upon finishing his words, he extended his hand towards Yang Kai.
“Stop shamelessly boasting,” Yang Kai sneered as he stood straight up without a warning, the blood on his face giving him a hideous look, “Do you seriously think I’m unable to fight back? I was just trying to ascertain the gap between our strengths.”
As he spoke, Hei Yuan managed to grasp him. Yang Kai was stuck in the huge hand and was restrained by thick Black Ink Strength. Aware that Yang Kai was a Master in the Dao of Space, Hei Yuan ensured that his opponent wouldn’t be able to flee.
The calm expression on Yang Kai’s face made Hei Yuan even more furious though and he exerted more force with his grip, resulting in the sounds of bones cracking. He lifted Yang Kai and said grimly, “Have you ascertained the gap between us now?”
Yang Kai let out a breath, “En, and you’re not as powerful as I thought.”
“Now who is boasting shamelessly?” Hei Yuan growled, “You’re in my grasp now. I can squeeze you to death if I feel like it!”
Yang Kai just grinned at him though, and in the next instant, an invisible force condensed into a spike and stabbed into Hei Yuan’s forehead. An unsuspecting Hei Yuan felt that a stake had penetrated his head. He was instantly overwhelmed by excruciating pain, which caused him to flail and groan in agony.
Yang Kai, who was right in front of him, gripped his spear and stabbed it into Hei Yuan’s left eye, directly destroying it. Black Ink Strength and dark blood gushed out of the now empty eye socket and dyed Yang Kai black.
Hei Yuan roared even louder as he staggered backwards.
In excruciating pain, he instinctually tightened his grip in an attempt to kill Yang Kai. Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t let that happen. As he roared, he transformed into a 30,000-metre-long gigantic creature and effortlessly broke free from Hei Yuan’s grip. Yang Kai next directly struck Hei Yuan with his Dragon Tail and sent him flying away like an arrow.
Hei Yuan only managed to stabilize himself with difficulty after flying across several thousand kilometres. As he covered his wounded eye with one hand, he sported a grim expression, dark blood streaming through the gaps between his fingers.
Yang Kai had turned back into his Human Form, and with the Azure Dragon Spear in hand, he sauntered towards Hei Yuan. Although he still looked battered, he wasn’t dispirited at all; instead, he appeared condescending.
As the Human drew closer, Hei Yuan couldn’t help but step backwards, his only remaining eye filled with horror.
Yang Kai said impassively, “Do you think you can intimidate me just by showing your strength? Such a display only proves how weak you are. I guess it’s really hard to heal the damage in your Soul. Am I right, Sir Hei Yuan?”
“You knew from the start!” Hei Yuan said through clenched teeth.
Yang Kai snorted, “Of course I knew. If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t have looked for you in the first place. This place will be your grave. Are you ready to die, Hei Yuan?”
Upon finishing his words, he lifted his spear and vanished into thin air.
When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Hei Yuan. In an overbearing manner, Yang Kai thrust his Azure Dragon Spear towards his enemy’s other eye.
A flustered Hei Yuan extended his fist in a hurry in an attempt to intercept this attack, but in that instant, Yang Kai pushed his Spiritual Energy again and launched another attack on Hei Yuan’s Soul.
Instantly, Hei Yuan growled, feeling as though someone had stuck a knife into his head. The pain caused his figure to shudder. Just like Yang Kai had said, it wasn’t easy to heal the damage to one’s Soul, and Hei Yuan’s was badly injured during their previous confrontation in that special space. It was now a fatal weakness which Yang Kai could use against him.
If he were at his peak, Yang Kai couldn’t have easily attacked his Soul; however, given the state he was in, Hei Yuan couldn’t possibly fend off Yang Kai’s attack on his Soul.
His injured Soul was attacked once again, which caused his defence to slip and Yang Kai easily bypassed it with his spear.
At the critical moment, Hei Yuan tilted his head and saved his remaining eye from being gouged out. Although there was now a wound on his head, physically he was still fine.
Just as Yang Kai was ready to push out his spear again, Hei Yuan swung his arm out and swept him away. The next moment, he turned around and ran away at full speed.
Yang Kai couldn’t believe that his opponent had fled just like this. He had been targeting the damage in Hei Yuan’s Soul, so the latter was completely powerless to go against him. If Hei Yuan hadn’t fled, he would be doomed.
Since he didn’t want to die though, Hei Yuan could only run away.
As Yang Kai stared at his opponent’s back, he slightly lowered his head, “No one can flee from me. Don’t even dream about it, Hei Yuan!”
Saying so, he manipulated Space Principles.
Instantly, Hei Yuan’s movements became sluggish, as though he was stuck in a quagmire. But soon, a powerful force burst from his figure, which allowed him to struggle out of the constraint.
Yang Kai frowned in surprise, for this was the first time he saw that someone able to break through his Space Principles restraint with such ease.
However, Hei Yuan was still a Territory Lord while Yang Kai was just a Seventh-Order Master, so the raw power difference between them was still quite large. It wasn’t surprising that Hei Yuan could do this.
Based on Yang Kai’s observation, Hei Yuan was still able to fully utilize his strength as long as his Soul wasn’t attacked.
But when his Soul was targeted, his power would drop considerably.
Initially, Yang Kai wanted to settle this issue quickly, but now it seemed that he had to act carefully. It would be terrible if Hei Yuan became desperate and went all out against him without caring for his own life.
Yang Kai still remembered vividly that when he joined forces with Bai Yi to deal with the wounded Zhu Feng back then; they were almost killed despite the Territory Lord being terribly wounded.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai chased after his opponent and shouted, “You can’t run, Hei Yuan!”
At the same time, he struck with his spear and manipulated Space Principles to restrict Hei Yuan’s movements.
Noticing the danger coming from behind, Hei Yuan turned around and roared before pushing out his fist.
A well-prepared Yang Kai used the same trick by sending out a Spiritual Energy attack. Instantly, Hei Yuan staggered, and his punch was significantly weakened.
While enduring the attack, Yang Kai jabbed his spear into the side of Hei Yuan’s belly and madly surged his World Force. A hole was formed in Hei Yuan’s abdomen as a result.
The two of them traded injuries, and seeing how Yang Kai was forced back, Hei Yuan quickly turned around and fled.
Soon, Yang Kai caught up though and repeated the process.
Barely half a year ago, Yang Kai had been running away from Hei Yuan for such a long time that the World Force in his Small Universe had almost dried up. Now, the prey had become the hunter. He was the one pursuing Hei Yuan. It seemed that Hei Yuan had run out of luck.
Hei Yuan knew that he was unable to flee from Yang Kai as the latter was a Master of the Dao of Space; however, he didn’t lose hope. Every time Yang Kai attacked him, he would be injured as well. As they kept wounding each other, Hei Yuan hoped that Yang Kai would be the one who could no longer persevere. Only then would he stand a chance to escape.
Unfortunately for Hei Yuan, he wasn’t aware that this was the situation Yang Kai had deliberately created.
In fact, Yang Kai wasn’t unable to dodge Hei Yuan’s counterattacks at all. There were several times when he could have completely evaded such attacks, but he still chose to clash with Hei Yuan despite knowing that he would be wounded as well.
Yang Kai wanted to give the prey in front of him the illusion that he could still survive and escape.
Yang Kai’s cultivation may not be as high as Hei Yuan’s, but in terms of restorative abilities, Hei Yuan was far inferior to him. Trading injuries put Yang Kai at an advantage. Hei Yuan was destined to grow weaker over the course of this chase, and at the right time, perhaps Hei Yuan would die from exhaustion even without his intervention!
Nonetheless, Hei Yuan was not an idiot. He might not know what Yang Kai was planning, but he was still trying his very best to escape from his pursuit.
He repeatedly fled to the Fiefs of a few Feudal Lords, hoping to use the Black Ink Clansmen in those territories to stop Yang Kai.
However, the remaining Black Ink Clansmen in those Feudal Lord Fiefs were basically just the Low and High-Rank Clansmen with no Feudal Lords at all. How could they possibly stop Yang Kai?
They might delay him for a few breaths, but it was impossible for Hei Yuan to completely escape.
The chase continued across billions of kilometres and Hei Yuan’s injuries became more and more severe. He was riddled with wounds now, and not a single part of his body was left unbloodied. The fury and grievance boiling in his heart could not be expressed in words.
He was far stronger than Yang Kai in terms of raw power, but Yang Kai kept deliberately targeting his heavily injured Soul, rendering him unable to display the strength of a Territory Lord. Otherwise, why would he be in such a miserable condition?
Several times, Hei Yuan had an urge to turn around and fight to the death with Yang Kai, but in the end, he didn’t have the courage to do so. In his current state, he would not survive if he truly tried to fight to the death with Yang Kai. He wasn’t even sure that he could take Yang Kai down with him at this point.
His desire to survive pushed him to constantly flee, hoping for some miracle to happen which would help him overcome his current crisis.
Suddenly, a variable indeed appeared.
At some point, Hei Yuan suddenly felt a few familiar and powerful auras rapidly approaching him; obviously, they were other Territory Lords, existences like him! He could even ascertain the identities of these people from the auras.
Hei Yuan was overjoyed!
Currently, most of the Territory Lords in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain had basically led their respective armies to fight against the Humans from Yin-Yang Pass. Only a few Territory Lords remained to guard critical areas like the Royal City.
However, Hei Yuan also knew that the Territory Lords in the Royal City had been assisting the Royal Lord in besieging the Human Old Ancestor. Hei Yuan had been recuperating recently, so he had no idea about the current situation of the battlefield.
Since he could sense the auras of these Territory Lords appearing in the distance though, it meant that the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord had come to an end. Regardless of what the final outcome of the battle was, these Territory Lords could provide some assistance at the front lines. And judging by the direction they were heading, it seemed that they were heading in that direction.
Running into them here was truly a stroke of luck.
Hei Yuan immediately flew in the direction of the Territory Lords without a moment of hesitation. So long as he met up with them, Yang Kai, who was chasing after him, would definitely have to act cautiously. He could even team up with the other Territory Lords and find a way to capture Yang Kai. With their help, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he might not be able to escape.
At this moment, Hei Yuan couldn’t help but recall a saying passed down in the Human Race, ‘every cloud has a silver lining.’
But right then, a petite figure appeared in his sight all of a sudden. Hei Yuan suddenly felt so cold, it was like he had been frozen solid.
When Hei Yuan sensed the auras of these Territory Lords, Yang Kai also noticed them. Even from a great distance, the monstrous auras of these Territory Lords were as clear as the bright moon in the night sky.
Yang Kai immediately became anxious.
He had originally planned to slowly exhaust Hei Yuan to death as, no matter how weakened, the latter was still a Territory Lord. If he was forced into a corner, Yang Kai had no idea what kind of methods Hei Yuan could pull out in desperation. However, the sudden appearances of other Territory Lords had thrown his plans off entirely. He could sense Mie Qiong and Qing Lei among these auras, and apart from those two, he also sensed the aura of another unfamiliar Territory Lord.
In other words, there were three Territory Lords up ahead!
[What are they doing here?] According to the information Yang Kai had received, a few Territory Lords were assisting Mu Guang in besieging the Old Ancestor. That was why, when he had severely wounded Hei Yuan’s Soul, Yang Kai had been able to continue acting freely within the Black Ink Clan’s territory. After all, there was no other Territory Lord present to stop him.
But now, three of them had appeared all of a sudden, [Has the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord ended? Who won?]
Yang Kai had no time to give it another thought though as he only hesitated for a moment before immediately activating his Space Principles and disappearing like a ghost.
The next moment he appeared, he was not too far behind Hei Yuan. He promptly manipulated the local Space Principles to seal the surrounding space and thrust out his Azure Dragon Spear. At the same time, he fired a blast of his Spiritual Energy straight at Hei Yuan’s head while shouting, “Hei Yuan, suffer death!”
The three Territory Lords were still some distance away, so Yang Kai figured he still had enough time to escape after killing Hei Yuan.
Yang Kai was already prepared to defend against Hei Yuan’s final counterattack, but Hei Yuan appeared as if he was completely oblivious to the danger even when this fearsome spear thrust was upon him. Rather, all his attention was focused on something in front of him.
Suddenly, a glimmer of cold light flashed by as a petite figure, holding a longsword, flew past Hei Yuan. The longsword was devoid of even a stain of black blood and just so happened to collide with Yang Kai’s spear.
Yang Kai’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of this figure and he frantically retracted his spear, but the powerful impact still caused his vitality to tumble in his chest.
The petite figure rushed to Yang Kai and asked in surprise, “Why are you here?”
Yang Kai was also stunned as he asked in a dumbfounded voice, “Old Ancestor?”
He had not expected to run into the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor here. Yang Kai had been wondering about the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord when he felt the auras of Mie Qiong and the other Territory Lords up ahead. Nonetheless, it never crossed his mind that the Old Ancestor would suddenly appear before him the next moment.
[Does this mean that the Old Ancestor was fighting Mu Guang for an entire half a year? Astonishing!]
However, now was obviously not the time to reminisce about such things. The three Territory Lords behind the Old Ancestor were relentlessly chasing after her and would be here soon. So, after the Old Ancestor finished asking, she mustered her World Force, wrapped Yang Kai in it, and shouted, “Let’s get out of here first!”
Yang Kai could only allow himself to be dragged along by the Old Ancestor, flying forward as fast as lightning.
While escaping, he took a quick look back and saw Hei Yuan’s huge body collapse into countless pieces all of a sudden.
Apparently, in the brief moment the Old Ancestor passed him by, she had ruthlessly attacked him.
Hei Yuan was already on his last legs and had no strength to take on an attack from an Old Ancestor. A load had been taken off Yang Kai’s mind when he saw this.
Hei Yuan might not have died at his hands, but in the end he didn’t escape.
“Didn’t I tell you to meet up with the Army? Why are you still here?” The Old Ancestor curiously asked as she led Yang Kai away.
Yang Kai respectfully replied, “Mu Guang’s army moved to engage the Army from Yin-Yang Pass. At first, the huge army was blocking my path, so it was difficult for me to break through alone. I wasn’t able to join up with the others. Later, something happened, so I stayed here.”
“You might be young, but your courage isn’t small,” the Old Ancestor indifferently stated. Who knows whether she was mocking him or praising him. She then suddenly asked, “Were you the one who injured that guy?”
“Hei Yuan?” Yang Kai nodded, “Yes, it was me.”
“No wonder he didn’t have any strength to resist my attack,” the Old Ancestor instantly understood, “If he was at his peak, I might not have been able to kill him in my current state.”
Yang Kai was taken aback after hearing this and immediately took a closer look at the Old Ancestor’s face, “Are you injured?”
The Old Ancestor gloomily nodded, “My injuries aren’t light.” But the next moment, she suddenly sneered, “Don’t worry, that old hag’s injuries are even worse, she’s currently unconscious inside her Black Ink Nest.”
Yang Kai’s heart was shaken. He knew that the ‘old hag’ she was referring to should be Mu Guang.
Both of them had fought countless times since they had taken command of this war zone, so a deep blood feud had already been forged between the two. Both were Supreme Masters of their respective Race and they had always been on par with each other. Since the Old Ancestor had suffered heavy injuries, Mu Guang would not have fared any better either.
Otherwise, not just these Territory Lords would be chasing after the Old Ancestor.
Just now, Yang Kai had been wondering why someone like the Old Ancestor was even being chased by a few Territory Lords, but now he knew the answer. Apparently, her injuries were quite serious.
However, there was one thing that piqued Yang Kai’s curiosity, “Old Ancestor, those Territory Lords don’t seem to be injured at all.”
The Old Ancestor pursed her lips in disdain, “These cowards were just hovering around in the background while I was fighting with that old hag. They didn’t dare to interfere, so why would they be injured? However, when I broke through the encirclement, I killed one of them; otherwise, the ones chasing after me would have been four Territory Lords. Heh heh, I’m pretty awesome, aren’t I?”
Saying so, she even winked at Yang Kai.
At that moment, Yang Kai couldn’t remain calm and the corners of his mouth twitched as he praised, “Old Ancestor is truly too amazing and awesome, your might is simply boundless!”
The Old Ancestor seemed to be quite happy to hear the praise, no matter how obviously forced it was. Quickly composing herself though, she asked, “I’m quite curious, how did you injure a Territory Lord to the point you could chase him down? You’re only in the Seventh Order, right?”
If all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were so powerful, the Black Ink Clan would have long been wiped out.
Yang Kai explained, “Hei Yuan dug his own grave.”
Afterwards, he briefly explained what he had done so far and how Hei Yuan had worked together with many others to set up a trap, waiting for Yang Kai to fall into it. In the end, Hei Yuan only lifted a rock just to drop it on his own foot. He failed to do anything to Yang Kai’s consciousness in that strange space and instead was badly wounded. With the help of the compass refined by Wang Si Bo, Yang Kai coincidentally found Hei Yuan’s location and engaged in a fierce battle with him before pursuing him.
The Old Ancestor’s eyes lit up as she listened, “Their Black Ink Nests actually have such a connection?”
“Did Old Ancestor really not know?”
The Old Ancestor explained, shaking her head, “The Human Race actually knows very little about the Black Ink Clan. Because of the Black Ink Strength, we are unable to explore the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, let alone their Black Ink Nests. What’s more, Black Ink Nests are the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, so they naturally do not reveal secrets about them. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to obtain this intel at all.”
Having said so, a solemn look appeared on her face before she continued, “According to what you said, each Black Ink Nest can be counted as a sub-nest of a higher-grade Black Ink Nest. If a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest is destroyed, all of its sub-nest will wither as well. If that old hag’s Black Ink Nest were destroyed, wouldn’t all of the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests also wither, thereby affecting all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests as well?”
Yang Kai agreed with a nod, “That should be the case.”
The Old Ancestor asked again, “Then whose nest bred the Royal Lord Black Ink Nests?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t know either. According to the Black Ink Clan, a Royal Lord Black Ink Nest is the highest-grade Black Ink Nest.”
The Old Ancestor remained silent for a long time before finally adding, “There must be a source. If we can find this source, perhaps we can eliminate the Black Ink Clan once and for all.”
Yang Kai asked worriedly, “If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean there’s an even stronger Black Ink Clansman, stronger than even the Royal Lords?” Since that source could give birth to a High-Rank Black Ink Nest owned by a Royal Lord, it would naturally be guarded by an even stronger Black Ink Clansman. That was quite a terrifying prospect.
The Royal Lords were already on par with the Old Ancestors. If there really was someone even stronger, what kind of strength could they display?
“Perhaps.” The Old Ancestor couldn’t explain it either, “Right now, our understanding of the Black Ink Clan is still too limited.”
While speaking, she turned her head to look and saw that the three Territory Lords were still hot on their tails. More importantly, instead of opening up a gap, the distance between them had actually gotten shorter. A trace of murderous intent flashed across the Old Ancestor’s eyes as she muttered, “These three stalkers are a bit troublesome. I’m afraid we won’t be able to escape unless we take care of them. Do you have any good ideas?”
Yang Kai decisively shook his head, “I’m unable to take on a Territory Lord, but if it’s just escaping, it shouldn’t be a problem. That’s my forte.”
The Old Ancestor glanced at him before realization dawned upon her, “Right, you’re proficient in the Dao of Space, I forgot about that. But I want to kill them!”
Yang Kai promised upon hearing this, “I’ll help out however I can!”
The Old Ancestor nodded her acknowledgement as she stated, “We’ll act according to the situation, don’t force it!”
“Yes!” Yang Kai replied firmly.
Right then, they spotted an average-sized universe fragment floating up ahead. Who knows how long it had been drifting through the void? In the cover of the universe fragment, the Old Ancestor turned around and landed straight on the universe fragment. The next moment, she thrust her longsword out repeatedly while forming a set of hand seals with her free hand.
Yang Kai couldn’t understand what she was doing, but he knew that the Old Ancestor was probably setting up some kind of Array or trap.
She was done in the blink of an eye. Afterwards, the Old Ancestor bit her fingertip before flicking a drop of gemstone-like Blood Essence into the void. Immediately after doing this, she quickly concealed her aura.
Yang Kai understood the gist of what she was planning and hurriedly concealed his aura as well. Of course, since his cultivation was lacking compared to the Old Ancestor’s his concealment wasn’t as effective. Although the Old Ancestor was standing in front of him right now, if one didn’t use their naked eyes to observe her, they wouldn’t be able to perceive her at all. This showed just how exquisite her Concealing Technique was. Of course, this also had to do with her fantastic strength.
Just as she was finished, the three pursuing Territory Lords flew across the universe fragment.
They failed to spot the Old Ancestor ahead; however, they seemed to have noticed the universe fragment from the corner of their eyes and felt that there was something strange about it.
Mie Qiong, who was leading the group, turned his head. The next moment, he saw the Old Ancestor dressed in white standing alone on the universe fragment with her sword pointed at them with a solemn expression on her face.
Mie Qiong’s hair stood on end. He might not have any idea as to what the Old Ancestor was planning, but judging by her posture, he could tell that it was not anything good for them.
At the same time, Qing Lei and the other Territory Lord whom Yang Kai didn’t recognize also noticed this peculiarity.
The three Territory Lords had never imagined that the Human Race’s Old Ancestor, who they had been chasing all this time, would actually stop here and ambush them.
They had thought that the Old Ancestor was too seriously injured and unable to contend with the three of them, which was why they had chased after her so aggressively. All along the way, the three Territory Lords had been fantasizing about killing an Old Ancestor; after all, the death of such a powerhouse was a rare opportunity. They would have made an enormous contribution to the war if they really did kill her.
It wasn’t until this moment that the three Territory Lords realised that things were different from what they had imagined. The Human Old Ancestor wasn’t completely powerless.
Before they could react, a torrential World Force erupted from the Old Ancestor as she swung her sword.
The universe fragment exploded and was reduced to dust as a giant Yin-Yang Fish pattern appeared in the void, enveloping the three Territory Lords.
The Yin-Yang Fish was filled with endless murderous intent and, as it rotated, it seemed to transform into a giant millstone that crushed everything in its range. The three Territory Lords who were enveloped by it immediately began to bleed profusely as they howled in pain and anguish.
Immediately after, a surge of Black Ink Strength erupted from the Territory Lords. Naturally, they wouldn’t just sit back and wait for death. Each of them released a powerful burst of energy in an attempt to break free.
While they were struggling though, the Old Ancestor arrived before the three Territory Lords with her sword in hand.
No one saw when she had attacked, not even Yang Kai who was standing right next to her.
It wasn’t until a cold light flashed in front of the Territory Lord Yang Kai didn’t recognize and his giant head flew up into the void that Yang Kai came to his senses.
The Old Ancestor had decapitated a Territory Lord with one swing of her blade.
The Old Ancestor had already made her move, so how could Yang Kai stand idly by? His figure instantly teleported in front of Mie Qiong and attacked.
At this moment, Mie Qiong was preoccupied with resisting the grinding force of the Yin-Yang Fish and his entire body was covered in blood as his aura had greatly weakened in this short span.
When Yang Kai attacked Mei Qiong with his spear, the latter was unable to react and was stabbed through the chest by the Azure Dragon Spear. Although this injury was not light, it wasn’t enough to take his life.
On the other hand, the Old Ancestor swung her sword towards Qing Lei, after killing the first Territory Lord.
Qing Lei wasn’t weak though and managed to dodge the oncoming attack, preserving his life. Be that as it may, the sword light cut off one of his arms as a fountain of black blood spurted from his wound, causing him to stagger back, howling in pain.
But his howl was abruptly cut off as the Old Ancestor slashed again. This time, Qing Lei was unable to dodge and his huge body was split in two.
At the same time Qing Lei was killed, Yang Kai was also sent flying by Mie Qiong’s fist, breaking many of his bones.
Yang Kai somehow managed to stabilize himself and grit his teeth as he madly mobilized Space Principles, wrapping himself in spear light as he shot towards his enemy.
Mie Qiong let out a furious roar and ruthlessly thrust out palm. As the palm and spear clashed, Yang Kai felt as if he was struck by lightning and he could see stars circling around his eyes.
Right then, a look of horror flashed across Mie Qiong’s eyes. Yang Kai also spotted the Old Ancestor silently appearing behind Mie Qiong like a ghost. Immediately after, she swung her sword, sending a shocking sword wave down at Mei Qiong.
When the brilliant sword wave disappeared, the frozen Mie Qiong fell to pieces, literally, and scattered in all directions.
Yang Kai stared ahead in a daze, his face covered in blood and filth.
Dead!
Three Territory Lords had died in less than 10 breaths. He might have participated in the battle, but his contribution was minuscule. He had only been able to restrain Mie Qiong for a moment and had even been struck hard by the latter’s counterattack.
It wasn’t wrong to say that these three Territory Lords had all died at the hands of the Old Ancestor.
The fearsome Territory Lords, against whom Yang Kai was completely helpless, were like common chickens in front of the Old Ancestor, unable to fight back or even resist, easily killed in an instant.
Yang Kai got to witness the true strength of an Old Ancestor up close today.
Be that as it may, he was greatly puzzled by the current situation before him and immediately turned to the Old Ancestor.
The Old Ancestor put away her longsword and turned to him, worriedly asking after seeing his state, “How are your injuries?”
Yang Kai lightly coughed before replying, shaking his head, “It’s nothing serious, I can recover after a few days of rest, but Old Ancestor… I don’t understand something.”
The Old Ancestor indifferently asked, “You want to know why I let them chase me since I could have killed them at any point I wished?”
Yang Kai nodded his affirmation.
The Old Ancestor replied, “Because I only had this much strength left. If I killed them before, I wouldn’t have been able to return, but since I met you, I’ll be relying on you to take me back.”
An earnest and serious expression took over Yang Kai’s face, “I will not fail in the duty I have been entrusted with.”
The Old Ancestor suddenly clucked her tongue, “Damn it, I’m about to revert back into a child again.”
Yang Kai was confused, “Huh?”
The moment he was finished speaking, the Old Ancestor suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood as her aura rapidly weakened like a deflating balloon.
Only then did Yang Kai suddenly come to his senses. The Old Ancestor was wounded, and her injuries were not light either.
Furthermore, the Old Ancestor began to shrink with the weakening of her aura.
Originally, the Old Ancestor looked like a young woman in her early twenties, but under Yang Kai’s dumbfounded gaze, this young woman seemed to regress into a seven or eight-year-old kid in less than 20 breaths.
Her white clothes also shrank along with her figure, sticking close to her body. Obviously, this was not an ordinary piece of clothing, but a specially refined artifact.
Yang Kai’s eyes almost popped out, looking at the little girl the Old Ancestor had transformed into, “You…”
He was not just shocked by the Old Ancestor’s transformation, but also by her little girl persona.
It was the same little girl who had been pestering him in Yin-Yang Pass’ Marketplace! It was this little girl who had given him that ancient coin.
When he first met the Old Ancestor, Yang Kai found her a bit familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen her before.
Now he finally understood that the Old Ancestor’s appearance was somewhat similar to that little girl’s. He had never imagined that the Old Ancestor herself was that little girl.
Suddenly, everything that Yang Kai had encountered back then which he failed to understand made sense to him.
Previously, he had been wondering why the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass hadn’t summoned him or given him any instructions before sending him on such an important mission to infiltrate the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory and find the Black Ink Disciple Artifact Refiners.
It wasn’t that the Old Ancestor hadn’t summoned him, but rather that she had been at his side the whole time!
The ancient coin’s origins also made sense now. How could a little girl who wasn’t even in the Open Heaven Realm steal such a precious thing from the Old Ancestor? At the time, Yang Kai had assumed the Old Ancestor had given it to her, but now it seemed that was not the case.
At this moment, Yang Kai couldn’t sense any trace of cultivation from this little girl. She was like an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated before. If Yang Kai hadn’t witnessed her transformation with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that this person in front of him was actually the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor!
[What the hell?] Yang Kai was more than a little confused.
“Don’t just stand there gawking, hurry up and run! Who knows when more Black Ink Clansmen might arrive to investigate.” The Old Ancestor’s face was pale and a bit of blood was trickling from the corner of her lips. Her bright eyes had gone grey and lost their shine and she looked extremely tired with her eyelids already starting to droop.
Having prompted Yang Kai, her small body staggered forward.
Yang Kai immediately reached out to support her.
“I’m a bit tired…” The little girl rubbed her eyes with her white, small and chubby baby hand, yawning, “Hurry back to the Pass, and be careful on the way.”
Saying so, she closed her eyes.
Yang Kai called out to her twice but didn’t receive any response. After he carefully examined the little girl in front of him, he found that she had really fallen asleep.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was left with no choice but to pick up the little girl by the waist and make a beeline towards Yin-Yang Pass.
He might not have played a big role in the last battle, but he was still injured by Mie Qiong while he was holding him back. However, this kind of injury wasn’t a big problem for Yang Kai; even if he didn’t take rest, he could still recover.
He looked down at the little girl in his arms, who was curled up and sound asleep, and couldn’t help noticing her extremely pale complexion.
No one would have ever thought that such a small girl would be able to kill three Territory Lords in an instant. Her tiny body actually carried within it the apex strength of the Human Race.
When Yang Kai first met her, he had only felt the aura of an Origin King Realm cultivator from her. At that time, he could not help but wonder how such a little girl could exist in Yin-Yang Pass. She had lied to him at the time, claiming to have been born in Yin-Yang Pass, and Yang Kai believed her.
But at this moment, Yang Kai could not even feel the slightest trace of a cultivator’s aura from her. She was like an ordinary mortal now.
Yang Kai had never encountered such a situation before but he suspected that it had something to do with the Old Ancestor’s Secret Art. Perhaps when she was seriously injured, she would return to her youth to recover.
He tried to place the little girl in his arms into his Small Universe, but he found that he was unable to do so. Even if the Old Ancestor was showing no signs of cultivation right now, her Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation was still present, so his Small Universe was unable to contain her.
Since he couldn’t put her in his Small Universe, he could only remain on guard and try to avoid any conflicts with the Black Ink Clan along the way as he physically carried her.
Furthermore, Yang Kai did not dare to use Instantaneous Movement unless absolutely necessary. Firstly, it would consume too much of his energy. It would have been extremely convenient for him to use Instantaneous Movement if he was alone, but bringing someone along with him would increase his consumption several times over. Secondly, the Old Ancestor’s condition really was not good and Yang Kai had no idea if Instantaneous Movement would negatively affect her.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s cultivation was not low and his speed was not slow. Even if he flew all the way back to Yin-Yang Pass, it would only take him a month or two.
Along the way, Yang Kai avoided the scattered Black Ink Clansmen and the journey remained uneventful for the time being.
Three days later, Yang Kai suddenly felt the small figure in his arms move.
Looking down, he saw the Old Ancestor rubbing her eyes and slowly waking up.
Yang Kai was overjoyed, “Old Ancestor, you’re awake?”
The Old Ancestor’s complexion was still pale, but it had improved compared to before, albeit only slightly.
The Old Ancestor let out a muffled groan as she shifted into a more comfortable position in Yang Kai’s embrace. Having done so, she indifferently asked, “Where are we?”
Yang Kai replied, “We’re still in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, about a month away from the Yin-Yang Pass.”
“So slow,” The Old Ancestor looked displeased.
Yang Kai suddenly felt a bit awkward, “Why don’t you sleep a little longer? Perhaps we’ll arrive the next time you wake up.”
The Old Ancestor deliberately widened her eyes, shaking her head, “I’m not tired, I’m not sleeping.”
Perhaps it was because it was uncomfortable in Yang Kai’s arms, her small body adjusted and changed to other positions a few times, but she was still not satisfied. Finally, she grabbed Yang Kai’s arm, flipped her body over, and straddled his neck, finally stopping.
Yang Kai suddenly felt uncomfortable.
It wouldn’t matter if a real seven- or eight-year-old little girl was riding on his shoulders, but the issue was that she wasn’t a little girl, she was the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass!
The high and mighty Old Ancestor was riding on his shoulders like this, putting him in an awkward position. It would be quite embarrassing if someone from Yin-Yang Pass saw this.
The Old Ancestor, on the other hand, seemed quite happy. Her two little legs dangling over Yang Kai’s chest rocked back and forth as she looked around with interest, as if she was enjoying the picturesque scenery.
However, there was naturally no picturesque scenery in the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland, so after staring for a while, the Old Ancestor grew bored and patted Yang Kai’s head, “I’m hungry!”
“Ah?” Yang Kai thought he misheard her.
“I’m hungry!” The little girl bent over and shouted in Yang Kai’s ear, “I want to eat some hot steamed stuffed buns!”
Yang Kai’s eyes widened in shock, “Where would I get steamed stuffed buns here?”
There were naturally no shops in this vast void. Yang Kai had a nagging feeling that the Old Ancestor’s temperament had greatly changed after turning into a kid.
“I don’t care, I want to eat steamed stuffed buns, right now, right this instant!” The little girl kept shouting, throwing a tantrum like a real child.
Yang Kai was just about to refuse her and say that he couldn’t do anything, but he suddenly remembered that while other Open Heaven Realm cultivators might not be able to accommodate this request, he was raising a large number of Humans in his Small Universe. He could get whatever he wanted from them!
Using his Divine Sense, he immediately found a steamed stuffed bun shop in a bustling city in his Small Universe.
The next moment, a tray of steamed stuffed buns appeared with a flip of his hand before he handed it to her, “Take it.”
The little girl immediately smiled happily. She grabbed a steamed stuffed bun and took a bite, but the next moment, she suddenly spat it out as a furrow appeared on her brow, “Yuck, this tastes like poop, I want to eat delicious steamed stuffed buns!”
Yang Kai immediately had a huge headache. He suddenly understood why those Seventh and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Yin-Yang Pass didn’t have the demeanour of Masters in the marketplace, and why each and every one of them was extremely unscrupulous with their business dealings.
The people of Yin-Yang Pass had to work hard in order to serve an Old Ancestor like her.
…..
Yang Kai’s Small Universe, inside the Main Conference Hall of Seven Stars Sect…
A meeting of the higher-ups was taking place.
Since the last time Yang Kai had borrowed the strength of the Emperor Realm Masters of Seven Stars Sect to kill Zhu Feng, they had gained some understanding of what was above the Emperor Realm.
Yang Kai also taught them the method to condense their Dao Seals and gave them some resources to cultivate with.
Recently, the higher-ups of the Seven Stars Sect had been working hard to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, but their aptitudes came up short. Even if they managed to break through to the Open Heaven Realm in the future, their Order would be extremely limited. They wouldn’t be of much help in the Black Ink Battlefield.
Only Miao Fei Ping had a chance of reaching the Sixth Order.
At this moment, the Emperor Realm Masters were discussing their own cultivation insights with the Sect Master, Shang Guan Ji, as the leader. Although Yang Kai had taught them the method to condense their Dao Seal, they naturally had many questions as they had never come into contact with such things before. They wanted to ask Yang Kai for some advice, but their Ancestor, Yang Kai, had always remained elusive. They were unable to find him, so left with no options, they could only try to learn by discussing with each other.
Just as everyone in the hall was locked in a heated discussion though, Shang Guan Ji suddenly jolted as he stood up straight as an attentive look appeared on his face, apparently listening to something.
His strange actions puzzled many of the higher-ups and they all focused their attention on him.
After a short while, Shang Guan Ji bowed and solemnly stated, “This Junior will obey!”
As soon as he said this, all of the Emperor Realm Masters present became excited. Elder Guan Qian Xing even asking, “Sect Master, does the Ancestor have any instructions?”
In the entire Void World, the only person who could make Shang Guan Ji act so respectfully was the Ancestor.
As he had expected, Shang Guan Ji solemnly nodded his affirmation, “Just now, the Ancestor issued a decree for my Seven Stars Sect to carry out!”
Guan Qian Xing and the others stood up together, perking up their ears!
Shang Guan Ji swept his eyes over the crowd and sonorously declared, “The Ancestor wants to eat steamed stuffed buns!”
Everyone was dumbstruck.
Guan Qian Xing thought he had heard wrong and skeptically asked, “Sect Master, what does the Ancestor want to do?”
Shang Guan Ji stared at him with a serious look on his face, reiterating, “The Ancestor wants to eat steamed stuffed buns, delicious steamed stuffed buns!”
Seven Stars Sect’s gears suddenly started fiercely turning as the Emperor Realm Masters flew about. The disciples below didn’t know what was happening and thought that something big had happened, but soon they found out that one of the Seven Stars Sect’s precious Spirit Beasts had been killed by Elder Guan Qian Xing.
The disciples were all shocked. It had to be known that Elder Guan Qian Xing had spent a great deal of effort to capture this Spirit Beast in the past. It was quite strong and intelligent. Coupled with its beautiful appearance, many of the disciples were quite fond of it. Although it had a bad temper and would occasionally injure others, when this Spirit Beast was killed, many of the female disciples broke into tears. They felt that Elder Guan Qian Xing was simply inhumane, [How could he kill such a beautiful Spirit Beast!? Rather than calling him Guan Qian Xing, we should just call him Butcher Guan…]
The disciples didn’t know why the Spirit Beast was killed, but the Elders did.
The Ancestor wanted to eat steamed stuffed buns, delicious steamed stuffed buns!
They didn’t know what kind of steamed stuffed buns the Ancestor would find delicious, so they could only try their best by using the top materials they could find.
The entire Seven Stars Sect had been mobilized, especially the disciples who were proficient in cooking.
In less than two hours, all kinds of steamed stuffed buns were served.
As soon as the steamer was opened, a basket of steamed stuffed buns strangely disappeared.
In the void, a profusely sweating Yang Kai handed the freshly baked steamed stuffed buns to the Old Ancestor, “Try this.”
The Old Ancestor took it and sniffed before gingerly taking a bite, “It’s acceptable.”
Yang Kai let out a long sigh.
The one hour before the steamed stuffed buns were prepared was definitely the most torturous hour of his life. He wouldn’t feel so tired even if he had to fight a Territory Lord one-on-one.
The tantrum-throwing Old Ancestor was simply a nightmare to deal with.
Fortunately, she had finally calmed down.
Sitting on his shoulders, the Old Ancestor was happily eating. She picked up a steamed stuffed bun and pushed it to Yang Kai’s mouth, “You eat one too.”
Yang Kai said, “I don’t need it…”
“Eat!” The Old Ancestor simply stuffed it into his mouth after throwing a word.
Yang Kai swallowed back his protests and obediently ate the bun.
The few steamed stuffed buns were quickly consumed as the two ate them one after another.
The Old Ancestor licked her little hand and casually muttered, “I also want to eat candied fruits!”
Yang Kai immediately felt as if he had been struck by lightning as a troubled look took over his face, “Old Ancestor, please wait a moment.”
In Seven Stars Sect, Shang Guan Ji stood up straight for a moment before suddenly turning to the Elders who were staring at him and speaking, “The Ancestor wants to eat candied fruits!”
I can tell you guys why the food doesn’t taste good. No MSG.
Ancestor wants to eat pancakes…
Ancestor wants to drink tea…
Ancestor wants…
Almost every other day, a new decree would be issued, sending the entire Seven Stars Sect into a flurry of activity. The Sect Master, Shang Guan Ji, was in charge of coordinating their response, leading the various Emperor Realm Elders to work together. Every time a decree was issued, all of the Sect’s manpower would be mobilized, completing the request in the shortest time possible no matter what the Ancestor demanded.
After completing several of Ancestor’s decrees, an Emperor Realm Elder suddenly asked, “Sect Master, what is the Ancestor doing?”
Shang Guan Ji’s expression turned solemn, “How can we understand the Ancestor’s thoughts? Don’t think too much about it, meticulously completing every task is more important.”
The Elder nodded repeatedly in agreement, “Naturally, we can’t fathom the Ancestor’s thoughts. It’s just that, I think that the requests Ancestor has raised aren’t something he needs personally.”
Shang Guan Ji glanced at him, immersing deep into his thoughts, “You mean…”
The Elder continued, “Sect Master, you must be aware that I became a grandfather a few years ago. My grandson is now six years old and is very playful and gluttonous. When I’m free, he makes all kinds of requests, similar to the decrees issued by the Ancestor. If this Old Master may make a bold presumption, I think that the Ancestor is doing the same thing as this Old Master… coaxing a child!”
As soon as these words left his mouth, it resonated with many of the Elders’ hearts as a few even nodded in agreement.
To be honest, many decrees had been passed down over the last few days, so everyone had been able to infer some things from them. Nonetheless, none of them had the courage to ask questions, or make any assumptions, until this Elder boldly spoke.
Shang Guan Ji raised his brow upon hearing this, “Coaxing a child? You might be right, but does that mean the Ancestor has an heir? This is joyous news!”
The Elder replied, “Of course, it’s joyous news, but if he’s really coaxing a child, we can be more proactive in supporting him. It’s extremely hard to fathom a child’s temperament, but as long as they are happy, they will become obedient.”
“What plan do you have?” Shang Guan Ji asked.
The Elder stroked his beard before replying, “If it’s regarding eating, we’ve already prepared a lot of snacks for the Ancestor, so the direction we should be focusing now should be entertainment! To tell you the truth, my grandson is very fond of a certain toy, and he enjoys playing with it quite a lot. If we can give a similar object to the Ancestor, perhaps we can resolve the Ancestor’s predicament.”
“Oh?” Shang Guan Ji became interested, “What is it?”
The Elder stroked his beard with a smile before giving its name.
Shang Guan Ji lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “An interesting proposal. In that case, we should quickly make one and hand it over to the Ancestor.”
The Elder readily accepted the order.
After the time it takes to boil a cup of tea, Yang Kai suddenly reached out as something appeared in his hand, handing it to the Old Ancestor on his neck, “Here, this is for you!”
The Old Ancestor glanced at it before smacking Yang Kai’s head and angrily asking, “Do you think I’m a child?”
Yang Kai’s neck shrank back.
Be that as it may, the Old Ancestor took the object in his hand with a light snort before she started shaking it in satisfaction.
It was a rattle-drum.
After they gifted Yang Kai the rattle drum that day, the frequency with which the Ancestor issued new decrees greatly decreased. Although they still needed to prepare some food from time to time, it was not as frequent as before. After the initial hustle and bustle, Seven Stars Sect was able to quickly and effectively complete the Ancestor’s orders.
The Ancestor was obviously very satisfied with their performance, even bestowing them with some materials and many insights about condensing their Dao Seals. The Seven Stars Sect’s higher-ups were naturally very grateful.
A month passed in the blink of an eye…
After travelling non-stop, Yang Kai was already close to Yin-Yang Pass. He didn’t run into many Black Ink Clansmen on the way, so the journey was quite smooth and uneventful.
On this day, Yang Kai saw the towering Yin-Yang Pass from afar, but just as he had expected, it was surrounded by the Black Ink Clan’s army.
It had been over half a year since the Black Ink Clan’s army had engaged Yin-Yang Pass’ army. During this time, both sides must have clashed on quite a few occasions already. When Yang Kai arrived, both sides were in a heightened state of tension, but not much fighting was happening.
This also made sense.
Every time the Black Ink Clan army besieged a Great Pass, the battle would last for an extremely long time, ranging from a decade or two to a century. During this time, the Black Ink Clan army would constantly replenish their own forces until their casualties were too many for them to bear.
When the Black Ink Clan army retreated, the Humans would finally have some precious time to rest and recover
Yin-Yang Pass was right ahead, and if Yang Kai was alone, he could have used the Universe Transference Law to return directly. Every Great Pass had four Purifying Black Ink Battleships, and all of them had a Universe Array that Yang Kai had personally installed, so it was only natural that he had left his Imprint on them.
But as he also had the Old Ancestor with him, he was unable to use the Universe Transference Law.
The Old Ancestor’s cultivation had been completely exhausted, so if she were to encounter any danger, she would be powerless to defend herself. If he wanted to return to the Inner Sanctum, he would have to plan his every step very carefully.
The Old Ancestor, on the other hand, seemed to want nothing more than to see the world plunge into chaos. She urged Yang Kai to press on. According to her, if Yang Kai were to appear, the soldiers of Yin-Yang Pass would definitely come to support him. At that time, they might find a chance to safely return to the Inner Sanctum by working together, especially since Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space.
Yang Kai decisively refused the Old Ancestor’s proposal.
The child version of the Old Ancestor was too reckless. Although her proposal did have a chance of success, it carried a huge risk.
As it concerned the safety of the Old Ancestor, Yang Kai didn’t dare to be careless.
“Then, what do you suggest we do?” Having her proposal rejected, the Old Ancestor was obviously upset.
“Let’s wait. It’s impossible for the two sides to continue staring at each other peacefully. When the fighting really starts, we’ll find a place with weak defences and break through.”
It was not the first time Yang Kai had done something like this, but the last time he did it, he had hundreds of others accompanying him. This time, he could only rely on himself.
Having made his decision, Yang Kai immediately found a universe fragment and settled down.
This universe fragment wasn’t very big, and there were traces of mining on it. Possibly, Yin-Yang Pass had used Void Yin-Yang Mirrors to transport a Universe World back here, mined it, and then discarded the leftovers.
The Black Ink Clan probably didn’t expect any Humans to stop over in such a place, so they did not have any intention of investigating it.
For the next few days, although the two Races clashed with each other, it was only some small skirmishes, nothing too big.
Yang Kai patiently waited.
Finally, after half a month, Yang Kai, who was cultivating, suddenly felt powerful energy fluctuations coming from the direction of Yin-Yang Pass. When he looked up, he saw the Black Ink Clan army attacking Yin-Yang Pass in a frenzy. The entire battlefield was shrouded in rich Black Ink Strength and he could see countless Black Ink Clouds of all sizes spanning over the entire battlefield.
This was his chance!
Yang Kai stood up and started paying close attention to the battle. The Old Ancestor also climbed onto his shoulder and sat down in her special seat, staring at the battle with widened eyes.
Facing the frenzied attacks of the Black Ink Clan, the Humans basically left everything to Yin-Yang Pass’ strong defences. So long as Yin-Yang Pass remained standing, the Black Ink Clan was basically unable to do anything to the Human Race. All of their attacks were just a waste of energy.
On the other hand, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts set up around Yin-Yang Pass could effectively kill the incoming Black Ink Clan.
This assault lasted for three full days before the Black Ink Clan’s momentum weakened all of a sudden. At that moment, Warships suddenly appeared from the gates of Yin-Yang Pass one by one. Immediately after, figures charged straight at them one after another, attacking them.
The soldiers of the two Races were instantly locked into another heated confrontation on this massive battlefield. Countless Black Ink Clansmen instantly lost their lives, whereas many Human Race Warships were reduced to shambles.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai shouted and rushed towards Yin-Yang Pass.
Riding on his shoulders, the Old Ancestor tightly gripped his hair with one hand, while pointing ahead with the other, looking all excited as she shouted, “Charge!”
In the chaotic battlefield, no one on either side noticed a pair of figures charging towards them from the rear, until a Dragon Roar reverberated across the battlefield and a golden glow flashed, followed by the majestic appearance of a 30,000-metre-long dragon.
There was a giant spear no smaller than its body in one of the Grand Dragon’s claws, and the moment it appeared, it swept this spear out along the battlefield, cleaving through the unsuspecting Black Ink Clansmen just like a violent gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves. The Black Ink Clan suffered massive casualties in the blink of an eye and when the Grand Dragon whipped its tail, countless more perished.
On such a battlefield, the destruction a Grand Dragon could cause was simply unimaginable, not to mention the long spear held in its Dragon Claw.
Many of the Black Ink Clansmen turned pale in fright and tried to dodge, but it was still difficult for them to avoid the oncoming death.
Soon, the appearance of the Grand Dragon attracted the attention of both sides. The Masters of both Races quickly converged. One side wanted to intercept the Dragon, while the other wanted to rescue it, which naturally resulted in a fierce clash. The resulting battle shook the universe and caused the void to collapse.
The Old Ancestor’s small figure stood atop Yang Kai’s Dragon Head, rocking along the Grand Dragon’s movements. She was surrounded by intense murderous intents, storming from every possible direction, but she still remained steadfast.
Suddenly, a burly figure broke through the rows and rows of enemies and landed on the Dragon Head, bowing and cupping his fist, “Welcome back, Old Ancestor!”
The Old Ancestor lightly nodded, “You’ve worked hard!”
The person who had arrived was none other than the Southern Army Commander, Wu Qing. In the entire Yin-Yang Pass, he was the strongest Open Heaven Realm Master besides the Old Ancestor. He also possessed one of the Four Universe Pillars and was a future hope of the Human Race as rumour had it that he was not far from advancing to the Ninth Order.
If he could really break through to the Ninth Order one day, the Human Race would have another Old Ancestor!
Along with Wu Qing’s arrival, many Open Heaven Realm Masters soon gathered around the Grand Dragon. Even a few Eighth-Order Division Commanders had arrived, escorted by numerous Warships.
Surrounded by the elites of the Human Race, Yang Kai and the Old Ancestor were escorted back to Yin-Yang Pass.
The Black Ink Clan had obviously also discovered the situation here. Although they didn’t quite understand why the Humans were defending the Grand Dragon so heavily, since the enemy was paying so much attention to it, it must be important. As such, the Black Ink Clan rushed in, but no matter how many of them tried, they failed to block the Humans’ advance.
A moment later, Yang Kai and the Old Ancestor were brought to one of Yin-Yang Pass’s main gates under Wu Qing’s lead.
Wu Qing summoned his strength and wrapped it around the Old Ancestor before quickly entering the Inner Sanctum while Yang Kai turned around and joined up with the army to fight back against the Black Ink Clan.
This battle lasted for several days and, by the end, Yang Kai couldn’t maintain his Dragon Form and had no choice but to fight in his Human Form. After a few days, both sides withdrew.
The battlefield entered a rare brief period of peace. The armies on both sides focused on recuperating, but so long as the Black Ink Clan did not retreat, Yin-Yang Pass could not really rest.
Fortunately, the Old Ancestor had returned. Although the Old Ancestor had been seriously injured once again and had inevitably returned to her younger self, the news she brought back greatly boosted the morale of Yin-Yang Pass.
Mu Guang was seriously wounded in her fight with the Old Ancestor and was currently sleeping in her Black Ink Nest. In other words, Mu Guang would not appear in this battle.
More importantly, the Old Ancestor had eliminated five Territory Lords.
This was an unimaginable loss for the Black Ink Clan.
On top of that, Yang Kai had single-handedly destroyed almost 10 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, along with hundreds of Low-Rank Black Ink Nests. After such heavy losses, the Black Ink Clan was in a state of chaos. A large number of Feudal Lords had gathered around the remaining Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests to protect them and thus could not be deployed as reinforcements.
Such casualties had shaken the foundation of the Black Ink Clan.
In the past, the reason why the Black Ink Clan was able to besiege the Great Pass for so long was because they could constantly send reinforcements from the rear. But now that Yang Kai had dealt so much damage, the number of troops they could send would be greatly reduced. It could even be said that the Black Ink Clan would not be sending many soldiers at all in order to guard against any future problems.
In that case, the current war would end soon. Without reinforcements, how could the Black Ink Clan resist the Humans when they suffered so many casualties in battle? The Black Ink Clan would have to retreat once the situation on the battlefield became untenable.
Thus, after hearing this news, those from Yin-Yang Pass were all extremely excited.
What’s more, Yang Kai had ventured deep into the Black Ink Clan’s territory alone, destroying many Black Ink Nests, and rescued more than 300 Artifact Refiners, including three Grandmasters. He had made an enormous contribution to the Human Race.
Yang Kai had already let out Wu Xing He and the others from his Small Universe and they were now assigned to the Refining Hall to repair the Warships damaged in the battle.
Wu Xing He and the others were originally Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but in order to assist Yang Kai, their cultivations had regressed to the Sixth-Order so that they could enter the latter’s Small Universe. Be that as it may, it wasn’t too big a deal. As long as they had a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, they could slowly regain their original cultivation.
The war between the two races was in full swing with several dozen small skirmishes breaking out between the two armies almost every day, with a big battle occurring every 10 to 15 days.
Strictly speaking, this was Yang Kai’s first time officially participating in a battle outside a Great Pass.
Although he had participated in the battle at Blue Sky Pass last time, he had not been officially registered to Blue Sky Pass at the time. Likewise, he had been assisting in perfecting the Purifying Black Ink Battleships during the early stages of that war. When he finally managed to sneak out and participate in the fighting, it was not long before he coincidentally discovered the location of the Royal Lord, which ultimately resulted in a decisive battle breaking out. The Black Ink Clan army had suffered heavy losses because of him, giving Blue Sky Pass the chance to capitalize on the situation.
It was different this time.
Without so many twists and coincidences, although the battle was still leaning in Yin-Yang Pass’ favour, they were still a long way from completely repelling the Black Ink Clan.
Fortunately, the Royal Lord was not present on the battlefield, so the Black Ink Clan army seemed to be a bit sluggish either from lack of coordination or morale. Many Territory Lords simply lead their own armies to fight on their own, making it difficult to form an effective strategy.
Those from Yin-Yang Pass would often gain a great advantage on the battlefield using this weak point.
The entire Yin-Yang Pass had essentially transformed into a giant meat grinder.
Every time a big battle broke out, the Black Ink Clan would lose countless Masters. Although the Humans would also suffer heavy casualties, the losses were still within an acceptable range because of the protection of the Warships.
As Yang Kai was a soldier from Blue-Sky Pass, he didn’t have an official position here; however, Tang Qiu had decided to temporarily place him in Xu Ling Gong’s Squad.
As they fought, Yang Kai got to taste how truly cruel the battlefield was, though it was not like this was his first time on such a battlefield. When the Great Demon God had wreaked havoc in the Star Boundary, all the cultivators of the Star Boundary were pulled into the turmoil. That battle almost caused the Star Boundary to shatter and billions upon billions of lives were lost!
In the end, the Great Emperors stepped forward and finally put an end to the Great Demon God’s rampage.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai always found it brutal, like it was the first time, no matter how many times he experienced this kind of battle.
Yang Kai’s addition to Xu Ling Gong Squad had helped them slaughter countless enemies, earning them a massive amount of Military Merits in every battle they fought. After a long period of killing and fighting, every Human came to possess a thick killing intent. Once this killing intent broke out on the battlefield, it would often deter the weaker Black Ink Clansmen.
Fighting, recuperating, fighting, recuperating; the process was repeated over and over again.
Yang Kai had almost lost track of time as all his focus was on making use of every opportunity he could find to either heal himself or kill his enemies.
Every time he fought, he would always stand at the forefront, and every time he did so, his body would be covered in wounds. Nevertheless, as long as his injuries weren’t fatal, no matter how serious they were, he would be able to recover in short order thanks to his Dragon Vein and Wood Element.
His efforts had brought a significant boost in power and safety to Xu Ling Gong’s Squad, and even after fighting for so long, they had not lost a single member. Furthermore, most of the time, no one would even be injured other than Yang Kai. Their Squad was performing 10 times better than the other ordinary Squads.
Tang Qiu once came looking for him, taking time out of his busy schedule, and told him that he could return to Blue Sky Pass at any time he wished.
Although he could be considered half a disciple of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, he was still formally a soldier of the Blue-Sky Pass on this Black Ink Battlefield.
Yin-Yang Pass had transferred him here mainly to gather information about the Black Ink Clan’s Warship program and the Artifact Refiners who were behind it. Now that Yang Kai had completed this task perfectly, the battle at Yin-Yang Pass technically had nothing to do with him.
If Yang Kai wanted to leave, Yin-Yang Pass naturally would not hold him back.
Of course, Yang Kai had no intention of leaving. Compared to returning to Blue Sky Pass where he would have nothing to do but cultivate in retreat, he was more than willing to stay here and kill more Black Ink Clansmen. Although the strength of a single person was meagre, as long as everyone killed a few more, the Black Ink Clan would be exterminated sooner.
The battlefield fell into turmoil again. Surges of World Force and Black Ink Strength came and went as the Human Warships and Black Ink Army fought each other.
A large-scale battle had broken out once more and the four Armies of Yin-Yang Pass charged to blunt the Black Ink Clan’s momentum.
Yang Kai, Xu Ling Gong, and another Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master, Ji Miao Tong, wandered through the battlefield in a triangle formation.
Ji Miao Tong was the Vice Squad Leader of Xu Ling Gong’s Squad and a woman. Yang Kai had met her when he was escorted by Xu Ling Gong’s Squad to intercept Hei Yuan’s retreating army. Although they weren’t close acquaintances, a bit of friendship had blossomed between the two after fighting together for so long.
Ji Miao Tong was extremely impressed by Yang Kai’s courage and strength and she even praised him in private.
Between the three of them was Xu Ling Gong’s Squad’s Warship, which had some Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters operating it. Xu Ling Gong’s Disciples, Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue, were among them.
The three Seventh-Order Masters maintained a triangle formation, protecting the Warship while also borrowing its power to kill their enemies. Furthermore, if they got tired or exhausted their strength, they could even temporarily hide inside the Warship to recover.
The Human Race relied on this method in order to preserve their strength. The Human Race would not have been able to defend these Great Passes without these Warships.
This was also the reason why the Humans was so concerned by the appearance of the Black Ink Clan’s Warship. If the Black Ink Clan evened the battlefield, the Human Race really wouldn’t know how to resist in the future.
It had been half a day already since the battle broke out and Yang Kai and the others had been fighting non-stop since it began. Yang Kai’s condition was still good, but Xu Ling Gong and Ji Miao Tong both were clearly unable to continue. Although they had taken many Spirit Pills to keep their strength up, their high rate of consumption had made it difficult for them to replenish their Small Universes’ World Force.
Regardless, the Human Armies should be withdrawing their forces soon, and at that time, they could naturally return to the Inner Sanctum to rest and recover.
After such a long, fierce battle, the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers had greatly decreased and the resistance they faced was no longer as intense as before.
The Eighth-Order Division Commanders had basically been keeping a close watch on the Territory Lords, so as long as everyone was careful on the battlefield, there wouldn’t be any major problems.
At a certain point, Yang Kai thrust his spear, exploding a Feudal Lord charging at him into mist and the thick black blood splashed all over his face. It wasn’t that Yang Kai couldn’t protect his face, it was just that he was too lazy to waste his strength to do so. In any case, Black Ink Strength had no effect on him. With the World Tree clone in his possession, he wouldn’t be corrupted even if he was soaked in this black blood.
As Yang Kai was pulling back his spear, something caught his eye and he looked in a certain direction.
In his sight, the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen were locked in a heated battle when suddenly, a nimble figure entered his sight, but it disappeared soon after.
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly, wondering whether his eyes were playing tricks on him. Nonetheless, he found this figure a little familiar.
Before he could give it another thought, another squad of Black Ink Clansmen attacked from the side. Yang Kai quickly collected his thoughts and raised his spear to meet them, leaving a mountain of corpses in his wake.
As expected, an order to withdraw came from Yin-Yang Pass soon after. Following Xu Ling Gong’s command, the Warship turned around and flew towards the Inner Sanctum. Although the Black Ink Clan pursued them, it was difficult for them to penetrate the defences of the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; thus, they no longer dared to continue after chasing for a while.
Not long after, Squads flew back into the Inner Sanctum, leaving countless Black Ink Clan corpses behind on the Hellish battlefield.
“Get some rest, and be ready to fight at any moment. I’ll go get the Warship repaired,” Xu Ling Gong ordered before storing the huge warship in his Small Universe and heading towards the Refining Hall.
Although the members of the Squad weren’t injured, their Warship had suffered damage in many places and needed to be repaired by the Artifact Refiners of the Refining Hall.
The Squad members bid each other goodbye before returning to their residences to rest.
Generally speaking, after such a large-scale battle, no major skirmishes would break out for the next 10 to 15 days. So, nothing major should happen in the next half month.
Yang Kai had been living with Qing Kui ever since he returned from the Black Ink Clan’s territory, so he naturally left with him.
But after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked towards a certain direction, where a familiar figure caught his attention.
“What are you looking at?” Qing Kui also stopped and curiously asked.
“You go first, I’ll be right back,” Yang Kai replied before heading in that direction.
Soon, Qing Kui saw Yang Kai stop a person and start chatting with him with a smile. He couldn’t help but ask Su Ying Xue in a low voice, “Junior Sister, is Yang Kai close to someone else other than us here?”
Su Ying Xue shook her head, a look of exhaustion taking over her face, “It’s fine as long as it’s not a woman, why worry?”
Qing Kui nodded lightly, “I guess, you’re right.”
The two of them casually chatted before quickly leaving.
On the other side, the cultivator who was stopped by Yang Kai wore a gloomy expression, “You’re mistaking me for someone else.”
Yang Kai continued with a smile, “Divine Monarch’s noble bearing is still the same, how can I mistake you for someone else?”
The man glared at him, “I’m only a Seventh-Order Master, how could I dare call myself a Divine Monarch?”
Yang Kai replied, “With Divine Monarch’s aptitude, it’s only a matter of time before you reach the Eighth Order. The Seventh Order is just a temporary stopover, so why should Divine Monarch act so humbly?”
“What do you want?” The man grew impatient.
Yang Kai replied, “Nothing, it’s just I was pleasantly surprised to run into a familiar face. I came to chat with the Divine Monarch to talk about old times, that’s all.”
The man immediately flew into a rage, “There is only enmity between you and me, what’s there even to talk about!?”
Yang Kai countered with a smile, “So Divine Monarch admits that you know me?”
The man’s face went black as he grit his teeth and asked, “What exactly do you want?”
Yang Kai replied with a sigh, “I really don’t want anything. It’s just that when I spotted Divine Monarch’s figure, I couldn’t believe it and came here to confirm I wasn’t seeing things. I didn’t expect that Divine Monarch would also be here.”
“Isn’t this all because of you?!” The other party gnashed his teeth, as if he had an irreconcilable grudge with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai innocently stated, “I don’t remember doing anything to Divine Monarch. The one who captured you back then was Senior Fisherman from Bright King Cave Heaven.”
The man waved off, stating, “Don’t call me Divine Monarch anymore, I’m only a Seventh-Order Master now. Others will laugh at you if you keep calling me that.”
“Then… Brother Blood Crow?” Yang Kai slightly raised his brow.
The person in front of him was none other than the Black Crow Divine Monarch he had met in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven centuries ago. After cultivating the Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture, Black Crow seized the body of a Great Thousand Blood Land disciple named Zhou Yi and escaped from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Afterwards, he hid in the Shattered Heaven and committed all sorts of crimes, leaving a bloodbath in his wake, causing many disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises to be killed or injured.
As he already possessed the foundation of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and had obtained the Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture, his cultivation rapidly rose. Even his strength had also exceeded his own Order.
To a certain extent, the Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture was similar to Wu Kuang’s Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Both used external forces for their own gain, but in comparison, the Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture only consumed Blood Essence, while Wu Kuang’s Heaven Devouring Battle Law could devour anything. Which was superior was obvious.
In the past, Yang Kai had been curious about who would devour whom if Wu Kuang were to meet with Blood Crow; however, this was only a thought experiment as these two had never met.
When he was hiding in the Shattered Heaven, Black Crow had changed his name to Blood Crow.
Yang Kai had fought with him several times before in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If Yang Kai hadn’t ruined his plans, he would have closed the Blood Monster Cave Heaven long ago, and everyone who had entered at the time to train would have become his food and nourishment for his growth. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven also had various resources left behind by its previous Master over his lifetime. Once Blood Crow absorbed all of these resources, he might be able to reappear in the world as a Divine Monarch.
By then, even the Cave Heavens and Paradises might not be able to do anything to him.
Later, Yang Kai once again encountered him and fought him in the Shattered Heaven. At that time, Yang Kai was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the same as Blood Crow.
Relying on his superior Eighth-Order foundation and knowledge, Blood Crow hadn’t taken Yang Kai seriously and wanted to take him down in one fell swoop. However, Yang Kai’s Cow Punch had made him greatly suffer.
In the end, Blood Crow was captured by an Elder from Bright King Cave Heaven.
Afterwards, Yang Kai ventured into the depths of the Shattered Heaven, where he encountered Xia Lin Lang, and obtained the World Spring by chance. Later, Cheng Yang chased him until he entered the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.
Since then, Yang Kai had not heard any news about Blood Crow and presumed he had been imprisoned in Bright King Cave Heaven, unable to free himself.
Therefore, Yang Kai was extremely surprised to see Blood Crow in Yin-Yang Pass. In a place like the Black Ink Battlefield, all battles were against the Black Ink Clan and past grievances between people had long been forgotten.
Yang Kai would never have been so calm and cordial if he had encountered Blood Crow in the 3,000 Worlds. He would have immediately thought that he had escaped from Bright King Heaven and was about to commit something atrocious again.
But it was different here. Every Human on the Black Ink Battlefield was a comrade they could fight side by side with and depend on.
It could be said that Yang Kai didn’t have any great enmity towards Blood Crow, and this was something Blood Crow could clearly feel; however, considering what had happened to him, Blood Crow definitely held some resentment towards him.
All of this was because Yang Kai had ruined his grand plan in Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Seeing him remain silent, Yang Kai asked, “Brother Blood Crow, why did you come to the Black Ink Battlefield?”
Blood Crow angrily snapped, “What? Can’t I come here?”
Yang Kai patted him on the shoulder, “Calm down, let’s talk things out. The Black Ink Battlefield is a dangerous place after all.”
Blood Crow stepped aside and coldly snorted, rebuking, “Do you think I wanted to come to this damned place? Do you think I had a choice? Between being imprisoned in a dark and damp cell forever and coming to the Black Ink Battlefield to fight the Black Ink Clan, which one would you choose?”
Yang Kai finally understood after hearing this.
Blood Crow was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and with an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation at that. He had quite a good chance of breaking through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future. With such potential and strength, instead of leaving him to rot in prison, it would be better to send Blood Crow here to kill the enemy. It was obvious that Bright King Heaven had such considerations before sending Blood Crow here.
No matter how twisted Blood Crow’s temperament was, it was impossible for him to have any treacherous thoughts in a place like this, unless he was willing to be corrupted and become a Black Ink Disciple.
However, Black Ink Disciples had their minds warped by Black Ink Strength and essentially became slaves, so if he really got corrupted by Black Ink Strength, he would no longer be himself, an intolerable fate for almost anyone.
“Brother Blood Crow, you’ve had it hard,” Yang Kai sympathized.
“All thanks to you!” Blood Crow became extremely annoyed.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Now you can finally act openly, it’s better than sneaking around and hiding.”
Blood Crow snorted and glanced at him, “I didn’t expect you to also reach the Seventh Order so quickly.”
“I was just lucky!” Yang Kai smiled, “It can’t compare to Brother Blood Crow’s deep foundation.”
“Don’t even think about it, this King has a belly full of rage whenever I see you!” Blood Crow snorted before flicking his sleeve and leaving.
Yang Kai stroked his chin as a pondering look appeared on his face, watching him leave.
At this moment, a figure suddenly landed beside him. It was Tang Qiu.
Yang Kai greeted him with a bow, “Senior!”
“Follow me!” As Tang Qiu spoke, he mobilised his strength and wrapped Yang Kai in it before quickly disappearing.
Soon, they arrived at the Marketplace, but the bustling scene Yang Kai had first seen was now completely deserted. There was not a single person in sight.
After giving it a thought, he did not find it strange either. The Marketplace was crowded in the past because there had been no ongoing battles. Now that the Black Ink Clan had surrounded Yin-Yang Pass and they were all busy fighting, who would they come here?
Nonetheless, it wasn’t as if there wasn’t anyone here. At Lin’s Steamed Bun Restaurant, a small figure was sitting at a table while supporting her chin with one hand while playing with her hair with the other. She looked extremely bored.
Spotting the figure, Yang Kai promptly stepped forward and bowed, “Old Ancestor!”
Ever since he had escorted the Old Ancestor back, he had been fighting against the Black Ink Clan and had not seen her again. He had no idea why Tang Qiu had brought him here.
“En,” The Old Ancestor lightly nodded before stretching out her hand, “Sit.”
Yang Kai was just about to sit down when he suddenly felt a sharp gaze on his back. Looking back, he saw Tang Qiu glaring at him and immediately straightened up, “Junior wouldn’t dare! What can I do for the Old Ancestor?”
The Old Ancestor glanced at Tang Qiu but didn’t say anything. Rather she just asked Yang Kai, “Do you know why this Marketplace exists in Yin-Yang Pass?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment after hearing her question. Although he had some ideas, he didn’t dare to say them out loud and could only shake his head, “Junior doesn’t know.”
The Old Ancestor asked with a smile, “Do you think the Marketplace was built just for me to have fun?”
Having been seen through, Yang Kai could only brace himself and agree, “Yes!”
The Old Ancestor admitted, nodding, “You’re right, this Marketplace was built for me to play around in, but it’s nothing so simple as a way to pass the time. There are circumstances that necessitate it.”
Yang Kai asked, confused, “Please enlighten me, Old Ancestor.”
The Old Ancestor stood up and slowly walked to the door, staring at the empty street, “The reason why the Human Race can hold on for so long is firstly because of these Great Passes, and secondly because of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who can contend with the Black Ink Clan’s Royal Lords. You are now a Seventh-Order Master, so you should also know the importance of top-tier combat power in the huge battlefield of the two Races.”
Yang Kai earnestly nodded his agreement, “Indeed.”
The Old Ancestor continued, “To put it bluntly, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like me are the key to ensuring the safety of the Great Passes to a certain extent.”
Yang Kai listened attentively.
The Old Ancestor continued, “I cultivate a Secret Art called the Samsara Art, and my cultivation improves every time I undergo a cycle of re-birth. As a result, if I am seriously wounded, I become like this. It may seem like my cultivation has been completely destroyed, but in truth, this is simply a cycle of reincarnation to me. However, because of the Samsara Art, the method I use to heal my injuries is different from others. This Marketplace was built for me, and is related to the Secret Art I cultivate. This is where I heal my injuries.”
“Observing the myriad forms of the Human world, seeing all the prosperity of the bustling world…” Yang Kai suddenly recalled the words etched at the entrance of Marketplace.
The Old Ancestor lightly nodded, “Living inside the bustling world can quickly heal my injuries, which is why there is a Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass.”
Yang Kai suddenly came to a realization.
The Old Ancestor’s healing technique was somewhat similar to Duan Hong Chen’s Secret Art. Duan Hong Chen’s title was Bustling World, and his entire cultivation was based on experiencing the baptism of the Bustling World.
Yang Kai couldn’t comment on the profundities of this technique; after all, he had never cultivated such a technique before, but since the Old Ancestor had said as much, it must be so.
At this point, he suddenly understood why the Old Ancestor had summoned him.
“Does Old Ancestor want this Junior to help you heal your injuries?”
The Old Ancestor agreed, nodding, “I’ve heard that you have raised many living beings in your Small Universe and it can be considered a complete World. It would be a huge advantage if you could help me heal my injuries. I don’t need to heal completely, just enough to regain the strength to fight.”
At this time, Tang Qiu also interjected, “Although the Black Ink Clan army isn’t receiving many reinforcements, it will take at least three to five years to force them to withdraw.”
Compared to previous wars with the Black Ink Clan, which took more than a decade or even a century to end, three to five years was already an extremely short time, and all of this was thanks to Yang Kai. Had he not destroyed so many Black Ink Nest behind the enemy lines and occupied so many Black Ink Clansmen, the Black Ink Clan’s forces wouldn’t have been so strained.
“Although three to five years isn’t a long time, if the war continues, Yin-Yang Pass will definitely suffer some damage. But if the Old Ancestor can take action, she will definitely be able to end things in one fell swoop.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, stating, “If Old Ancestor requires it, this Junior is duty-bound to comply.”
“Good, many thanks for your hard work in advance,” Tang Qiu patted Yang Kai’s shoulder in relief.
In order to allow the Old Ancestor to experience the hustle and bustle of the mundane world and heal her injuries, Yang Kai needed to spread out his Small Universe and let her wander about inside.
The Old Ancestor was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so Yang Kai naturally couldn’t take her into his Small Universe. He had no other choice but to do things this way.
Since that was the case, Yang Kai would be unable to participate in future battles as he would need to remain in one place. Yang Kai could not easily move before the Old Ancestor had regained her full strength.
Fortunately, Tang Qiu also said that since the Old Ancestor had decided to decimate the Black Ink Clan army personally, Yin-Yang Pass’ next strategy would be to harden its defences and wait. No matter how the Black Ink Clan provoked them, they would pretend they didn’t hear anything. The Humans would only rely on the Spirit Arrays and artifacts around Yin-Yang Pass to kill the Black Ink Clansmen who got too close. They would not be sending troops out onto the battlefield.
Soon, Yang Kai spread his Small Universe in the Marketplace and let the Old Ancestor enter. Not only that, but he also chose the most prosperous city for her to arrive at.
While the Old Ancestor was roaming around the mundane world in his Small Universe, Yang Kai did not remain idle. Although he could no longer freely move due to having spread his Small Universe, cultivating was not an issue for him. As such, he took out a set of Seventh-Order materials and quietly began refining them.
Inside Void World, Miao Fei Ping of Seven Stars Sect had long since matured from an innocent brat to an Emperor Realm Master and was now an Elder of Seven Stars Sect.
His aptitude was quite good, and not too long ago, he even helped the Ancestor kill a powerful enemy, earning him much praise.
After that incident, the Ancestor also bestowed the Seven Stars Sect with many resources and passed down the method to condense one’s Dao Seal. Many of Seven Stars Sect’s Emperor Realm Masters had already begun doing just that. Rumour had it that they would advance the Open Heaven Realm in the future as long as they worked hard.
Miao Fei Ping was naturally no exception. Which cultivator didn’t yearn for a higher Martial Dao? Among all the Emperor Realm Masters who had begun refining Powers into their Dao Seal, Miao Fei Ping’s progress was the fastest.
He originally thought that he would at most be able to condense Fifth-Order Powers with his aptitude. This was also the advice given by the Ancestor when he originally bestowed them with the necessary materials.
Of course, he wouldn’t dare disregard the Ancestor’s advice.
However, when he really began condensing Powers into his Dao Seal, he decided to be a little more courageous and try refining Sixth-Order materials.
Much to his surprise, he actually succeeded. He didn’t feel any discomfort or burden either. In other words, he could condense Sixth-Order Element Powers and attempt to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. He was extremely excited with this result, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. It was because the Ancestor had said that although his aptitude was excellent, he would only be able to reach the Fifth Order in the future. [The Ancestor could not have made a mistake, so how could I successfully condense Sixth-Order Powers?]
He really wanted to consult with the Ancestor and ask for an explanation, but he was unable to contact him, so he had no choice but to give up. Miao Fei Ping was still in the process of condensing Powers, and he was refining a Sixth-Order material. He wanted to obtain higher achievements and a higher starting point.
Because he knew that his two companions who had entered the Sect with him had received personal guidance from the Ancestor himself, they would surely soar higher in the future. Miao Fei Ping didn’t want to be left far behind by these two, so he could only re-double his efforts.
Thinking back to when he first entered Seven Stars Sect, all the past events vividly flashed in his mind, [So many years have gone by in the blink of an eye. Where is that cold and aloof little girl with Heaven-defying aptitude and that young boy with such poor aptitude that he could barely cultivate? Even Xu Yi who had suddenly appeared in Seven Stars Sect just disappeared one day.]
Those three were the Ancestor’s Personal Disciples, so they might be cultivating with the Ancestor.
One day, while Miao Fei Ping was meditating, a voice suddenly spoke to him.
Miao Fei Ping was both surprised and delighted. He quickly opened his eyes and bowed respectfully, “Ancestor.”
He failed to spot the Ancestor’s figure, yet his voice sounded straight into his mind. It was not the first time he had seen the Ancestor’s divine might, so he did not find it strange.
The Ancestor’s message was actually a secret order, which Miao Fei Ping immediately accepted.
Having done so, Miao Fei Ping quickly requested, “Ancestor, this Junior has a question he would like to ask.”
“What is it?” The Ancestor’s voice sounded again.
Miao Fei Ping took a deep breath and mustered up his courage before explaining, “Ancestor, you gave me some pointers before and said that I should condense Fifth-Order Powers. However, this Junior got greedy and tried to refine a Sixth-Order material. Surprisingly, I didn’t encounter any problems. But this Disciple no longer dares to recklessly advance without understanding why I am alright. Ancestor, please grant me some guidance; should I continue refining Sixth-Order materials, or switch back to the Fifth-Order materials?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Miao Fei Ping immediately felt a majestic Will sweep over him. In the face of this Will, he couldn’t help but feel as insignificant as an ant.
[This is the Will of the Ancestor…]
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but slightly tremble.
[The Third-Order Emperor Realm is already the highest Realm in this World, but it is still nothing before the Ancestor. Just how high is the Ancestor’s cultivation?]
Soon after the Will swept over him, Miao Fei Ping heard the Ancestor’s voice in his mind, “Continue. Times are different now and you have a chance to advance to the Sixth Order.”
“Junior obeys!” Miao Fei Ping was overjoyed and gave his thanks. The unease that had been troubling him all the while finally disappeared after receiving his Ancestor’s guidance.
Be that as it may, he didn’t quite get why things were different now. [I haven’t done anything recently, but from what the Ancestor said, it seemed like something had changed, allowing me to advance to the Sixth Order despite only having the aptitude for Fifth Order in the past.]
What changed?
Thinking about it, Miao Fei Peng recalled that the newly recruited disciples of the Sect seemed to have much better aptitude than in the past. And it was not just true for Seven Stars Sect, but for all Sects across Void World. It’s as if the entire World had suddenly become more suitable for cultivation. More and more geniuses were appearing, causing the higher-ups of the various Sects to celebrate.
Thinking so, Miao Fei Ping immediately understood that what changed was not himself, but the World he lived in!
He didn’t continue mulling over the issue though. Rather, he quickly packed up his things and went to Seven Stars Sect’s Sect Master, Shang Guan Ji, requesting a leave to travel the world.
Shang Guan Ji had no reason to refuse and promptly agreed. And so, Miao Fei Ping, without wasting any time, quickly left the Sect.
Purple Phoenix City was among the most prosperous cities in Void World and was under Purple Phoenix Palace’s jurisdiction. Purple Phoenix Palace was also one of the strongest Sects in the entire Void World. More importantly, the disciples of this Sect had a gift for commerce. This commercial success allowed them to attract countless cultivators from all over the world to Purple Phoenix City, and it soon grew into a prosperous metropolis with over 10 million inhabitants.
With Miao Fei Ping’s Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, it had only taken him a few days to reach this city from Seven Stars Sect and following the Ancestor’s guidance, he quickly found his target.
A seven or eight-year-old girl!
Wandering alone in this massive Purple Phoenix City, Miao Fei Ping was certain that this little girl had never cultivated and was just a commoner who could be found anywhere.
The secret order Miao Fei Ping had received was to take good care of this little girl and not let her suffer any injustice, while not letting his whereabouts be exposed.
At first, he could not understand why someone like the Ancestor would care so much about a little mortal girl and even ask him to personally keep an eye on her, but when he saw the rattle drum in the little girl’s hand, Miao Fei Ping suddenly understood.
He recognized this rattle drum as it had been personally crafted by an Emperor Realm Elder of his Sect. He had been next to him when that Elder had made this rattle drum.
[This little girl… is the Ancestor’s descendant!]
The Ancestor had given a series of decrees back then, asking for steamed stuffed buns and candied fruits, all to coax this little girl.
Having understood this point, Miao Fei Ping immediately felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. He felt extremely honoured that the Ancestor gave him such an important task.
Because of this, Miao Fei Ping had been secretly following the little girl and protecting her at all times.
After observing her for a while, Miao Fei Ping discovered that she was particularly interested in snacks, but she did not seem to have any money on her. Every time she saw someone eat something, she would always start drooling, making her look extremely pitiful.
Several times, Miao Fei Ping couldn’t bear to watch and almost offered his assistance. At these times, he couldn’t help feeling a little puzzled. Since this little girl was the Ancestor’s descendant, why didn’t the Ancestor give her any money so she could buy the things she wanted? Obtaining mundane coins should be a breeze for the Ancestor.
But since the Ancestor had not done so, he must have had his reasons. So, Miao Fei Ping couldn’t rashly intervene either.
Nonetheless, after seeing the same thing over and over again so many times, Miao Fei Ping really couldn’t bear to sit back and watch any longer, but neither could he expose himself. Ultimately, he gave some coins to the others and asked them to buy some things for the little girl.
The little girl happily ate from then on.
When the night arrived, the little girl had no place to sleep. So, she found a random alley and spent the night sleeping there, curled up. Every night, Miao Fei Ping would secretly protect her from the cold.
Originally, Miao Fei Ping had thought that his days would pass by peacefully, but contrary to his expectations, something did happen.
The little girl’s rattle-drum was stolen!
If it was just an ordinary toy, no one would have paid any attention to it, but the material used to make this rattle-drum was not ordinary, it was a rare piece of Blue Water Wood.
It was a toy for the Ancestor’s descendant, so the Seven Stars Sect Elders had put in a lot of effort to craft this rattle-drum, and it just so happened that the one who ultimately refined it had a suitable piece of Blue Water Wood on hand at the time.
Blue Water Wood was extremely precious as it could be used to refine Emperor Artifacts. It was particularly rare in this World and could be said to be priceless.
A few weak cultivators noticed that the rattle drum in the little girl’s hand was extraordinary. So, they threw some coins at the little girl and snatched the rattle-drum from her in a half-buying and half-threatening manner.
These cultivators weren’t very strong, and as such, they failed to recognize the Blue Water Wood, but they could still tell that the material of this rattle-drum was expensive at a glance.
The little girl looked extremely sad after losing the rattle-drum and tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to snatch her toy back, but how could a seven-year-old little girl catch up to even the weakest of cultivators? The thieves disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The little girl fell to the ground, wailing in grief as dirt smeared her cute face.
Enraged, Miao Fei Ping stopped those cultivators in an alley, beat them up, and took back the rattle drum. After that, he found the little girl who was silently crying in a deserted place and quietly returned the rattle-drum.
Seeing the little girl smiling once more, Miao Fei Ping let out a sigh of relief.
Originally, he had thought that this matter would end there, but no one had expected that it was just the beginning! Among the few cultivators he had beaten up, one of them was actually the son of Purple Phoenix Palace’s Vice Palace Master. The son of the Vice Palace Master was beaten up in Purple Phoenix City; how could Purple Phoenix Palace let the matter rest just like that?
Purple Phoenix Palace cultivators started searching the city for the perpetrator, and soon found Miao Fei Ping. A conflict naturally broke out between the two sides, but Miao Fei Ping was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so how could these weaklings do anything to him? Naturally he taught them a lesson and sent them packing.
When Purple Phoenix Palace’s higher-ups received the news, they were enraged and deployed some of their Masters. In the blink of an eye, the entire Purple Phoenix City was engulfed in a secret battle.
After suffering several losses, Purple Phoenix Palace finally figured out the identity of the perpetrator. To their astonishment, it was actually Seven Stars Sect’s Miao Fei Ping!
This shocked Purple Phoenix Palace greatly. It had to be known that the Seven Stars Sect was the most powerful Sect in Void World. Not only did they have the largest number of Emperor Realm Masters, but they also had an Ancestor who was shrouded in a veil of mystery.
Rumour had it that the Ancestor’s strength had already surpassed the Emperor Realm, but no one knew what his exact cultivation was.
Although Purple Phoenix Palace and Seven Stars Sect had some business with each other, there wasn’t much friendship between them because of the huge distance between the two. What puzzled Purple Phoenix Palace’s higher-ups was why Miao Fei Ping, the Third-Order Emperor Realm Elder of Seven Stars Sect, suddenly came to Purple Phoenix City and attacked their disciples.
The Vice Palace Master of Purple Phoenix Palace personally went to Miao Fei Ping and asked him for the entire story. Only then did he learn that his son had taken advantage of a little mortal girl, forcing Miao Fei Ping to act.
The Vice Palace Master was naturally vexed. He might have failed to discipline his son, but the fact was that many of Purple Phoenix Palace disciples had been injured because of this matter. No matter what, Miao Fei Ping had to give an explanation; otherwise, Purple Phoenix Palace would lose all face.
But why would Miao Fei Ping give them any kind of explanation? He had already shown mercy by not killing them even when they had bullied the Ancestor’s descendant, so why would he need any justification?
The two sides failed to come to an agreement, and as both were pretty angry, a fight broke out.
In the end, Purple Phoenix Palace Vice Palace Master was completely defeated! He was injured and even fled Purple Phoenix City in a sorry state.
If injuring the disciples was just a trivial matter, the fact that the Vice Palace Master was injured drastically escalated the matter. How could Purple Phoenix Palace tolerate such an insult? They immediately dispatched several Emperor Realm Masters to subdue Miao Fei Ping.
Very soon, even Seven Stars Sect got the news. When they learned that Miao Fei Ping had encountered some trouble in Purple Phoenix City, Shang Guan Ji personally led several Emperor Realm Elders to Purple Phoenix City to assist Miao Fei Ping without any delay.
By the time Shang Guan Ji and the others arrived, Miao Fei Ping had already fought several bouts with Purple Phoenix Palace’s Emperor Realm Masters. At first, Purple Phoenix Palace thought that since Miao Fei Ping was all alone, it would be hard for a single Third-Order Emperor to fight them off. However, after a few skirmishes, they noticed that Miao Fei Ping was different from the Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters they knew.
His strength had already surpassed the limits of the Emperor Realm, and as such, even if he were to fight many Masters alone, he would not be at a disadvantage. Purple Phoenix Palace was still unable to do anything to him even after several confrontations.
When Shang Guan Ji and the others arrived, Purple Phoenix Palace was too afraid to act rashly.
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master couldn’t sit still after hearing that Shang Guan Ji had arrived. No matter what, Purple Phoenix Palace could not ignore the reputation of the number one Sect of the Void World.
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master stepped out to personally receive Shang Guan Ji. Both sides calmly discussed the entire matter, without any animosity. Purple Phoenix Palace didn’t have any other requests, they only wanted Miao Fei Ping to apologize and this matter would be settled. After witnessing Miao Fei Ping’s strength, Purple Phoenix Palace also realized that Seven Stars Sect Emperor Realm Masters couldn’t be judged by common sense. Just Miao Fei Ping alone was enough to give them so much trouble. Now with the addition of Shang Guan Ji and several others, Purple Phoenix Palace would likely suffer a catastrophic loss if they really fought.
Not to mention, the Seven Stars Sect still had their hidden dragon Ancestor who only showed his tail but never his face.
But since so many disciples were injured, Purple Phoenix Palace needed an apology to save face. In their opinion, they were already completely conceding by asking for just an apology.
Shang Guan Ji didn’t immediately agree, all he said was that he would like to ask Miao Fei Ping about the whole story. Purple Phoenix Palace naturally agreed.
Soon after, Shang Guan Ji came to Miao Fei Ping and asked him what this situation was about.
Since things had reached this point, Miao Fei Ping had no choice but to reveal that he had received the Ancestor’s secret order. Shang Guan Ji was extremely surprised after learning that everything was actually because of the Ancestor’s descendant.
However, when he personally saw the little girl and the rattle-drum in her hand, Shang Guan Ji finally got the confirmation that she was indeed the Ancestor’s descendant.
He was immediately enraged!
Purple Phoenix Palace disciples had actually bullied the Ancestor’s descendant? How could he let this go?
If it really was just some ordinary conflict, it wouldn’t have been a big deal to have Miao Fei Ping apologize; after all, no matter what the cause was, the fact was that Miao Fei Ping had indeed injured many of Purple Phoenix Palace’s disciples. To put it bluntly, as a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, what Miao Fei Ping was doing was just bullying the weak. But the key point was that the Ancestor was involved in this matter, so how could Shang Guan Ji give in?
Shang Guan Ji visited the Purple Phoenix Palace Master and declared that it was impossible for them to apologize. If Purple Phoenix Palace continued pestering them over this, Seven Stars Sect would do everything in their power to maintain the dignity of their Sect.
Purple Phoenix Palace was dumbfounded as they had never expected to receive such a reply.
Many of Purple Phoenix Palace Elders were unable to calm their fury and started clamouring to teach Seven Stars Sect a lesson. The Purple Phoenix Palace Master, on the other hand, was hesitating.
A few days later, a huge number of Seven Stars Sect cultivators rushed to Purple Phoenix City. Judging by the scale, it could be said that the Seven Stars Sect had mobilized all its forces. Everyone had rushed over, from Emperor Realm Elders to disciples who had just entered the Sect, not a single person was left.
If someone were to attack Seven Stars Sect right now, they would easily be able to take over their headquarters.
Purple Phoenix Palace had never thought that Seven Stars Sect’s attitude would be so unyielding that they would mobilize their entire force. It felt as if a battle would break out between two great Sects at any moment.
Nothing of this sort had happened ever since the great migration to Void World.
The unusual actions of the Seven Stars Sect also attracted the attention of all the Sects in this World, and it was only at this moment that they truly witnessed the terrifying foundation of the Seven Stars Sect.
Much to everyone’s surprise, they had several dozen Emperor Realm Masters! Although the other Sects had seen an increase in the number of Emperor Realm Masters they possessed in recent years, it wasn’t too many. Even the strongest of them had perhaps a dozen or so in total.
On the other hand, the Seven Star Sect actually had several dozen Emperors!
In the past, it had been rumoured that the Seven Stars Sect was the strongest Sect in Void World; but now, they finally had a deeper understanding of its strength. No one could understand why so many Emperor Realm Masters had appeared in the Seven Stars Sect.
If the two Sects were to fight, Purple Phoenix Palace would definitely not be their opponent.
After the full mobilization of the Seven Stars Sect, the Purple Phoenix Palace Elders who had been eager to fight it out with the Seven Stars Sect suddenly became mute. Fortunately, Seven Stars Sect’s forces didn’t do anything drastic after entering Purple Phoenix City, all of them just entered local inns and dispersed themselves around the city.
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master once again visited Shang Guan Ji. His tone was no longer as forceful as before; instead, he wore a forced smile on his face, expressing his goodwill. Even the Vice Palace Master came and personally apologized.
Shang Guan Ji stated that so long as Purple Phoenix Palace did not deliberately cause any trouble, Seven Stars Sect would not cause trouble in Purple Phoenix City.
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master let out a long sigh of relief after getting this guarantee.
Be that as it may, it was highly inappropriate for so many Seven Stars Sect disciples to be loitering in Purple Phoenix City. He wanted to ask Shang Guan Ji what exactly they were doing here, and when would Seven Stars Sect be withdrawing.
After pondering for a moment, Shang Guan Ji finally gave an answer, “I can’t say for sure when we will withdraw. As for what we are doing, you don’t need to ask. You can just think of it as the disciples of the Seven Stars Sect coming here to gain life experience. They will leave when the time is right.”
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master was speechless.
Unable to obtain an accurate answer from Shang Guan Ji, the Purple Phoenix Palace Master returned and relayed this conversation to the other Elders. Immediately, one of the Elders angrily rebuked, “Isn’t Shang Guan Ji Seven Stars Sect’s Sect Master? Who in Seven Stars Sect dares to disobey him? Yet he said that he didn’t know when they would be withdrawing! Clearly, he is just trying to make things difficult for our Purple Phoenix Palace!”
Other Elders also flew into a rage.
However, one of the Elders thoughtfully interjected, “According to the Palace Master’s words, this Shang Guan Ji may have some difficulties.”
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master looked at the Elder after hearing his speculation, “What difficulties could he possibly have?”
The Elder asked, “Palace Master, doesn’t Seven Stars Sect also have an Ancestor? What if ‘he’ gave the order?”
The Purple Phoenix Palace Master’s expression changed, “You mean…”
The Elder shook his head, stating, “It’s just a guess, I can’t say for sure.”
In Purple Phoenix City, Seven Stars Sect disciples could be seen everywhere. Fortunately, these people really did not cause any trouble in Purple Phoenix City just as Shang Guan Ji had said.
Purple Phoenix Palace’s higher-ups were both happy and puzzled. Could it be that Seven Stars Sect really only sent their entire Sect here to gain life experience?
But what they could not understand was why they chose Purple Phoenix City.
Nonetheless, Purple Phoenix Palace finally reached one conclusion after numerous investigations, and that was that the Emperor Realm Masters of Seven Stars Sect were attaching a lot of importance to a certain little girl who was wandering around Purple Phoenix City. At any given moment, at least two to three Emperors would be secretly watching over her.
However, they only monitored her from a distance and never exposed their whereabouts nor interfered with her life. They simply let her wander the city as she pleased.
Purple Phoenix Palace finally realized that this little girl was the cause of the entire incident.
Purple Phoenix Palace failed to understand why Seven Stars Sect placed so much importance on this little girl. They tried to investigate her background, but even after a thorough investigation, they came to a shocking conclusion. No one knew which family this little girl was from or when she had arrived in Purple Phoenix City. There was no record of her entering the city through the city gates. It was as if she had appeared in Purple Phoenix City out of thin air.
They might have not understood the origins of this little girl, but they finally understood Seven Stars Sect’s intentions, allowing Purple Phoenix Palace to breathe a sigh of relief.
Since this little girl was so important, Purple Phoenix Palace didn’t dare to be negligent either. The higher-ups immediately ordered everyone in the city to open their doors wide for this little girl, catering to her every need.
Since then, the little girl’s life in Purple Phoenix City had become much more comfortable. She did not need to pay for anything she ate, and when night fell, the owner of a nearby inn would always invite her inside to sleep in a warm bed.
All this while, Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged inside the Marketplace, silently refining cultivation materials.
He had his Small Universe spread out, allowing the Old Ancestor to recuperate, but this did not affect his cultivation in any way.
The people of Purple Phoenix Palace and Seven Stars Sect all thought that the Old Ancestor was just an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated before, but as the Master of the Small Universe, Yang Kai could clearly feel some intangible force constantly pouring into the Old Ancestor’s body.
This mysterious energy seemed to be the essence of the mundane world.
The baptism of this mysterious energy was the basis of the Old Ancestor’s healing technique, but even Yang Kai was unable to understand its properties.
Yin-Yang Pass went into a full defensive stance while the Old Ancestor was recuperating. They did nothing even when the Black Ink Clan army taunted and provoked them. Only when the Black Ink Clan approached too close to Yin-Yang Pass did they use the various Spirit Arrays and artifacts to repel the enemy.
Just like that, half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Just like every other day, Yang Kai was focused on refining cultivation materials when he suddenly sensed something. He promptly focused his Divine Sense towards a certain place in Purple Phoenix City.
Miao Fei Ping was diligently carrying out the Ancestor’s secret order in Purple Phoenix City, keeping an eye on the Ancestor’s descendant at almost every moment. Fortunately, Purple Phoenix Palace seemed to have realized that this little girl’s identity was special after the previous incident, so no one dared to seek trouble with her, which saved Miao Fei Ping a lot of effort.
At this moment, the Ancestor’s descendant was eating breakfast at a stall. Usually, this little girl was like a storm, lively and hopping from one place to another, but today, she suddenly stopped eating as a thoughtful look appeared on her face.
Immediately after, she stood up and walked straight towards Miao Fei Ping.
Miao Fei Ping was beside himself. It had to be said that he was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master who had not only used a Secret Technique to conceal himself, but had also withdrawn his aura completely. Not to mention an ordinary mortal, even another Emperor Realm Master would not be able to find him so easily.
Nevertheless, the Ancestor’s descendant was actually walking towards him, forcing him to wonder, [Did she discover me?]
Miao Fei Ping quickly denied this possibility. Although the Ancestor was powerful, his descendant didn’t show any signs of cultivation. It was impossible for her to have discovered him.
So, when she was approaching him, Miao Fei Ping just silently stepped aside.
But much to his surprise, the little girl just stood there, and even turned towards him, looking at him with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.
This time, Miao Fei Ping was truly shocked. He took a few more steps to clear the way, but the little girl just kept staring at him.
“Junior Sister, can you see me?” Miao Fei Ping asked, astounded.
The little girl tilted her head and smiled, “Junior Sister?”
Miao Fei Ping was shocked beyond words, [She really can see me! But how is that possible?] He had been monitoring her for a long time, but he had never sensed any trace of cultivation from her, not in the slightest. He was really unable to explain the current situation.
Just as he was beginning to doubt himself, the little figure in front of him continued with a smile, “Forget it, it’s been hard on you these past few days.”
Miao Fei Ping didn’t know how to respond for a moment and muttered, “Don’t mind it, Junior Sister, it was my duty.”
The little girl nodded her acknowledgement like a worldly-wise old woman before suddenly raising her head to the sky and shouting, “Bring me out.”
Just as she said so, the small figure before Miao Fei Ping suddenly disappeared into thin air.
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but stare absent-mindedly.
This sudden abnormality quickly attracted the nearby Seven Stars Sect Emperor Realm Masters’ attention and they instantly rushed over to check up on it. Shang Guan Ji also received word and rushed over, but the little girl was already gone.
Fortunately, Miao Fei Ping soon received the Ancestor’s decree, stating that his mission was over. Everyone from the Seven Stars Sect immediately breathed a long breath.
At the same time, a small figure suddenly appeared in the Marketplace of Yin-Yang Pass.
Seeing the small figure, Tang Qiu, who had been waiting here all the while, respectfully bowed.
The Old Ancestor lightly nodded before looking at Yang Kai thoughtfully, voicing her doubts, “Is the flow of time in your Small Universe different from the outside world?”
Yang Kai replied, “This Junior cultivates the Dao of Time, so the flow of time in my Small Universe is four times faster than the outside world.”
During a bout of enlightenment into the Dao of Time many years ago, the flow of time inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe accelerated to twice that of the outside world. Later, when his Third Disciple Xu Yi was cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture in the Seven Stars Sect, his Small Universe benefited from it for some unknown reason and the flow of time became four times faster.
Therefore, although Yang Kai had only cultivated in the Marketplace for half a year, the Old Ancestor had already spent more than two years in his Small Universe.
Tang Qiu was stunned for a moment after this revelation, causing him to exclaim, “Four times the speed of the outside world?”
Yang Kai nodded seriously.
Tang Qiu looked at him as if he was looking at a monster, “You have living creatures in your Small Universe, who are constantly increasing your strength. With a four-fold time flow rate, isn’t it just like adding wings to a tiger?” He suddenly realized something and exclaimed, “No wonder you broke through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm so quickly, so this is the reason.”
He had been curious about this all along. Yang Kai had only advanced to the Open Heaven Realm a few centuries ago, and although the world was filled with many opportunities, the speed of his advancement was still too great. But if the flow of time in his Small Universe was different from the outside world, everything made sense.
“What a pity…” Tang Qiu suddenly sighed again. Unfortunately, Yang Kai’s advancement to the Open Heaven Realm started from the Fifth Order. Although he had consumed a Mid-Rank World Fruit which had allowed his strength to increase by one Order, his limit was still the Eighth Order.
If he had broken through directly to the Seventh Order back then, he would have had a chance to become an Old Ancestor one day.
With such a Heaven-defying opportunity available to him, he could have saved a lot of time compared to other people who had a chance of reaching the Ninth Order.
“No need to feel sorry, the future is yet unknown,” the Old Ancestor obviously understood what Tang Qiu was sighing about, “It’s not like Yang Kai doesn’t have any hope of breaking through to the Ninth Order, but he still needs to work hard in the future. It would be better to focus on the present first.”
Tang Qiu’s expression immediately became solemn as he requested, cupping his fist, “The four Armies of Yin-Yang Pass are already prepared, please give the order.”
The Old Ancestor looked out of the Great Pass and indifferently ordered, “Engage the enemy!”
A sonorous bugle horn resounded throughout the entire Yin-Yang Pass. The soldiers of Yin-Yang Pass, who had been cultivating for over half a year, quickly arranged themselves at the eastern gate.
The entire periphery of Yin-Yang Pass was surrounded by the Black Ink Clan army, so the eastern gate was no exception.
At this moment, the Black Ink Clan was shouting provocations at this particular gate.
Over the last half a year, this kind of scene had been occurring almost every day. The closing of Yin-Yang Pass had made the Black Ink Clan become increasingly arrogant.
Therefore, when Yin-Yang Pass’s barriers opened and a tide of Humans rushed out from the eastern gate, the Black Ink Clan army, who had been provoking and cursing them, couldn’t react in time.
Everywhere the Human Warships passed, the dumbstruck Black Ink Clan army was torn to pieces.
In the distance, the Territory Lords were extremely excited, noticing the Humans’ movement. They loudly ordered their armies to meet the enemy. They had been feeling suffocated ever since Yin-Yang Pass withdrew, so now that the Humans had finally come out, they naturally wanted to kill to their heart’s content.
The two armies soon clashed with each other in the void. Dazzling Secret Techniques and Artifacts lit up the battlefield as blood and mangled pieces of flesh flew everywhere.
As soon as they clashed, the Black Ink Clan army showed signs of being suppressed.
This was not surprising though, as all of Yin-Yang Pass’s Armies had charged out of the eastern gate, while the Black Ink Clan’s army was spread out around the entire Yin-Yang Pass. Aside from the Black Ink Clansmen outside the eastern gate, the other Black Ink Clan armies were still on their way to reinforce them.
Furthermore, the Black Ink Clan armies’ strength had been reduced after the previous battles.
In the past, the Black Ink Clan had been able to constantly replenish their forces from their home territories, but this time, the Black Ink Clan’s rear had been thrown into chaos. Not only was the Royal Lord seriously injured, but they had also lost five Territory Lords and countless Black Ink Nests. While the Humans were recuperating, the Black Ink Clan had also received reinforcements, but their numbers were far fewer than normal, making it difficult for them to replenish their losses.
Nonetheless, the Black Ink Clan continued to fight to the death. It wasn’t that everyone from the Black Ink Clan was unafraid of death, but if the Territory Lord commanding the army didn’t give the order to retreat, no one would dare to. Retreating in battle without permission was a capital offence.
For the Territory Lords, as long as not too many Feudal Lords under them died, it did not matter to them how many High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen perished. On the contrary, they could rely on the High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen to exhaust the strength of the Humans.
In terms of replenishing their forces, the Black Ink Clan had it far easier compared to the Humans; therefore, this kind of exchange of forces was extremely beneficial to the Black Ink Clan. All the Territory Lords understood this principle.
While the Black Ink Clan army at the eastern gate was retreating again and again, and the Black Ink Clan forces from the other areas were rushing over to provide assistance, a small figure suddenly appeared on an unremarkable Warship.
The Black Ink Clan never imagined that the Human Old Ancestor would actually be hiding in the midst of the Army to launch a sneak attack. What they found even more difficult to understand was how the Old Ancestor got the strength to fight so quickly.
According to the news they had received from the rear, the Human Old Ancestor was severely wounded and would not be able to fight for the next 30 to 50 years; otherwise, they wouldn’t have continued besieging Yin-Yang Pass for so long.
The Royal Lord had fallen into a deep sleep, so their side was without a Supreme Master. Once the Human Old Ancestor took action, the Territory Lords would not be able to resist.
It was precisely because they knew that the Old Ancestor did not have the ability to fight that the Territory Lords were so fearless. As strong as those Eighth-Order Humans were, it was not easy for them to kill a Territory Lord on the battlefield; therefore, when the figure of the Old Ancestor suddenly appeared on the battlefield and killed one of the Territory Lords in the blink of an eye, the Black Ink Clan was beside themselves in shock.
The Old Ancestor didn’t stop there. She wielded her longsword again and quickly killed another Territory Lord with the cooperation of Tang Qiu and the other Eighth-Order Masters.
Two Territory Lords had fallen in succession in less than a dozen breaths, so how could the surviving Territory Lords dare to remain? All of them quickly fled, and without them to hold the line, the Black Ink Clan army instantly routed.
In a flash, the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy losses, whereas the morale of the Humans shot through the sky.
All the Territory Lords immediately focused all their energy on escaping while the Old Ancestor didn’t waste any time chasing after them; instead, she turned around and charged towards the South.
On the Southern side, the Black Ink Clan army still didn’t know what was happening on the eastern front, so the Territory Lords were still leading their Army to provide reinforcements.
Before they could arrive though, they were directly intercepted by Eighth-Order Division Commanders led by their Old Ancestor.
In the initial clash, another Territory Lord was swiftly killed off by the Old Ancestor, and the aura of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master began to spread through the surroundings, oppressing the entire battlefield.
Three Territory Lords had died, the Eastern front had collapsed, and the Southern front had been thrown into chaos with the sudden appearance of the Old Ancestor. By now, the Territory Lords in the North and West of Yin-Yang Pass had sensed the Old Ancestor’s aura. They knew that things were not looking good, so they decisively threw a bunch of cannon fodder to divert the attention of the Humans while they led their elites to escape from the battlefield, running towards the Black Ink Clan territory without even looking back, fearing that the Old Ancestor would pursue them.
Since the battle had reached this point, the Black Ink Clan could no longer turn the tide. Only a cup of tea had passed since the appearance of the Old Ancestor, and yet three Territory Lords had died by her hand while many weaker the Black Ink Clansmen were annihilated from the fallout of her attacks. The Black Ink Clan was utterly defeated.
Without the suppression of a Royal Lord on the battlefield, the Old Ancestor was simply too intimidating to the Black Ink Clan.
The Black Ink Clan army was fleeing everywhere like stray dogs, so naturally, the Human Race would not miss such a good opportunity. The four Armies pursued the enemy under the leadership of their respective Army Commanders, leaving a bloody trail behind them.
Yang Kai didn’t participate in the battle, for as extraordinary as his strength might be, one more person on such a battlefield in the Seventh Order was not going to make a significant difference. His task was to escort the Old Ancestor back to the Great Pass.
After recuperating for two years in his Small Universe, the Old Ancestor had only managed to recover enough strength to kill three Territory Lords. The Old Ancestor was no longer able to continue after killing the third Territory Lord.
Even if the Black Ink Clan didn’t retreat, it would have been impossible for the Old Ancestor to attack again. Be that as it may, the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords were completely terrified by the appearance of the Old Ancestor, so how could they dare to remain after sensing her presence?
This gave the Humans an opportunity to pursue and slaughter. In the battle between two races, this was the best opportunity to increase one’s Military Merits. Many Eighth-Order Division Commanders deeply understood this principle, so how could they let this chance pass?
Nonetheless, the Humans didn’t dare to pursue the enemy too far and began to withdraw their forces and return to the Pass after 10 days.
The Black Ink Clan Army had suffered heavy losses in this battle and it would take them at least 100 years to replenish their forces. If the Territory Lords’ casualties and the consequences of the Black Ink Nests’ destruction were factored in on top of that, it would probably take several hundred to 1,000 years for the Black Ink Clan in Yin-Yang Theatre to recover.
This battle could be considered a great victory!
The morale of Yin-Yang Pass’ soldiers was still pretty high after the battle. The battle between the two Races had resulted in casualties on the Human Race’s side too, but their casualties were within acceptable limits compared to the losses suffered by the Black Ink Clan.
After calculating the Military Merits, Yang Kai naturally received the highest reward.
Leaving aside the fact that he infiltrated the Black Ink Clan’s domain, ruined their grand plan, and rescued 300 Artifact Refiners, just the destruction of the 10 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was something no one could compare to. Not only did he discover many secrets about the Black Ink Clan, he had also brought the Old Ancestor back to the Great Pass. Each of these feats was of great merit.
Yang Kai might have belonged to Blue Sky Pass, but his contributions this time were not small. Furthermore, Yin-Yang Pass had also made an exception to record his Military Merits.
Yang Kai could exchange them for anything he wanted from Yin-Yang Pass’ War Materials Palace with his Military Merits; however, he had looted a huge number of resources from the Black Ink Clan already, so he didn’t need to worry about his own cultivation and naturally didn’t need to exchange for anything at the moment.
After the battle ended, Yang Kai did not immediately return to Blue Sky Pass; instead, he opened the portals to the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens in the periphery of the Pass at the behest of Tang Qiu and the other Army Commanders.
There were multitudes of hidden Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens around each Great Pass which were all left behind by High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who had died in battle. It was true for Blue Sky Pass, and so was it for Yin-Yang Pass.
Yang Kai had already opened the portals to the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens around Blue Sky Pass, and the Array Masters back there had set up multitudes of restrictions and traps inside of them to deal with the Black Ink Clan Army in the future.
Yin-Yang Pass had heard about this matter, so it was only natural for them to follow suit. Unfortunately, these hidden gates were difficult to find, unless one was proficient in the Dao of Space like Yang Kai.
Over the next few months, Yang Kai had been searching around the periphery of Yin-Yang Pass to open these hidden portals, and as long as one was opened, Array Masters would get to work.
After finishing these tasks, Yang Kai began searching for the entrance to the Sealed World portals further afield. It took him almost two years to finish everything.
After returning to Yin-Yang Pass, the Purifying Light in the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships still needed to be replenished, so he had to act again.
Taking into consideration the fact that the Southern Army Commander Wu Qing had one of the Four Universe Pillars, Yang Kai gave him a number of Small Stone Race members to let him raise them inside his Small Universe. It was like a priceless gift to Wu Qing.
He was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he was not far from breaking through to the Ninth-Order. Now that he had the Small Stone Race, the time it would take him to advance had been reduced.
Everything was ready.
The Marketplace was extremely lively at this moment, just like the first time Yang Kai had come here. The entire street was crowded and bustling with activity, like a mortal city.
But compared to his initial confusion, Yang Kai now knew that this Marketplace was built to treat the Old Ancestor’s injuries.
After easily finding the Old Ancestor, who happened to be listening to a story in the teahouse, Yang Kai sat down next to her without any trace of politeness.
The speaker on the stage was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master whom Yang Kai didn’t recognize. Yang Kai had no idea which Division Commander he was, but he seemed to be telling some kind of fantastical story. It was wonderful and a few among the audience were cheering in excitement.
Yang Kai’s brow couldn’t help twitching as he really couldn’t get used to this kind of scene; after all, everyone in the audience was a powerful Open Heaven Realm Master.
“Are you leaving?” The Old Ancestor asked casually while stuffing food into her mouth.
Yang Kai nodded his agreement, “Everything here has been taken care of, so there’s nothing left for me to do.”
“It’s been hard on you all these years. You’ve been running all over the place and haven’t had time to rest.”
“It is this Junior’s duty,” Yang Kai replied.
“En, when you get back, you should focus on your cultivation and strive to break through to the Eighth Order as soon as possible. In the end, the Seventh Order is not enough to ensure your safety on this Black Ink Battlefield.”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai replied respectfully. He hesitated for a moment before asking, “Does the Old Ancestor need help to heal? If the Old Ancestor needs it, the Junior will not hesitate.”
The Old Ancestor answered with a smile, “There’s no need, healing here is the same. Although the speed can’t be compared to your Small Universe’s, the Black Ink Clan’s forces have suffered heavy casualties and there won’t be any war for the next several hundred years or more, so the speed of my recovery isn’t important.”
Yang Kai was just about to nod when the Old Ancestor suddenly added, “Why don’t you come to Yin-Yang Pass? You’re half a disciple of Yin-Yang Heaven, so it’s only right and proper for you to come here.”
Yang Kai replied, “This Junior cannot make the decision on this matter. If the Old Ancestor really wants this Junior to come to Yin-Yang Pass, Blue Sky Pass must be informed. If Blue Sky Pass allows it, I will not refuse.”
The Old Ancestor chuckled, “It was just a casual remark, don’t take it seriously. Since you’re a Human, no matter where you are, as long as you fight against the Black Ink Clan, it’s all the same. It does not matter which Great Pass you belong to.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded and accompanied the Old Ancestor for a while before standing up and stating, “This Junior will take his leave then!”
“Go on,” the Old Ancestor waved him off.
After leaving the Marketplace, Yang Kai went straight to some place inside the Inner Sanctum and stopped in front of a small courtyard.
There was a barrier outside the courtyard, obviously to prevent anyone from disturbing its occupant. Be that as it may, Yang Kai didn’t pay it any heed and simply lifted his hand to touch it. Soon, a portal opened before Yang Kai entered inside.
In the courtyard, Blood Crow sat up straight and glanced over, “What is it?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Nothing important, I’m preparing to return to Blue Sky Pass, so I came to see you before I left.”
Blood Crow immediately became sullen, “Since when were we friends?”
Yang Kai reached out and grabbed a few bottles of wine out of thin air before placing them on the table in front of Blood Crow.
Blood Crow looked at the wine and then at Yang Kai before clicking his tongue, “Are you trying to make friends with me with just these few bottles? Have you forgotten what you did to me?”
Yang Kai placed two bowls, filled them with wine, and picked one up, “Let me ask you, do you want to drink it or not?”
Blood Crow remained silent for a moment before picking up a bottle, unsealing it, and then pouring it.
Yang Kai didn’t pay attention to this and just lifted his bowl.
They didn’t talk much, just kept drinking.
After drinking a few bottles, Yang Kai stood up and stated in a slightly drunk manner, “Brother Blood Crow, the battlefield is dangerous, and fighting alone will not guarantee your safety. All the Humans here are wearing the same robe, I hope that when next I come to Yin-Yang Pass, I will see you again.”
Saying so, he waved his hand and turned to leave.
Watching him disappear, Blood Crow snorted, “How boring!”
Yang Kai smoothly returned to Blue Sky Pass through the Hyper Space Array.
When he looked up, he saw Zhong Liang waiting for him.
Yang Kai quickly bowed in response.
Zhong Liang raised his hand as he stated with a smile, “Well done, it’s been hard on you these past few years.”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized that Zhong Liang must have been informed of everything he had done at Yin-Yang Pass.
It needed a massive amount of resources to travel between Great Passes; after all, each Great Pass was quite far from its neighbours, but if it was just passing on some information, it didn’t cost much. The Purifying Black Ink Pill’s recipe and the refining method of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors were all transmitted to other Great Passes from Blue Sky Pass in the form of jade slips.
Yang Kai was considered a member of Blue-Sky Pass, but because of the Purification Light, too many things were involved. If it weren’t for the fact that the Black Ink Clan’s plan to refine the Warships was too great a threat to the Human Race, how could Blue Sky Pass be willing to put Yang Kai in danger? When he went to the Yin-Yang Theatre, Blue Sky Pass naturally paid attention to his movements.
Almost every month, Blue Sky Pass would send a message to Yin-Yang Pass, inquiring about the situation. Naturally, if there was anything to report, it was reported to them without concealment.
While Yang Kai was hiding in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, Yin-Yang Pass hadn’t received any news from him either, which made Blue-Sky Pass quite anxious.
When Yang Kai finally showed up, the Black Ink Clan Army was besieging the Great Pass, and Yang Kai needed to assist Yin-Yang Pass’s Old Ancestor in healing her injuries. After driving back the Black Ink Clan Army, Yang Kai needed to remain there to open the portals to the Universe Paradises, Universe Cave Heavens, and Sealed Worlds.
Zhong Liang and the others even suspected that Yin-Yang Pass wanted to forcibly retain Yang Kai; that they had no intention of returning him!
To be honest, if Yang Kai hadn’t returned to Blue Sky Pass soon, Zhong Liang would have personally gone to Yin-Yang Pass and looked for Tang Qiu and the others.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had returned, which finally put Zhong Liang at ease.
Regarding Yang Kai’s deeds in the Yin-Yang Theatre, Zhong Liang was not stingy with his praise. He immediately told him that since he had returned, he should rest well and work hard to improve his cultivation.
Yang Kai naturally agreed.
Zhong Liang left happily while Yang Kai returned to his residence alone.
Sensing the movement of the restriction, Feng Ying and Bai Yi, who were cultivating, came out to investigate. When they saw that Yang Kai had returned, the two women were overjoyed.
This place was originally Feng Ying’s residence, but because it was a courtyard with extra rooms, Yang Kai had always lived here. Later, Bai Yi also joined them after Yang Kai had rescued her. After all, they were all members of the same Squad, so it would be easier for them to convene in times of war.
After not seeing each other for over a decade, their auras had clearly become stronger.
In fact, it wasn’t just them, but everyone in Blue-Sky Pass had improved after such a long period of rest.
Before Yang Kai’s arrival, there was always a shortage of cultivation resources regardless of which Great Pass it was. So, the distribution and use of each and every material had to be carefully calculated. However, ever since Yang Kai brought out the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, resources were no longer a problem, especially in Blue Sky Pass. The amount of resources stored in the War Materials Palace now could be said to be as vast as the mountains and seas, enough for the soldiers in the Great Pass to cultivate for thousands of years.
So, their cultivation was bound to improve with the availability of abundant resources and the lack of any threats. Moreover, Yang Kai had opened many Sealed Worlds, acquiring many Profound Yin Spirit Fruits and fruit trees. Many people in Blue Sky Pass had repaired their damaged Small Universes and recovered their original cultivations.
It could be said that the strength of those in Blue-Sky Pass had greatly improved compared to before.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was currently recuperating after the struggle for resources had concluded with the Human Race’s victory. There wouldn’t be any more battles anytime soon.
It could be said that the soldiers of Blue-Sky Pass were enjoying the most leisurely time. Every cultivator cherished this moment because no one could guarantee that they would be able to make it to the next time they could enjoy such leisure.
After chatting with Feng Ying and Bai Yi for a while, Yang Kai returned to his room and went into retreat.
From the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order was an extremely long process of accumulation; however, the flow of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was different from that of the outside world. Furthermore, the living beings inside his Small Universe were constantly improving his heritage, and the World Tree clone was able to purify and strengthen his World Force.
Be that as it may, the main way to increase one’s cultivation was still the boring and monotonous routine of refining resources.
Yang Kai didn’t lack supplies. His Small Universe already had enough cultivation resources stored in it to break through to the Eighth Order, and adding the looting he had done in the hinterlands of the Black Ink Clan, he now had an almost inexhaustible supply of materials.
Originally, he wanted to donate some resources to Blue Sky Pass, but now that Blue Sky Pass didn’t lack resources, he gave up on this notion.
Day after day, year after year…
Yang Kai’s cultivation slowly and steadily increased as a large number of resources were consumed.
However, unlike others, Yang Kai couldn’t cultivate in seclusion for extremely long periods of time. It wasn’t that he was restless or anything, but some Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from other Great Passes would visit him from time to time, bringing Purifying Black Ink Battleships and requesting him to replenish their stock of Purification Light.
Purification Light consumed resources to cast, and the more Black Ink Strength it purified, the faster it would be consumed.
Yang Kai was the only one who could replenish the Purification Light; as such, once the Purification Light sealed in a Purifying Black Ink Battleship had been exhausted, it had to be sent to Blue Sky Pass.
This matter couldn’t be handled by others, so basically every time he went into retreat, it would not last for too long. At best, Yang Kai would be interrupted once a year, but there were times when he had to take action every other month or so.
Replenishing Purification Light was as easy as lifting a finger for Yang Kai. At most, it would consume some Yellow and Blue Crystals; however, the rapid consumption of the Purification Light was also a testament to the intensity of the battle at the various Great Passes, causing his heart to inevitably sink.
The Black Ink Clan was like moss, unkillable no matter how many you cut them down. Even if they were defeated and driven back, it wouldn’t be long before they returned.
Fortunately, with the large-scale refining and promotion of Purifying Black Ink Pills, the frequency at which Yang Kai had to replenish Purification Light became much lower.
The Purifying Black Ink Pill recipe was an inheritance left behind by an ancient Alchemist. It was incomplete though, so Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang, two Alchemy Great Grandmasters, had derived its complete formula after many experiments. It was an effective method to deal with the corrosion of Black Ink Strength.
Many of the materials used to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills had disappeared from the 3,000 Worlds, but they could still be found in the many Sealed Worlds scattered across the Black Ink Battlefield. Currently, every Great Pass was cultivating large quantities of these Spirit Herbs in their own medicine gardens.
After many years of effort, their hard work had finally borne fruit.
This was especially true for Yang Kai’s Small Universe’s medicine garden, which was cultivating those Spirit Herbs in large quantities. After all, his Small Universe’s time flow was different from the outside world. He had a unique advantage when it came to cultivating herbs; he could grow them faster. He had planted many Profound Yin Fruit Trees in his medicine garden when he was exploring the Sealed Worlds.
And as the medicine garden was under the care of the two Wood Spirits, whether it was the herbs or the fruit trees, they were all growing quite well.
Yang Kai had already given the first batch of mature herbs to Blue Sky Pass. The Alchemists inside the Pass had naturally used these herbs to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills and distributed them to the soldiers.
During these years of retreat, Yang Kai had also made some arrangements in his Small Universe.
It had been a few years since his Small Universe had integrated with the World Tree clone. The feedback of the clone had enveloped the entire Small Universe by now, so the Humans living inside it had also begun to benefit from it.
The most obvious example was Miao Fei Ping.
Miao Fei Ping’s original aptitude wasn’t bad. When he had participated in Seven Stars Sect’s Disciples Recruitment with Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai, he had received a ranking second only to Zhao Ya. His cultivation had been smooth sailing over the years, resulting in him advancing to the Emperor Realm.
According to Yang Kai’s investigation when Miao Fei Ping had reached the Emperor Realm, the latter had the qualifications to advance directly to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
However, because of the World Tree clone’s nourishment, he now had a chance to advance to the Sixth Order!
Since even Miao Fei Ping was affected, the new generation of children would naturally be able to receive even more benefits from the World Tree clone. This was also the reason why the various Sects had recently taken in many good seedlings.
Moreover, this kind of feedback would only become stronger until it reached its peak. After a certain number of generations, perhaps cultivation geniuses would be seen just about everywhere.
When Yang Kai left the Star Boundary, it had already become the ultimate Open Heaven Realm cradle.
The change in the Star Boundary was also due to a World Tree clone’s feedback. Since the Star Boundary could become the cradle for the Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai believed that his Small Universe could achieve the same. Although his Small Universe’s population was not nearly as high as the Star Boundary’s, it wasn’t small either.
Be that as it may, if he wanted to develop the potential of these prodigies, he would need to spend some effort.
As such, he used his power to create a phenomenon in his Small Universe.
One day, under the witness of all the living beings in the Small Universe, a giant palace suddenly appeared in the sky. No matter where one was, they could clearly see this palace which had appeared out of thin air.
The palace was surrounded by a dazzling halo of light which attracted everyone’s attention as soon as it manifested.
The Emperor Realm Masters of the various great Sects immediately became extremely interested in this palace that had appeared out of nowhere and all of them flew straight towards it to investigate.
Nonetheless, no matter what the Order these Emperor Realm Masters were in, no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to reach the palace. It was as if the palace was right in front of them, but also very far away.
Only one person succeeded!
It was none other than Seven Stars Sect’s Miao Fei Ping.
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, Miao Fei Ping successfully arrived at the palace.
All of the Emperor Realm Masters were greatly shocked at the sight of this. They were unable to understand why they couldn’t approach this palace, but Miao Fei Ping could.
Many of the higher-ups of the various Sects gathered around Shang Guan Ji to ask about this matter, but Shang Guan Ji was just as confused as they were.
After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Miao Fei Ping flew down from the palace.
The Emperor Realm Masters quickly surrounded him to inquire about the situation after seeing him return.
Miao Fei Ping’s expression became solemn as he pondered for a moment before quenching their curiosity, “This place is called the Void Dao Temple, and it is bestowed by the World itself, not created by man.”
“Void Dao Temple!”
The crowd of Emperor Realm Masters were all extremely sceptical, wondering if this was all a ploy by the Seven Stars Sect. Otherwise, how could they explain that Miao Fei Ping was the only one who could reach the palace? Seven Stars Sect was the strongest Sect in this World, and it also had an elusive and mysterious Ancestor supporting it. Perhaps this Void Dao Temple was just a gimmick for them to dominate the whole Void World?
“What is inside this Dao Temple?” Someone asked.
Miao Fei Ping replied, “The Void Dao Temple contains the essence of the 3,000 Grand Daos, the ultimate truth of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm!”
The Emperor Realm Masters gasped a breath of cold air in shock, many even had their eyes brightly lit up.
3,000 Grand Daos, the ultimate truth of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm, this was far too attractive for the residents of Void World.
There was no cultivator who didn’t yearn for a higher Martial Dao, especially the Emperor Realm Masters.
They had been stuck in this Realm for many years. Had this been the end of the Martial Dao, then it would not have mattered, but the crux of the issue was that they could feel that the Emperor Realm was not the peak of the Martial Dao. There were even more profound Realms ahead, but they had no idea how to break through to those Realms.
There were rumours that the Ancestor of Seven Stars Sect had a cultivation that surpassed the Emperor Realm, but he was quite elusive; even the higher-ups of Seven Stars Sect couldn’t easily meet him, let alone outsiders like them.
Now that the Void Dao Temple bestowed by the World had appeared out of thin air, containing the mysteries of what lay beyond the Emperor Realm, how could these Emperor Realm Masters not be tempted?
Be that as it may, they had all tried to approach it before, but no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to reach it, except for Miao Fei Ping.
“Elder Miao, what must we do to ascend to the Void Dao Temple?” An Emperor Realm Master from another Sect humbly asked.
Miao Fei Ping replied, “Aptitude, only those with outstanding aptitude can reach the Void Dao Temple. It has nothing to do with cultivation.”
Immediately, someone indignantly asked, “Does Elder Miao mean that your aptitude is better than everyone else here?”
These words were undoubtedly quite revolting to everyone present; after all, everyone standing here was an Emperor Realm Master. Furthermore, all of them were extremely confident in their own aptitude. However, if they were to admit that admittance to the Void Dao Temple was based solely on aptitude, it would mean admitting that Miao Fei Ping’s aptitude was far better than theirs.
Shang Guan Ji glanced over at the Emperor Realm Master who had just spoken and replied, “Elder Miao is a member of our Seven Stars Sect and reached the Emperor Realm before turning 100. With such aptitude, who can compare to him?”
His words immediately made the questioning Emperor turn silent. A 100-year-old Emperor Realm Master was truly unprecedented. Such cultivation speed was far better than any of the other Emperor Realm Masters present.
Another person asked curiously, “Elder Miao, how do you know all this?”
One had to know that Miao Fei Ping had only been in that hall for the time it takes for half an incense to burn, so how could he have obtained so much information?
Miao Fei Ping cupped his fist slightly, “This untalented Miao has been acknowledged by the Void Dao Temple. From today onward, I will be the first Temple Master of the Void Dao Temple, that is why I have obtained some information about this Void Dao Temple.”
As soon as these words left his mouth, the entire audience fell silent. All of the Emperor Realm Masters stared at him blankly. Even Shang Guan Ji and the others from the Seven Stars Sect were shocked.
A palace had appeared out of nowhere; then, Miao Fei Ping declared that it was the Void Dao Temple and was bestowed by the World itself and contained the 3,000 Grand Daos, the highest truths of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm. Now, he even proclaimed that he had obtained the recognition of the Void Dao Temple and had become its first Temple Master?
This revelation was really shocking, so shocking that the Emperor Realm Masters couldn’t immediately respond.
After a long silence, one of the Sect Masters let out a hollow laugh, “Elder Miao, you said you’re the first Temple Master. May I ask Elder Miao what the Temple Master’s job is?”
Miao Fei Ping pondered for a moment before replying, “The purpose of the Void Dao Temple is to teach the 3,000 Grand Daos. As the Temple Master, I am responsible for guiding the Dao Temple’s disciples’ cultivation.”
“And where will these disciples come from?”
“As long as one’s aptitude is sufficiently high, anyone can enter the Dao Temple to cultivate, regardless of their cultivation. Even a child who has never cultivated before may gain entrance if their aptitude is sufficient!” While speaking, Miao Fei Ping cupped his fist, “Sect Masters, Elders, if you have any disciples with outstanding aptitude in mind, please send them to the Dao Temple. If they can pass the test of the Dao Temple, they may enter and comprehend the mysteries of the Grand Dao.”
The Emperor Realm Sect Masters and Elders all looked at each other in dismay upon hearing this. Finally, one of the Sect Masters sneered, “In that case, this humble one understands. Void Dao Temple… hah, I’ll take my leave now!”
Saying so, he turned and left, followed by the Emperor Realm Elders under him.
With someone taking the lead, the others quickly left as well.
Some even sneered before leaving, “Brother Shang Guan, if Seven Stars Sect wants to take in all the geniuses in the World, there’s no need to use such a clumsy method. This Void World is not that small, and a single Seven Stars Sect cannot swallow it all. Brother Shang Guan, please take care of yourself!”
Shang Guan Ji slightly furrowed his brow but didn’t try to explain.
Right now, he also had no idea what this was all about. He vaguely felt that this Void Dao Temple was related to the Ancestor, but it was not appropriate to ask with so many people around.
The Sects that left first were all top Sects in Void World. These Sects were not weak, so they naturally regarded the strongest, Seven Stars Sect, as their competitor, hoping that one day their Sect’s strength would surpass them and become the overlord of Void World.
After listening to Miao Fei Ping’s explanation, everyone thought that this Void Dao Temple was created by the Seven Stars Sect to attract talents from all over the world. If they let all the good seedlings be taken away by the Seven Stars Sect, they would not have any successors. Perhaps Seven Stars Sect would really be able to dominate Void World in less than 100 years if they could accomplish this plot.
Since the Emperor Realm Masters of the top Sects had taken their leaves, the small and intermediate Sects didn’t stay any longer and quickly took their leave as well.
When only the higher-ups of the Seven Stars Sect remained, Guan Qian Xing finally spoke, “Fei Ping, this Void Dao Temple…”
Shang Guan Ji immediately interrupted him, “Let us return first.”
Guan Qian Xing understood that Shang Guan Ji stopped him because he was afraid that someone was trying to spy on them, so he didn’t ask any further.
After everyone had returned to Seven Stars Sect, Shang Guan Ji finally asked Miao Fei Ping, “Is what you said about the Void Dao Temple true?”
Miao Fei Ping earnestly nodded his affirmation, “It’s true. I did not speak a single lie to those people.”
A solemn look took over Shang Guan Ji’s face, “Is this related to the Ancestor?”
“En, it is indeed related to the Ancestor. It was also Ancestor who appointed me as the Temple Master.”
As soon as these words came out, all Seven Stars Sect Emperor Realm Masters were thrilled. Since it was the Ancestor’s handiwork, there was no need to doubt or worry. Previously, Shang Guan Ji had also suspected that the Void Dao Temple was created by the Ancestor, but now he had confirmation.
“Why did the Ancestor create this Void Dao Temple?” Guan Qian Xing hurriedly asked.
Miao Fei Ping replied, “Ancestor intends to take many of Void World’s geniuses under his tutelage and teach them about the Grand Dao.”
Shang Guan Ji and the others’ eyes lit up.
The Ancestor had long passed down the method to condense one’s Dao Seal to the Seven Stars Sect and had given them many resources to do so with. Some of them had even already begun to form their Dao Seals, while Miao Fei Ping was far ahead of his peers in this regard and had even begun refining Element Powers. Nonetheless, the Void Dao Temple was still extremely attractive to them.
How could Miao Fei Ping not know what they were thinking after seeing their reaction? He immediately added, “Just as I said before, admittance to the Void Dao Temple has nothing to do with your cultivation, only your aptitude. If your aptitude is good enough, you can easily reach it, but if your aptitude is lacking, no matter how high your cultivation is, you can never approach it.”
Shang Guan Ji couldn’t help but awkwardly cough at those words.
He had also tried to ascend to the Void Dao Temple before, but unfortunately, he was unable to do so. In other words, his aptitude wasn’t high enough to be recognized by the Dao Temple.
Regardless, their Ancestor had already taught them the method to form their Dao Seal, so as long as they diligently cultivated, they could break through the shackles of the Emperor Realm someday.
Right now, the Void Dao Temple was a turning point for others.
Fixing his expression, Shang Guan Ji stated, “Since the Void Dao Temple is Ancestor’s handiwork, the Seven Stars Sect will naturally cooperate unconditionally. Fei Ping, since you are the Temple Master and have received the Ancestor’s favour, you must be diligent in the future.”
“Yes!” Miao Fei Ping replied respectfully.
“Regarding the matter of the Dao Temple, how do you want my Seven Stars Sect to cooperate?”
“Please give the order to all disciples to present themselves to the Dao Temple. It only takes an incense stick for those with appropriate aptitude to receive the blessing of the Dao Temple and enter it to cultivate the Grand Dao!”
Shang Guan Ji lightly nodded as a look of admiration appeared on his face, “As expected of Ancestor’s work. If that’s the case, I will arrange for it immediately.”
Soon, the Seven Stars Sect began moving. All of Seven Stars Sect’s disciples, regardless of their cultivation, received orders from the higher-ups to step out from their abodes or places of cultivation and present themselves to the palace in the sky for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The disciples didn’t know why they were asked to look up and observe the floating palace, but since it was an order of the higher-ups, they just had to follow it. In any case, it was just an incense stick’s worth of time, so it wasn’t like it was a burdensome task.
Even the Emperor Realm Masters, who had tried to ascend to the Dao Temple before, found a secluded place and secretly focused on the palace, hoping for a miracle to occur.
The dozen or so giant squares in Seven Stars Sect were soon filled with people, all of them gazing up at the Void Dao Temple.
Time slowly passed.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, a five-coloured beam suddenly descended from the palace that had been quietly floating in the sky and landed on one of the disciples.
The next moment, something shocking happened. The disciple’s body slowly floated up, and as the beam of light rapidly withdrew towards the Void Dao Temple, the disciple’s cry rang out from midair.
After the first beam of multi-coloured light, several more descended. Each of these beams seemed to have some kind of restraining power, taking away a disciple who was currently observing the Dao Temple.
These rays of light were not all the same though. They were divided into three colours, five colours, and seven colours.
In just a short period of time, more than 30 disciples had been taken away by the colourful beams. Among them, the seven-coloured beams numbered the least, just two, followed by the five-coloured and then the three-coloured beams.
As for the disciples who had been taken away by the beams, all of them were excellent seedlings with outstanding aptitudes. The greater their aptitudes were, the more colourful the beam that fell on them had been.
The higher-ups of the Seven Stars Sect could vaguely tell that these light beams were related to the aptitude of the disciples. The disciples who were taken away by the seven-coloured beams obviously had the best aptitude, while the three-coloured beams represented lower levels of talent.
The Ancestor’s means were truly marvellous!
Everyone in Void World could clearly see the strange Void Dao Temple and the commotion in Seven Stars Sect.
The Emperor Realm Masters, who had just returned to their residences, were also stunned. They had no idea what Seven Stars Sect was up to now.
There were also some who were secretly anxious. Miao Fei Ping had said that the Void Dao Temple contained the 3,000 Grand Daos, the ultimate truth of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm. Naturally, they were also looking forward to it; however, the matter of the Void Dao Temple was too strange. Many people suspected that it was Seven Stars Sect’s ploy, so for now, they wanted to get a clear picture of the situation before deciding what to do.
But now, Seven Stars Sect had already started moving. If Miao Fei Ping had told the truth, and the Void Dao Temple was really bestowed by the World and Seven Stars Sect would gain an advantage by acting first.
Seven Stars Sect was already the most powerful Sect, and now that they had entered the Void Dao Temple before all others, everyone was worried about who would be able to compete with them in the future.
Southern Star Palace, one of the top Sects of Void World…
At this moment, all of the higher-ups present, including Palace Master Wu Dong Xing, were looking up at the strange phenomenon occurring at the Void Dao Temple, watching the beams descending straight down on Seven Stars Sect, each of them then bringing a Seven Stars Sect disciple into the Dao Temple.
This sight was clearly seen by all. They might have no idea what was going on, but it worried them.
Since such a strange event had suddenly occurred in Void World, Southern Star Palace naturally wanted to find out if this Void Dao Temple really was the work of the Seven Stars Sect or not.
Originally, all of them had thought that this was the case, but now it seemed that it wasn’t so. The phenomenon that appeared from the Void Dao Temple had far exceeded the scope of what Emperor Realm Masters could accomplish. Although the Seven Stars Sect had many Emperor Realm Masters, they did not have such ability.
Just as they were wondering what was happening, a beam of multi-coloured light suddenly descended from the Void Dao Temple, not towards the Seven Stars Sect but towards the Southern Star Palace.
It was a seven-coloured beam!
Wu Dong Xing immediately looked in the direction of the light beam and saw a disciple wearing a Southern Star Palace uniform slowly rising into the sky towards the Void Dao Temple.
The disciple’s behaviour could be considered quite calm, just curiously looking around with a confused expression.
“Who is that disciple?” Wu Dong Xing hurriedly asked. Southern Star Palace had many disciples, so it was practically impossible for the Palace Master to know all of them. Furthermore, this disciple’s cultivation appeared to be extremely low so he should have just entered the Sect recently.
“It’s Xue Fei!” One of the higher-ups recognized this disciple.
Wu Dong Xing Xing’s expression changed, “The genius disciple who joined just three years ago?”
He didn’t know Xue Fei personally, but he had heard of him. Among the new batch of disciples three years ago, some of them had extremely outstanding aptitudes and could be said to be the most outstanding since Southern Star Palace’s founding.
One of those supreme talents was Xue Fei.
[What’s going on? How did Xue Fei get taken away by the beam of light from the Void Dao Temple?]
Wu Dong Xing shouted without giving it another thought, “Stop him!”
Naturally, the genius disciples of their own Sect should remain with them; how could they let them be taken away by the Void Dao Temple?
As soon as he issued the order, the Emperor Realm Masters rose into the air, trying to pull Xue Fei out of the beam. Be that as it may, they were unable to break through the light barrier no matter how hard they tried. All they could do was watch Xue Fei fly further away until he disappeared into the Void Dao Temple.
This was not the end of it though. Following Xue Fei, several more beams descended from the Void Dao Temple, taking away more disciples. Various Elders identified all these disciples as outstanding geniuses. Their time in the Sect was short, and their cultivation was not high.
This was not just happening to Southern Star Palace. Similar things were happening to many disciples of various Sects across all of Void World. Even some children who had never entered a Sect or cultivated before had been taken in by the Void Dao Temple.
Without exception, all of these people who had been taken away by the multi-coloured beams were extremely talented.
After this, various Sects couldn’t sit still. Although the cultivation environment of Void World had been improving over the past few years and good seedlings had been popping up every now and then, they still couldn’t stand them being taken away by the Void Dao Temple.
They still didn’t understand what was going on, but they were certain that the Seven Stars Sect must have some idea about it.
After all, Miao Fei Ping had publicly admitted that he was the first Temple Master of the Void Dao Temple, and the beams had first started descending on the Seven Stars Sect.
Very soon, the higher-ups of the various Sects rushed to the Seven Stars Sect to gather intelligence.
In the end, when they learned the truth that all the geniuses in the World had actually been taken by the Void Dao Temple, they were all filled with resentment.
While the higher-ups of various Sects gathered at Seven Stars Sect, the Void Dao Temple’s recruitment never stopped. From time to time, multi-coloured beams of light would descend and pick up a talented person from somewhere.
In less than a dozen days, all the top young talents in the entire Void World had been taken away by the beams descending from the Void Dao Temple.
All the disciples who had been taken away had one common attribute, and that was that their cultivation wasn’t high while their aptitudes were all extraordinary.
At the same time, some Emperor Realm Masters of the top Sects had also suddenly obtained a connection with the Void Dao Temple and were chosen to serve as Deacons. At the same time, they were allowed to enter the Dao Temple to cultivate and guide the disciples who had been taken away by the beams.
The Emperor Realm Deacons who had been chosen were all a bit sceptical at first; after all, it was all too bizarre and difficult to understand. No one had told them about it in person, they just somehow felt the mysterious connection to the Void Dao Temple all of a sudden, as if there was an additional mark on their bodies, allowing them to become Deacons.
These Emperor Realm Deacons were all sceptical, but when they tried to enter the Dao Temple, they were surprised to discover that they could actually fly straight to it.
The mark that had appeared on their bodies seemed to be a kind of authorization to enter the Dao Temple!
There was not a massive number of Deacons, but there were still quite a few of them. Almost every top Sect had one.
When these Deacons entered the Dao Temple, they would either remain inside for a few hours or a few days before rushing back to their respective Sects and explaining what they had seen and heard.
The entire Void World shook from their revelations.
This was because according to these selected Dao Temple Deacons, the disciples who had been taken away were living quite well in the Dao Temple. Not only that, but the Dao Temple itself was like a completely different world. It was rich in World Energy and had perfect World Principles to cultivate in. It would undoubtedly be many times faster to cultivate in such an environment than normal.
There was also a massive Secret Art Pavilion inside the Dao Temple, which had countless Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. All of these Secret Arts were extremely precious and could be read by anyone without any restrictions. The Dao Temple didn’t even restrict them from teaching them to outsiders.
In other words, they could freely pass on any Secret Art and Secret Technique inside the Dao Temple to their own Sect.
There were also visions in the Dao Temple, demonstrating the mysteries above the Emperor Realm.
Now, the Emperor Realm Masters of Void World knew that there was an Open Heaven Realm above the Emperor Realm, and if one wanted to reach the Open Heaven Realm, they would first need to condense a Dao Seal. Then, if they wanted to complete their Dao Seal, they would need to refine cultivation materials of appropriate Elements and Orders!
What was most shocking was that these materials were all readily available in the Dao Temple, but they could not be taken at will. It needed a certain amount of contributions to the Dao Temple. As for how to gain contribution, the Deacons were unable to figure this out because their time in the Dao Temple was too short.
Only one thing was clear, if a Sect’s disciple was chosen by the Dao Temple, they would be able to obtain a certain amount of contribution points. The more disciples were chosen, the more the contribution points they would receive, and these contribution points could be exchanged for resources in the Dao Temple.
After the revelations from various Deacons, the great Sects no longer held any doubts about the Void Dao Temple. They had originally thought that it was the Seven Stars Sect’s handiwork, but now it seemed that it was indeed a miracle bestowed on them by the World, the Heavenly Way guiding them in their cultivation.
Everyone had already understood the requirements to enter the Dao Temple. Apart from the chosen Deacons who were freely allowed to enter and exit, entrance to the Dao Temple depended on one’s aptitude.
If one’s aptitude was outstanding enough, a dazzling beam would naturally descend from the Dao Temple as long as they presented themselves to it for an incense stick worth of time. Truly, the profundities of the Heavenly Way were endless and not something that could be fathomed by ordinary people.
At this point, the Sects no longer had any objections to the Void Dao Temple and all of them ordered their disciples to pay their respects to it; after all, their Sect could gain contribution points and exchange them for resources as long as their disciples were selected.
Although these genius disciples were the foundation of the Sect’s future prosperity, cultivating them would require a great deal of time and effort. How could they be compared to the temptation of exploring a higher Martial Dao on their own? What’s more, the disciples who had been taken in by the Dao Temple still had their names registered under their original Sect and their connection to it had not yet been severed. If these disciples were willing, they could travel between the Dao Temple and the Sect at any time.
The entire Void World was bustling with noise and excitement. Since the appearance of the Void Dao Temple a month ago, multi-coloured beams would appear, taking away individuals with extraordinary aptitudes each day.
After the Dao Temple Master Miao Fei Ping and the many Emperor Realm Deacons entered, the Void Dao Temple officially began operating. In just a short month, the Dao Temple had taken in over 500 disciples, each of them a genius who would be carefully cultivated by any Sect. Now that Miao Fei Ping and the other Deacons were taking care of them though, Yang Kai didn’t need to intervene until they had advanced to the Emperor Realm.
The Dao Temple disciples would definitely increase over time, and when these disciples had broken through to the Open Heaven Realm in the future, they would become a force that would help the Human Race resist the Black Ink Clan.
The power of the World Tree clone was beginning to show.
Furthermore, in order to perfect the Dao Temple’s Secret Art Pavilion, Yang Kai took the time to pay a visit to Blue Sky Pass’ War Materials Hall and spent a large amount of Military Merits to exchange for Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from the various Cave Heavens and Paradises.
These Secret Arts and Techniques would be considered priceless treasures and not easily released to others if this was the 3,000 Worlds, but they were quite common and accessible on the Black Ink Battlefield. After all, even the Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Purgatory Eye, core Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven that would never be passed down to outsiders, could be exchanged for with Military Merits, so what of other Secret Arts and Techniques?
It did not take much time or effort to build the Void Dao Temple as everything in Yang Kai’s Small Universe could be decided by him with a flash of his thoughts.
After the Void Dao Temple was on the right track, Yang Kai didn’t pay much attention to it. Currently, the Void Dao Temple had just taken in its first disciples and they had not been cultivating for too long. It would still take some time for them to mature.
In addition to refining cultivation materials, most of Yang Kai’s time was spent on comprehending Secret Techniques. As time passed, his strength slowly and steadily increased.
Until one day, something pulled his heartstrings. He immediately focused his attention on his Small Universe.
When he laid his eyes on the figure sitting cross-legged in the Void Dao Temple, he finally muttered, “Is it time already? Since that’s the case, I shall let you decide for yourself.”
Inside the Void Dao Temple, Miao Fei Ping happened to be refining the last Element Power to complete his Dao Seal. According to the Ancestor, once he succeeded, he would be able to split Heaven and Earth apart within his body, and break through the shackles of the Emperor Realm, thereby advancing to the Open Heaven Realm.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to take that final step. There seemed to be a thin membrane that could be broken with a flick of his finger standing in his way, but he couldn’t seem to touch it regardless of how he tried.
Miao Fei Ping’s temperament was undoubtedly firm and steady; he did not falter even in this situation.
Until he suddenly heard the Ancestor’s voice.
Logically speaking, if one were to be disturbed at such a critical moment, their mind would definitely be shaken. In the best-case scenario, they would suffer from cultivation dissonance, and in the worst-case scenario, they might even die on the spot.
Nonetheless, this did not happen to Miao Fei Ping, because at the same time the Ancestor’s voice was transmitted to him, a gentle force stabilized his state of mind, allowing him to avoid this calamity. Even the berserk Emperor Qi in his body calmed down.
When he opened his eyes, Miao Fei Ping saw a smiling man standing in front of him. It was none other than the Ancestor.
Miao Fei Ping hurriedly stood up and respectfully bowed, “Disciple greets Ancestor!”
Yang Kai lightly nodded. At this moment, he was nothing more than a Soul Avatar, just like when he travelled across his Small Universe all those years ago. Nonetheless, the Soul Avatar in Miao Fei Ping’s eyes was equivalent to the arrival of the Ancestor’s true body. He didn’t dare to show any disrespect.
“It’s been hard on you all these years.”
Only 20 years had passed in the outside world since the establishment of the Void Dao Temple, so 80 years had passed in the Small Universe. Over the past 80 years, the number of disciples the Void Dao Temple had accepted had reached over 2,000, each and every one of them a Dragon among men.
With Miao Fei Ping acting as the Temple Master, the Deacons chosen by the Dao Temple all diligently guided these disciples. He had truly worked hard over these years; after all, the cultivation of these chosen disciples wasn’t high. Many of them were children who had never cultivated before. Taking care of them was indeed a daunting task.
There were many benefits to managing various affairs of the Dao Temple, the most direct of which was that one could obtain a fixed amount of contribution points every month, and these contribution points could be exchanged for cultivation resources in the Dao Temple, but the downside was that it delayed one’s cultivation.
If not for this, Miao Fei Ping would not have taken a century to finally reach this point with his aptitude.
“Disciple is honoured by Ancestor’s concern, but it was not difficult at all,” Miao Fei Ping replied respectfully.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “Right now, you’re just a step away from the Open Heaven Realm, but if you want to reach it, you must make a choice.”
“A choice?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled, “Ancestor, please explain.”
Yang Kai continued, “With your aptitude and current foundation, it may be a bit risky to break through to the Sixth Order, but the risks aren’t that great. Do you know why you still haven’t been able to break through even after being in a retreat for so long?”
Miao Fei Ping shook his head, “Perhaps this Disciple is slow-witted. Perhaps I will not be able to comprehend the fleeting opportunity to break through even if I put in all my effort. But Ancestor can rest assured, this Disciple will definitely redouble his efforts in cultivating so as not to disappoint you.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “If you can be considered slow-witted, then there aren’t many smart people in Void World.”
Miao Fei Ping humbly replied, “Ancestor is too kind.”
“The reason you can’t break through is not because your comprehension or aptitude is lacking, but because of the environment. As long as you remain in Void World, you will never be able to break through the shackles of the Emperor Realm and advance to the Open Heaven Realm.”
“Why is that?” Miao Fei Ping looked confused
Yang Kai replied, looking at him with a smile, “Because Void World is my Small Universe.”
Miao Fei Ping was rooted to the spot, stunned.
Yang Kai continued, “When Emperor Realm cultivators condense their Dao Seals and gather the Powers of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, they will be able to form a Small Universe World inside their body, thus advancing to the Open Heaven Realm. The Open Heaven Realm is divided into nine Orders. First to Third-Order is the Low-Rank, Fourth to Sixth-Order is the Mid-Rank, Seventh-Order and above is High-Rank. Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters’ Small Universes are immaterial and illusory, while High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters’ Small Universes are solid and tangible, just like this Void World.”
“Every Open Heaven Realm cultivator has their own Small Universe, and the World Force of that Small Universe is the foundation of the Open Heaven Realm’s strength. Even if two people cultivate the same Secret Art and comprehend the same Grand Dao, after they reach the Open Heaven Realm, the World Force in their Small Universes will naturally be different.”
“This kind of difference is unique to every Open Heaven Realm Master. Other Open Heaven Realm Masters might be able to refine it for their own use to increase their strength, but if the difference is too great, it will instead become impurities that destroy their foundation.”
“If you broke through to the Open Heaven Realm inside my Small Universe, the World Force you unconsciously release at the moment of ascension will contaminate my foundation and affect my cultivation, so I cannot allow you to break through in Void World. This can be considered a restriction of the entire Void World, do you understand?”
It was not that hard for Miao Fei Ping to understand, but after learning that the world he had been living in was actually the Ancestor’s Small Universe, he was still shocked and couldn’t recover for a long time.
“If you want to enter the Open Heaven Realm, the only option is to leave my Small Universe and enter the vast Outer Universe.” Yang Kai’s eyes became solemn, “However, the environment I am in right now is not safe. If you leave Void World, your life will constantly be at risk, and you will have to fight against powerful enemies. Even with my strength, I may not be able to protect you.”
Miao Fei Ping muttered, “Is this the choice Ancestor spoke of?”
Yang Kai nodded his affirmation, “That’s right, whether to remain in Void World as an Emperor Realm Master, or take the risk and leave Void World to achieve the Open Heaven Realm is up to you.”
In the face of such a sudden choice, even an Emperor Realm Master like Miao Fei Ping was a little hesitant.
Yang Kai observed his expression and lightly nodded, “You can take your time and inform me after you have made a decision.”
Saying so, his figure gradually started to fade as he prepared to leave.
Before he could go though, Miao Fei Ping suddenly raised his head and asked, “Ancestor, are Junior Sister Zhao Ya and Senior Brother Zhao Ye Bai still in Void World?”
Yang Kai’s figure solidified again as he shook his head, “They left long ago.”
Miao Fei Ping let out a long sigh. Although he had suspected it, it was only now that he got the confirmation. He lightly nodded his acknowledgement before asking, “Since Junior Sister Zhao Ya and Senior Brother Zhao Ye Bai have long since left Void World, I assume they will advance to the Open Heaven Realm in the future?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “Naturally, but their situation is different from yours. They are currently in another Great World, where they don’t have to be worried about external threats. So, there is no need to worry.”
“May I ask what Order those two will reach when they break through?”
“If everything goes according to plan, they should reach the Seventh Order!”
“Seventh-Order!” Miao Fei Ping chuckled, “As expected of those two, but the difference between the Sixth and Seventh Order is only one Order, the difference isn’t too great.”
Saying so, Miao Fei Ping cupped his fist and declared his choice, “This Disciple wishes to advance to the Open Heaven Realm. I ask Ancestor to help!”
Yang Kai looked at him, slightly narrowing his eyes, “Have you thought your decision through? Don’t try to compete with others, only follow your heart.”
Miao Fei Ping declared, shaking his head, “It is not about comparing myself with those two, it’s just that we cultivators have cultivated for our entire lives, taking one step at a time, all so we may stand at the peak and see the extraordinary scenery from above. If we are going to stop halfway, why should we cultivate at all? Since I’m presented with such an opportunity today, this Disciple does not want to miss it. Not to mention… Ancestor is fighting powerful enemies, and while this Disciple might not be talented, he is willing to assist Ancestor in battle!”
Yang Kai happily nodded, “Your heart is righteous indeed. Since that is the case, I shall grant your wish.”
Miao Fei Ping once again cupped his fist in gratitude, “Many thanks, Ancestor, but… after this Disciple leaves, who will manage Void Dao Temple? Please make a decision.”
Yang Kai asked, “Who do you recommend?”
Miao Fei Ping pondered for a moment, “Deacon Tang Wen is steady and virtuous, he is also fair in his conduct. He is a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so his cultivation is enough to convince the others. After this Disciple leaves, I believe he will be the appropriate choice to assume the position of Temple Master.”
“Tang Wen!” Yang Kai meaningfully looked at him, “He’s not from Seven Stars Sect, he seems to be from Stalwart Pavilion, right?”
Miao Fei Ping justified, “This Disciple believes that the Ancestor created the Void Dao Temple to select talents from all over the world, presumably to fight against a powerful enemy that this Disciple doesn’t know about. Since that is the case, this Disciple doesn’t dare to have any selfish motives. Seven Stars Sect has been rapidly developing these past few years and has already become the number one Sect in Void World. If another Elder from the Seven Stars Sect were to take over the position of Temple Master, I’m afraid that he would become too arrogant and dishonour Ancestor’s original intention to create the Dao Temple.”
Yang Kai agreed with a smile, “You’re wise. Since that’s the case, Tang Wen will take over the Void Dao Temple.” He pondered for a moment before continuing, “Let’s put on a show before you leave.”
“A show?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled.
Half a day later, Miao Fei Ping summoned all of the Void Dao Temple Deacons and announced that he would be advancing soon, and that he would like to take care of Void Dao Temple’s affairs before entering retreat.
The Deacons were both shocked and envious. After working in the Dao Temple, they naturally had a better understanding of the Open Heaven Realm than others. Everyone had been working towards this goal all these years, but the fastest among them had only refined three materials and was still far from breaking through.
When they suddenly heard Temple Master Miao Fei Ping say that he was about to break through, they were naturally extremely envious.
Although they were envious, they still congratulated him.
After making some arrangements, Miao Fei Ping made a trip back to the Seven Stars Sect to inform the Sect Master Shang Guan Ji and the Elders that he was about to enter retreat to break through.
Soon, all of the Emperor Realm Masters in Void World knew that Miao Fei Ping was about to break the Emperor Realm’s shackles. The Emperor Realm Masters were naturally looking forward to it.
It had to be known that this was the first time in the entire history of Void World that someone was about to rise above the Emperor Realm. Whether he succeeded or failed would affect the future development of the entire world’s Martial Dao, so it naturally garnered a lot of attention.
Furthermore, personally witnessing this breakthrough would be greatly beneficial to them in the future.
Miao Fei Ping soon went into the retreat.
All the top Sects were constantly trying to find out whether Miao Fei Ping had succeeded or failed in his retreat, but none of the Deacons knew, because after Miao Fei Ping went into seclusion, they had received no word from him; no one even knew if he was alive or dead.
On a certain day after about a month, Void World suddenly shook as dazzling multi-coloured lights filled the sky and a powerful aura suddenly overflowed from the Void Dao Temple.
This aura clearly surpassed the Emperor Realm.
The higher-ups of the various great Sects were beside themselves and immediately turned their eyes towards the Void Dao Temple.
Under everyone’s gaze, a figure suddenly stepped out from the Void Dao Temple. It was none other than the first Temple Master, Miao Fei Ping!
But at this moment, Miao Fei Ping was surrounded by a dazzling glow, making him look like a Deity descending from the Heavens. The aura emanating from his body made all the Emperors yearn to achieve the same.
Thunderous rumbles shook the world, wind blew fierce as the Sun and Moon dimmed.
Many weaker cultivators who didn’t know what was happening couldn’t help but bow their heads and pray to the Heavens when they saw this.
Miao Fei Ping’s aura surged as the might of his Grand Dao filled the air. He then looked down and started speaking, his voice shook the world, “After my breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm, this World will no longer be able to accommodate me. After my departure, the Void Dao Temple will choose a person to serve as the Temple Master. My Fellow Brothers and Sisters, please assist them.”
Saying so, he turned his head towards Seven Stars Sect and nodded slightly before taking a step forward.
When his feet landed, space shattered like a mirror.
Everyone who saw this scene was shocked.
After a long time, the shattered Void gradually returned to its usual state, but when they looked again, Miao Fei Ping was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared without a trace. The entire world was devoid of his aura.
He had shattered the Void and left this World!
Many of the Emperor Realm Masters’ hearts skipped a beat.
Judging by what Miao Fei Ping had said, he had already broken through to the Open Heaven Realm. Void World was unable to contain him after breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, so he had no choice but to shatter the Void and leave. Although they didn’t know where he would go after leaving this world, it was obvious he had gone to a place with a higher Martial Dao.
This was the first person to break the shackles of the Emperor Realm and break free from the barriers of the World, causing a sensation that shook Void World and which would not be forgotten for hundreds of years.
At this moment, in addition to the shock brought about by Miao Fei Ping’s shattering the Void, the various Sects and Deacons were also concerned about something else.
It was who was going to be the next Temple Master.
The Void Dao Temple had only been founded 100 years ago, but all of the disciples it had taken in these past 100 years were extremely talented. In just a short time, these people had achieved many things that ordinary cultivators would never be able to achieve in their lifetime.
One could imagine how these disciples would become the cornerstones of the entire Void World in the future. They might even advance to the Open Heaven Realm, shatter the Void, and leave, just like Miao Fei Ping.
Who would not want to have such a powerful force in their hands? Be that as it may, Miao Fei Ping, the first Temple Master, was chosen by the Dao Temple. And before he left, he said that the next Temple Master would be chosen by the Dao Temple.
Who would be appointed as the next Temple Master?
Many Sect Masters were already thinking about how to contribute so that their Elders or Deacons could become the next Temple Master.
Nonetheless, their various plans and schemes were destined to be futile.
As soon as Miao Fei Ping left, a beam of light descended from the Dao Temple towards one of the Deacons.
At the same time, all the Deacons received a message.
[The second Temple Master is Tang Wen!]
Tang Wen himself hadn’t expected that the position of the Temple Master would fall upon his head, so he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. It wasn’t until the various Deacons all paid their respects to him that he reacted.
Just as Miao Fei Ping had stated, Tang Wen was steady and virtuous, so even though he had obtained the position of Temple Master, his conduct was still the same as before. He quickly raised his hand and addressed everyone, “Fellow Deacons, please don’t think that things will change after this, treat me like before, there is no need to be so polite. I hope everyone can help me in the future. This Tang will manage the Void Dao Temple together with all of you and will not let down the World, nor Temple Master Miao.”
Much to Seven Stars Sect’s disappointment, the second Temple Master position had actually fallen on Tang Wen. Nonetheless, they felt much more at ease after thinking about the various cultivation resources that the Ancestor had bestowed upon them over the years. They believed that the Ancestor must have had his own reasons for doing something like this; there would be no Seven Stars Sect today without the Ancestor after all. So, although they were disappointed, they didn’t complain and instead worked even harder to cooperate with the Void Dao Temple.
The matter of the Void Dao Temple had come to an end. Miao Fei Ping’s breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm and his act of shattering the Void had been a sensation throughout the world, causing the Emperor Realm Masters to cultivate even more diligently. Everyone yearned to break through to the Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible.
At the same time, on a universe fragment outside Blue Sky Pass, Miao Fei Ping was advancing to the Open Heaven Realm.
When the Emperor Realm Masters of Void World witnessed him shatter the Void and leave, they all thought he had broken through to the Open Heaven Realm, but in reality, he was just following Yang Kai’s script.
He didn’t know why the Ancestor was doing this, but since it was a request from the Ancestor, he naturally would follow it to the dot.
After leaving Void World, Miao Fei Ping began his true breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm.
His aptitude was originally only enough for him to advance to the Fifth Order, but because of the World Tree clone’s feedback, he could now advance to the Sixth Order, though he had to take some risks.
No one could help him break through to the Open Heaven Realm, not even Yang Kai. The only help he could provide was some experience in breaking through to the next Realm for reference.
On the universe fragment, not only was Yang Kai here, but also Feng Ying and Bai Yi. They were naturally not here to watch a spectacle, but to stand guard; after all, this place was on the outskirts of Blue Sky Pass, and the Black Ink Clan had been a little reckless these days. If some ignorant Black Ink Clansman came here and disturbed Miao Fei Ping’s breakthrough, it would be a disaster for the latter.
Fortunately, everything went quite smoothly with no Black Ink Clan interference and no dangerous moments during the breakthrough. By the time the dust settled, Miao Fei Ping had advanced to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai, looking at his excited face, couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
He recalled how he met Miao Fei Ping for the first time when he was just a boy; he was quite a mischievous kid who bullied Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya from time to time, relying on his age. It wasn’t really bullying though, just children being children.
Years had gone by in the blink of an eye, and now that boy had broken through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Seeing the sight before him, Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering how his three Disciples were doing; however, Yang Kai estimated that they had yet to break through to the Open Heaven Realm.
It wasn’t that his Disciples’ aptitudes were worse than Miao Fei Ping’s. Zhao Ye Bai was indeed lacking in terms of talent, but Zhao Ya’s aptitude was incomparable, and his Third Disciple, Xu Yi’s aptitude wasn’t bad either. Furthermore, since all three of his Disciples had obtained one of his Grand Dao’s true inheritances, their future prospects were limitless.
The reason Miao Fei Ping had advanced so quickly was mainly because he had been living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe and had spent a different amount of time cultivating compared to his three Disciples.
Recalling how this brat came from his own Small Universe, Yang Kai suddenly felt like was watching his own child grow up.
“Ancestor!” Miao Fei Ping excitedly walked over to Yang Kai, obviously unable to contain his joy at the success of his breakthrough, “Disciple has not disappointed Ancestor’s expectations and successfully advanced to the Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Advancing to the Open Heaven Realm is just the beginning. You are now a Sixth-Order Master, so you have a high chance of advancing to the Eighth-Order in the future. However, the cultivation of the Open Heaven Realm focuses on accumulating strength over a long period of time. You must not become arrogant or impatient, never try to rashly push yourself to advance.”
Miao Fei Ping respectfully replied, “Disciple will remember!”
Afterwards, he turned to Feng Ying and Bai Yi and bowed, thanking, “Many thanks, Martial Aunts, for protecting me.”
Feng Ying waved her hand and stated, “It was nothing, don’t mind it.” Bai Yi, on the other hand, had a reserved personality and simply nodded without saying anything.
Feng Ying continued, “But brat, you call him Ancestor, yet you call us Martial Aunts. The seniority is a mess. You’ve actually lowered our status by several generations.”
Miao Fei Ping didn’t know how to respond.
Yang Kai suggested as a smile appeared on his lips, “You’re right. How about this, don’t call me Ancestor from now on, just call me Martial Uncle.”
“How… how can I do that?” Miao Fei Ping looked distraught.
Yang Kai stated, “On this Black Ink Battlefield, all Humans only have one relationship, fellow comrades who share life and death. Whether it’s Ancestor or Martial Uncle, they’re all just titles. If you find it difficult to call me Martial Uncle, you can just call me Squad Leader.”
Miao Fei Ping honestly replied, “Disciple will call you Martial Uncle.”
“It’s up to you.” Yang Kai smiled, “Let’s go, I’ll bring you back to the Great Pass to register yourself. You’ve just arrived here, you still have a lot to learn.”
After leading Miao Fei Ping back to Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai took him to the Western Army Headquarters and went to Zhong Liang, explaining Miao Fei Ping’s origins.
Zhong Liang was already aware that Yang Kai’s Small Universe had many Humans living in it. Moreover, these Army Commanders were very optimistic about the future of these Humans because of the existence of the World Tree clone.
Be that as it may, a cultivator needed time to grow, so no one had expected to see results so quickly.
Today, there was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, tomorrow, there would be more Sixth-Order and even Seventh-Order Masters! These Masters would become the backbone of the resistance against the Black Ink Clan.
As such, Zhong Liang readily registered Miao Fei Ping and issued him an Identity Token.
Under Yang Kai’s request, Miao Fei Ping was assigned to the Dawn Squad, becoming a member of the Squad.
Afterwards, Miao Fei Peng had to find a place to live. Blue Sky Pass had many places for the soldiers to live though, and many of these were unoccupied, so this was not an issue.
After Miao Fei Ping asked about Yang Kai’s residence, he chose a place nearby, not minding anything else.
In any case, he was still a newcomer. He didn’t have any Military Merits to speak of, and because he had just advanced, he needed time and resources to consolidate his cultivation.
Without Military Merits, he did not have anything to exchange for cultivation resources. Fortunately, Yang Kai had a lot of resources on hand so he gave him a few and told him to go back and cultivate. Miao Fei Ping naturally didn’t dare disobey his orders.
On the way back, Miao Fei Ping uneasily asked, “Martial Uncle, the show I put on before I left looked quite spectacular, but if someone else were to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, wouldn’t it be exposed?”
Yang Kai explained with a smile, “In the current Void World, who else do you think has a chance to break through to the Open Heaven Realm besides you?”
Miao Fei Ping answered, “There are many of them, and although they’re all completing the Powers in their Dao Seals right now, a few will reach that Realm some day or the other, there is quite a good chance of that happening.”
“Yes, there are many of them, but they are different from you. You can leave Void World and come to Blue Sky Pass, but others cannot.”
“Why?”
Yang Kai pointed around and asked, “Look carefully, what’s common about everyone here?”
Miao Fei Ping observed them for a moment before replying, “All of them are Fifth-Order Masters and above. Even Fifth-Order Masters are rare, basically all of them are Sixth-Order and above.”
“That’s right, basically everyone here is a Sixth-Order Master or higher because this is the Black Ink Battlefield where we are fighting against the Black Ink Clan. If their Order is too low, they won’t be of much help here. In fact, even the Fifth-Order Masters you’re seeing are only in that Realm because their cultivations regressed from the Sixth-Order.”
Miao Fei Ping pondered for a moment before asking, “Does Martial Uncle mean that those who cannot break through directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm are not qualified to come here?”
“Precisely.”
“Disciple understands,” Understanding suddenly dawned upon Miao Fei Ping.
Yang Kai had opened Void World and brought him to the Black Ink Battlefield as Miao Fei Ping’s aptitude was enough to advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm directly. Although there were many Emperor Realm Masters in Void World, according to what he knew, there was not a single one who could refine Sixth-Order material except him. There were a few who could refine Fifth-Order materials, but they had obviously not met Yang Kai’s requirements.
As such, they would probably never be able to leave Void World.
Only the disciples chosen by the Void Dao Temple would be able to leave Void World in the future and advance to the Open Heaven Realm because all of them had outstanding aptitudes. The Order of the Open Heaven Realm they could reach would definitely be higher, so most of them should be able to meet Yang Kai’s requirements.
Miao Fei Ping’s strength had greatly increased after entering the Open Heaven Realm; also, he had suddenly arrived at an unfamiliar and dangerous place like the Black Ink Battlefield. He had many things he needed to learn, but the most important thing right now was to stabilize his cultivation.
After parting ways with Yang Kai, he returned to his new residence and began refining resources.
Recently, the Black Ink Clan was a little restless. It had been almost a century since the last war between the two Races concluded in the Blue Sky Theatre. The Black Ink Clan had recovered its strength after so many years, so they were obviously looking to start another war.
The Black Ink Clan was not afraid of their loss in strength, but the lives of every Human were extremely precious. So, the Black Ink Clan had been employing the strategy of sending an Army to besiege the Great Passes as long as they had the strength to fight for countless years. Nonetheless, they failed to conquer it after so many attempts.
The Human Race might not have many soldiers, but each and every one of them was an elite. They were able to rout the Black Ink Clan every single time, relying on their Warships and the unique advantages of the Great Pass.
After countless cycles of offence and defence, countless millennia had gone by.
Now that the war was about to begin again, Blue Sky Pass was preparing. Blue Sky Pass was bustling with the activities of the Open Heaven Realm Masters. All those who were in retreat all year round were undoubtedly preparing for war.
Blue Sky Pass had no clue where and when the Black Ink Clan army would strike, and it had always been like this.
Mostly, the initiative of the war was in the hands of the Black Ink Clan while the Human Race could only passively defend.
Of course, there were times when the Humans also attacked. For instance, the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory last time under the leadership of their Old Ancestor, which resulted in the Black Ink Clan’s retaliation, and a war breaking out. If it weren’t for that war, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to escape the Black Ink Clan so easily and arrive at Blue Sky Pass.
Another example was the recent battle at Yin-Yang Pass, where the Humans were the first to attack, but that was mainly to coordinate with Yang Kai’s actions.
Most of the time, the Human Race’s situation was quite passive.
Although they were forced into a passive position, Blue Sky Pass was still trying to gain the upper hand. At the very least, they needed to understand the timing and direction of the Black Ink Clan’s attack.
One Squad after another was sent out to serve as scouts to investigate the movements of the Black Ink Clan army and obtain intelligence on them.
In the past, Blue Sky Pass had also taken similar measures, but the scope of the scouting parties’ movements were limited because they didn’t have the Universe Arrays as a safeguard. By the time they discovered something, the Black Ink Clan Army would usually only be a day or two away from Blue Sky Pass.
If the scouts were slow, they would be at risk of being wiped out.
But now, things were different, owing to the existence of the Universe Arrays. The Scouts were able to move more freely, and their safety was guaranteed.
The effective range of the Universe Array became the range of the scouts’ movements. This way, they would be able to predict the enemy’s movements and make early preparations.
As a Special Operations Squad, Dawn had many members and elites, so it was naturally the most suitable for such a mission.
A year after Miao Fei Ping broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, he received Yang Kai’s summon and promptly came out to report.
The over 30 members of Dawn Squad were assembled together. Out of these, six were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Yang Kai, Feng Ying, and Bai Yi.
Such a lineup was exemplary, even considering the entire Black Ink Battlefield.
Under everyone’s attention, Yang Kai spoke, “It’s been almost a century since the last war. The Black Ink Clan is making a comeback. Dawn has received orders from the Army Commander to temporarily act as a scout and keep an eye on the Black Ink Clan’s movements. We won’t engage the Black Ink Clan army this time, we’re only responsible for collecting intelligence. Nonetheless, the battlefield is full of dangers and uncertainty, so I hope everyone will remain vigilant. I expect every one of us who sorties to return alive!”
Everyone nodded.
With everyone’s morale raised high, Yang Kai nodded slightly, signalling to Feng Ying. Feng Ying stepped forward and handed out a jade bottle to each Squad member.
While she was distributing the pills, Yang Kai explained, “These are Purifying Black Ink Pills that were developed a few years ago. I believe I don’t need to explain much about the effects of these pills, everyone knows that if you are accidentally invaded by Black Ink Strength, you must take this pill as soon as possible to ensure your safety. Of course, you can also use the Universe Transference Law to return to Dawning Light. The Purifying Light can also disperse Black Ink Strength, but we can’t always account for sudden accidents. If you are unable to activate the Universe Transference Law in time and become invaded by Black Ink Strength, this Purifying Black Ink Pill can be used to save your life. Although the materials to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills aren’t particularly rare, there aren’t many Alchemists inside the Pass who can refine this pill, so the supply is limited. Each of you will receive two pills, and each one of them is extremely rare and precious.”
While Yang Kai was explaining, many members were examining the jade bottles in their hands.
They had naturally heard of the Purifying Black Ink Pill before. When it was first developed, it had caused quite a stir in Blue Sky Pass.
The corruption of Black Ink Strength had always been a thorn in the Human Race’s side that could never be removed before Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass. Yang Kai’s appearance had brought the Purifying Light that could dispel Black Ink Strength, which had played a huge role in the last war against the Black Ink Clan, greatly reducing the Human Race’s casualties.
Be that as it may, the Purifying Light was sealed inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, so it was necessary to use the Universe Transference Law to return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to be treated. Because of the importance of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, they were usually placed inside the Pass or in the rear of the battlefield.
As such, once one used the Universe Transference Law to return to a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, they would need to travel a great distance to return to the battlefield. Furthermore, when they used the Universe Transference Law, they couldn’t be disturbed for several breaths.
But the Purifying Black Ink Pill was different. They could take the pill even if they were locked in battle against a Black Ink Clansman; thus, they would not need to disengage and find a safe spot or rush back to the battlefield after they were treated.
It could be said that the Purifying Black Ink Pill and Purifying Light both had their own pros and cons. With the combination of both though, the problem of the Black Ink Strength corruption had been almost completely solved, allowing the Humans to relax and fight against the Black Ink Clan without restraint.
After ensuring that every member of the Squad was given their Purifying Black Ink Pills, Yang Kai raised his hand and ordered, “Move out.”
Ordering so, he took the lead and flew out, closely followed by the rest.
When Yang Kai led his Squad to the west gate of Blue Sky Pass, hundreds of other Open Heaven Realm Masters were already gathered here in groups of ten or so. Clearly, all of them were members of Squads.
Seeing Yang Kai’s arrival, many people came up to greet him. These people had either received Yang Kai’s life-saving grace or had heard of him. Yang Kai naturally responded and greeted them one by one.
There were also some arrogant fellows who nitpicked at them from afar, but none of them came forward. The main reason was that Dawn Squad was too eye-catching. Compared to the dozen or so members of their Squad, Dawn had over thirty people, six of whom were Seventh-Order Masters.
Other Squads only had three Seventh-Order Masters at most. Dawn Squad’s lineup made many Squad Leaders drool.
A moment later, a figure descended from the sky. It was none other than the Western Army Commander, Zhong Liang!
Zhong Liang’s dignified gaze swept over them before he spoke, “The mission this time is to gather intelligence. If you are outnumbered or think you can’t defeat the enemy, avoid engaging the Black Ink Clan.”
Suddenly, one of the Squad Leaders grinned and asked, “What if we can?”
Zhong Liang glared at him, obviously blaming him for speaking out of turn, but he still responded, “If you can wipe them out, you should naturally thrash those bastards.”
Everyone immediately burst into laughter, dispelling the tense atmosphere before the expedition.
Zhong Liang continued, “The Black Ink Clan also has scouts, so be careful and avoid them. If you find any traces of the Black Ink Clan army, report back immediately!” After he was finished speaking, he raised his hand and shouted, “Open the gates!”
At the west gate Spirit Array barrier, the Array Masters changed their hand seals and opened a gap.
A solemn expression took over Zhong Liang’s face as he cupped his fist and shouted, “This Zhong wishes all of you a prosperous Martial Dao and a triumphant return!”
Hundreds of soldiers cupped their fists in return before rushing out of the exit under the leadership of their Squad Leaders, painting a spectacular scene.
Outside the pass, the Squad Leaders summoned their Warships one after another before their respective Squads boarded them. After everyone had boarded, the Warships left streaks of dazzling light as they scattered in all directions.
On the Dawn Squad’s side, Feng Ying had also taken out Dawning Light. The Squad members skillfully boarded the Warship and took to their respective positions.
Yang Kai, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar Dawning Light, couldn’t help but furrow his brow and ask, “Senior Sister, did you spend your Military Merits to modify Dawning Light again?”
The last time Yang Kai had gone to Yin-Yang Pass for a mission, so he had handed Dawning Light over to Feng Ying for safekeeping. By the looks of it, Dawning Light had undergone a lot of modifications and had become even more powerful.
Especially the spear artifact at the front section of Dawning Light. It was incomparably large and radiating an extraordinary aura. At a glance, it was quite obvious that it was the work of some Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster.
If this thing was activated with the power of the Array, its might would definitely be quite fearsome. It could even pose a threat to a Black Ink Clan Territory Lord. If it was powered by the Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn, they might even be able to put up a fight against a Territory Lord.
Feng Ying agreed with a nod, “That’s right, only a stronger Dawning Light can ensure the safety of its Squad members. The upgrades are worth their price.”
Yang Kai helplessly sighed, “You’re about to break through to the Eighth Order, so you should at least leave some Military Merits to exchange for cultivation resources. I also heard that you could use the Military Merits to exchange for some pointers and insights from the Eighth-Order Division Commanders. Senior Sister, you should be a little more selfish.”
Feng Ying smiled and waved her hand, “I’ve made my preparations already, you don’t need to worry about me breaking through to the Eighth Order. Besides, the Military Merits spent on modifying Dawning Light were yours. In any case, you have a lot of Military Merits.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes at her as he laughed, “Fine, fine.”
After the two boarded the ship, the Open Heaven Realm Masters responsible for controlling Dawning Light poured their energy into the Spirit Array. The next moment, the Warship shot out into the void, leaving behind a dazzling streak of light.
Dawning Light eventually stopped in their designated area. This place was already quite far from Blue Sky Pass and even a Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai would take about 10 days to return if he flew alone.
This place was basically the limit of Blue Sky Pass’s Universe Array’s range. This distance was extremely suitable for scouting. If they discovered the Black Ink Clan army, they could instantly return to Blue Sky Pass, allowing the Humans time to make preparations. Even if they encountered any danger, they would still have a chance to use the Universe Transference Law to escape. It could be said that they could safely fight or retreat from this location.
Yang Kai landed Dawning Light on a universe fragment before ordering his Squad members who were proficient in Spirit Arrays to set up some Concealment and Defensive Arrays.
This way, even if the Black Ink Clan were to pass by, as long as they didn’t carefully investigate, they would likely miss them. This place was now the temporary headquarters of Dawn Squad.
This arrangement could be considered perfect. They could secretly hide here and monitor the movements of the surrounding forces.
In fact, this mission wasn’t too dangerous. All they needed to do was investigate the movements of the Black Ink Clan Army.
Be that as it may, Dawn was different from the other Squads. Not only was the arrangement of its members luxurious, but Dawning Light was also special.
Dawning Light also had the Universe Array personally arranged by Yang Kai, as well as some Purifying Light sealed within its hull. Strictly speaking, Dawning Light was equivalent to a smaller-scale Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Dawning Light provided Dawn with a far greater degree of mobility and freedom. It exponentially increased their range of activity. Other Squads simply could not match this.
After completing some basic arrangements, Yang Kai handed down a series of orders, having the Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad lead two or three Sixth-Order members further in different directions. This way, if the Black Ink Clan army were to mobilize in this region, they would be able to discover them sooner.
No one had any objections, so the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters each chose two or three aids and dispersed.
Dawning Light’s side still needed someone to stand guard, someone powerful, so Bai Yi was left in charge. With someone as strong as Bai Yi assuming command, along with the other Dawn Squad members and Dawning Light itself, so long as they did not encounter a large number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen, dealing with them would not be a problem.
Yang Kai himself then led Miao Fei Ping and ventured in a certain direction.
As his main objective was scouting, Yang Kai didn’t choose to just rush ahead as fast as he could. If he did that, he would just be painting a target on his back. Only by flying at a moderate pace could he conceal his presence.
There were only two inconspicuous figures in this vast void, so if one didn’t carefully search for them, they wouldn’t be noticed.
“Are you nervous?” Yang Kai looked at Miao Fei Ping, who had a mix of anxiety and excitement on his face ever since they left Blue Sky Pass. It had been over 10 days since then, but he still wore the same expression.
“Ah?” It wasn’t clear what Miao Fei Ping was thinking, but when he suddenly heard Yang Kai’s question, he quickly replied, “No, I’m not nervous… but I’m curious about one thing. Some of the Senior Brothers told me that the Black Ink Clan is full of strange creatures. Disciple is very curious about what the Black Ink Clan looks like.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Just as your Senior Brothers said, there are all kinds of strange creatures among the Black Ink Clan!”
Yang Kai had taken out Miao Fei Ping from his Small Universe to advance to the Open Heaven Realm, and it had only been a year or so since then. So, the latter’s understanding of the Black Ink Battlefield, the Great Passes, and even the Black Ink Clan was extremely limited. Although Miao Fei Ping had fought many people in Void World over the years, all his opponents were Human. Naturally, he was a little unsettled after being thrown into this kind of battlefield to fight against an alien Race, especially after listening to some information about the Black Ink Clan from his Senior Brothers in the Squad. He imagined that all of the Black Ink Clansmen had three heads and six arms and were extremely sinister and violent.
“Martial Uncle,” Miao Fei Ping humbly asked, “The Senior Brothers said that if those from the Black Ink Clan and those from the Human Race are in the same Order, the Black Ink Clansmen are generally somewhat weaker than us. And the lower the cultivation, the more obvious the gap is; is that really so?”
“En,” Yang Kai slightly nodded his agreement, “The reason why there is such a difference is because the way the two Races grow is different. Our growth is a result of many years of accumulation and hard cultivation, but the same is not true for the Black Ink Clan. They are born from the Black Ink Nests, and as long as they have enough resources and time, they can continue to grow endlessly. Although their growth does require a certain amount of time and experience, in general, it is much shorter than the time required for Humans to grow. Essentially, they rely on external forces to increase their strength.”
Miao Fei Ping suddenly came to realize, “Then their foundation should be unstable, right?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “You can think of it that way, but it’s not comprehensive. The gap between the two races’ Masters in the same Realm grows smaller with the increase in strength. For example, the gap between a Royal Lord and an Old Ancestor is basically non-existent, while the gap between an Eighth-Order Division Commander and a Territory Lord isn’t very large. Of course, if they were to fight one-on-one, any Eighth-Order Division Commander would have the advantage over any Territory Lord.”
Miao Fei Ping became very concerned, “Although that’s the case, the Black Ink Clan has Black Ink Nests, and from the moment they are born, their strength is comparable to the Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race, so how will we be able to eliminate all of them?”
Yang Kai asked with a smile, “Who told you that the Black Ink Clan Members are as strong as Open Heaven Realm Masters since birth?”
“Isn’t that so?” Miao Fei Ping was greatly surprised.
Yang Kai shook his head in response, “Of course not.” He had more say in this matter than anyone else; after all, no one had spent as much time among the upper echelons of the Black Ink Clan or had a deeper understanding of the Black Ink Nests than him.
“The Black Ink Clansmen we encounter on the battlefield are at least Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. They are equivalent to our Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and are basically used as cannon fodder by the Black Ink Clan. Every time the Black Ink Clan Army goes out, Low-Rank Clansmen make up the majority of their forces on the battlefield. Any Human Master can easily wipe out a large number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen with a single move. But after the deaths of these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, the Black Ink Strength in their body will disperse and condense into Black Ink Clouds, which create an advantageous battlefield for the Black Ink Clan. In contrast, Humans are quite cautious of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds. Even so, we have no choice but to kill these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. When the two Races fight, they will take the vanguard and charge at us, so if we don’t kill them, they will charge into our formations. So, their cannon fodder tactic is extremely effective.”
Miao Fei Ping lightly nodded and listened attentively.
“The High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen are stronger than the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, equivalent to our Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. They can be considered as the backbone of the Black Ink Clan’s Army. Although they might not be a majority, like the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, their numbers are definitely not small. They pose the biggest threat to the Human Race.”
Miao Fei Ping asked in surprise, “Aren’t the greatest threats to the Human Race the Feudal Lords and Territory Lords?”
Yang Kai nodded with his assumption before explaining, “Feudal Lords and Territory Lords are indeed powerful, but how many Territory Lords do you think there can be on a single battlefield? They are often the deciding factor in battle, so they do not act recklessly. As for Feudal Lords, there are many of them, at least more than Seventh-Order Humans, but Feudal Lords cherish their lives dearly. It’s not easy for them to become Feudal Lords, so none of them want to die. They may be brave and fierce in battle, but only if the wind is blowing in their favour. Once things turn south, they run faster than anyone else.”
“So, that’s the case!” Miao Fei Ping was absorbed in his thoughts.
“These are the ones that you can see on the battlefield, but the Black Ink Clan actually has many lower-ranking clansmen who are known as Black Ink Serfs.”
“Black Ink Serfs?”
“Those who have just been born in the Black Ink Nest and cannot even be classified as Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen are called Black Ink Serfs. They are equivalent to the Human cultivators before they reach the Open Heaven Realm. These Black Ink Serfs aren’t of much use even on the battlefield, so they are never brought to war by the Black Ink Clan. Basically all of them stay in the various territories of the Black Ink Clan and absorb ambient Black Ink Strength to strengthen themselves.”
No Human could surpass Yang Kai in terms of the understanding of the Black Ink Clan; after all, no one had been able to disguise themselves as a Black Ink Disciple and live in the Black Ink Clan’s territory for so many years. Even other Black Ink Disciples who were saved later rarely knew much about the Black Ink Clan as during their time, they were treated as servants and slaves, never trying to gather intelligence for the Human Race.
“It seems that the growth of the Black Ink Clan is not easy,” Miao Fei Ping sighed.
“Why do you say so?”
Miao Fei Ping explained, “Martial Uncle, you see, the Black Ink Clan must first be born from the Black Ink Nests becoming the weakest Black Ink Serfs. And when they somehow grow into a Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman, they are dragged to the battlefield to serve as cannon fodder. Perhaps they survive long enough to grow into a High-Rank Black Ink Clan after experiencing a few life-and-death situations, but even if they grow into a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, if they are down on their luck, they might lose their lives on the battlefield at any moment. If they are lucky enough to survive many wars, they will finally have a chance to become a Feudal Lord.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “That’s right, but does that mean that our growth as Humans is easy? Which Open Heaven Realm Master hasn’t walked a thorny path and painstakingly cultivated before they could reach their current Realm? Forget about others, you yourself have gone through much trouble to reach here, haven’t you?”
Miao Fei Ping respectfully replied, “Martial Uncle is right.” He then asked again, “Martial Uncle, where are we going?”
Yang Kai stated, “Don’t ask, just follow me.”
“En,” Miao Fei Ping obediently responded.
With Dawning Light as a transit point, the Dawn Squad’s range of activity was much larger than the other Squads’. It could be said to be twice as large or even more. Naturally, this made them even more suitable for scouting missions as they could venture deeper and obtain more information.
Of course, Yang Kai also had another plan. Since Miao Fei Ping had just arrived here, he knew nothing about the Black Ink Clan. So, Yang Kai wanted to find him a few suitable opponents to practice with so that he wouldn’t become flustered on the battlefield. Although Miao Fei Ping would not be directly engaging the Black Ink Clan owing to his Sixth-Order cultivation, mostly remaining inside Dawning Light to power Spirit Arrays to kill the enemy, it did not hurt having a few exchanges with the Black Ink Clan and understand their characteristics a little.
On top of that, Miao Fei Ping had just advanced to the Open Heaven Realm not long ago, so he needed to fight to properly consolidate his cultivation.
It had been 100 years since the last war between the two Races in the Blue Sky Theatre, and the Black Ink Clan had been showing signs of deploying troops recently. In light of this, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a few Black Ink Clansmen to practice on.
The reason they hadn’t met one before was because the scattered Black Ink Clansmen didn’t dare to casually approach the Great Pass. But now, they were basically in the territory of the Black Ink Clan, so it was natural to run into them.
As expected, Yang Kai found a suitable target less than a day later.
His powerful Divine Sense allowed him to detect the approach of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen. There were several hundred of them, and their leader was a Feudal Lord.
“That’s the Black Ink Clan!?”
Hiding on an inconspicuous asteroid, Miao Fei Ping’s eyes widened as he stared at the group of Black Ink Clansmen flying across the void before his eyes, thinking to himself, [it’s just as the Senior Brothers said, the Black Ink Clan is filled with all kinds of strange creatures.]
He saw giant figures in the group of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, some of whom were humanoid, but most had parts that looked like they were from Monster Beasts. To his surprise, there were some Black Ink Clansmen who looked exactly like a Monster Beast.
However, no matter what form they took, the bodies of these Black Ink Clansmen were all surging with Black Ink Strength. The places they passed by were stained with Black Ink Strength, as if they left spilling ink that could not be removed.
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but gulp as he turned to look at Yang Kai.
There were quite a lot in this Black Ink Clan team, so he didn’t know how Yang Kai was planning on dealing with them. Was he going to attack them or wait and watch?
Had Mao Fei Ping been alone, he probably wouldn’t have been able to conceal his aura at this close a distance and might have been discovered by the Black Ink Clan; however, with Yang Kai by his side and with his help, his aura had been completely concealed. Furthermore, as there was a certain distance between them, the Black Ink Clan didn’t notice two pairs of eyes watching them from the shadows.
“This should be a Feudal Lord’s private troops,” Yang Kai whispered. From his observations, he could clearly tell that there were four or five Feudal Lords in this group of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, while the rest were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
This was in line with the intelligence he had obtained about Black Ink Clan Fiefs Zha Gu had shared with him.
“Where are they going?” Miao Fei Ping asked, a little puzzled. Judging by the direction this Black Ink Clan army was heading, they weren’t travelling towards Blue Sky Pass.
“They should have received some kind of order from this region’s Territory Lord to assemble with the other Feudal Lord forces before attacking Blue Sky Pass,” Yang Kai explained.
Miao Fei Ping understood, “Martial Uncle, I heard from the Senior Brothers that each Territory Lord has dozens to a few hundred Feudal Lords under their command, is that correct?”
This piece of information was brought back by Yang Kai and had long since spread throughout the various Great Passes, so it wasn’t strange for Miao Fei Ping to have learned about it from the other members of Dawn Squad.
Yang Kai affirmed, nodding, “Correct.”
Miao Fei Ping was slightly surprised, “In that case, a Territory Lord can easily gather tens of thousands of troops during a battle?”
The Feudal Lord’s troops in front of him numbered in the hundreds, so if there were one or two hundred such troops, naturally, the total would easily surpass 10,000.
Yang Kai nodded again, “If not, where do you think the millions of troops during the Black Ink Clan sieges come from? It comes from the gathering of all these Feudal Lord troops.”
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
How many soldiers were there in each of the Great Passes? Forget about the other Great Passes, just Blue Sky Pass only had some 30,000 cultivators in total. It was probably the same for other Great Passes too, but the Black Ink Clan had an army of at least a million strong in every Theatre.
Although he knew that most of the Black Ink Clan army was composed of cannon fodder made up of Low-Rank Clansmen, the difference in numbers was still too great.
For a time, Miao Fei Ping found it difficult to imagine just how the Human Race had managed to resist the Black Ink Clan for so many years.
If Yang Kai wanted to, he could have charged forward and killed this army of Black Ink Clansmen, but as he had Miao Fei Ping accompanying him, it wasn’t convenient for him to act; after all, he couldn’t protect Miao Fei Ping in such an environment.
As such, after watching the Feudal Lord’s troops leave and noting their direction, Yang Kai gently patted Miao Fei Ping’s shoulder, “Let’s go.”
Miao Fei Ping quickly followed after him.
Soon, he discovered that Yang Kai was moving in the opposite direction of the Feudal Lord’s troops.
He was quite sharp and guessed where they were going, “Martial Uncle, are we going to that Feudal Lord’s Fief?”
Yang Kai looked at him in surprise, “Why do you think so?”
Miao Fei Ping replied, “The Feudal Lord’s troops came from this direction, so his territory must be in this direction. Since Martial Uncle hasn’t changed directions, do you want to take advantage of his absence to storm the enemy’s den?”
Yang Kai stated meaningfully, “Not me, you!”
“Me?” Miao Fei Ping was beside himself in shock.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and grinned, looking towards a direction, “Just our luck, there are two Black Ink Clansmen alone, go practice with them first.”
Saying so, he reached out and grabbed Miao Fei Ping’s collar before tossing him forward while he was unprepared.
Miao Fei Ping let out a strange cry as he was instantly thrown far away. By the time he managed to stabilize himself, the two Black Ink Clansmen in front of him were staring at him with shock and ferocity.
“Human!”
“Sixth-Order!”
“Corrupt him!”
After a brief exchange, the two Black Ink Clansmen attacked Miao Fei Ping from both sides.
Miao Fei Ping’s face went pale in fright and he quickly summoned his long sword as he mobilized his strength, creating a sword curtain to ward off the attackers.
As soon as they clashed, Miao Fei Ping fell into a disadvantageous position. He discovered that these two were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, and each of them was comparable to a Sixth-Order Human Master.
Miao Fei Ping believed that he could easily take care of either of them in a one-on-one fight, but with both of them attacking him together, it would be difficult for him to handle. After all, he had just advanced to the Sixth Order and had only been an Emperor Realm a year ago. As such, he wasn’t very proficient in utilizing his Open Heaven Realm strength yet.
The two Black Ink Clan Masters didn’t employ any tactics, they just kept bombarding him with Secret Techniques using their Black Ink Strength, aiming to overwhelm him. What caused Miao Fei Ping even more pressure was that the Black Ink Strength was actually invading his Small Universe, forcing him to divert some of his attention and strength to resist its corrosion.
No matter what others had told Miao Fei Ping about the Black Ink Clan, facing them first-hand was far more informative than any evaluations he had heard before.
Miao Fei Ping finally understood what kind of enemies the Human Race had been fighting for countless years.
He couldn’t sense his Martial Uncle’s aura, nor could he find his figure, but he knew that his Martial Uncle was definitely hiding somewhere close by, so he knew that his life was not in danger.
Thinking so, Miao Fei Ping became more daring.
Taking advantage of one of the Black Ink Clansman’s mistakes in coordination, the sword in Miao Fei Ping’s hands flashed as he rushed forward, his figure wrapped in sword light. His momentum was unstoppable, as if he wanted to perish together with this Black Ink Clansman.
The targeted Black Ink Clansman was shocked. He had never imagined Miao Fei Ping would suddenly become so fierce, as if he had turned into a completely different person. Unable to react in time, he was stabbed in the head by the sword and died on the spot.
However, the other Black Ink Clansman’s attack was already upon Miao Fei Ping, who was now completely powerless to defend himself. The sudden death of his companion had enraged this Black Ink Clansman, so he didn’t show any mercy.
A Black Ink Disciple might be precious, but he still needed to be alive to enjoy having him. Basically, he was not completely sure that he would be able to corrupt Miao Fei Ping without his companion’s help.
Since he was not 100% certain, he could only send Miao Fei Ping to his grave.
However, the space around him suddenly solidified, causing his massive body to freeze on the spot. Although it was only a brief moment, he had missed the opportunity to kill his opponent.
Miao Fei Ping had already steadied himself and the sword in his hand glowed with an exquisite aura as his figure moved, flying up and down around the Black Ink Clansman, drawing blood with every strike.
He knew that his Martial Uncle must have secretly taken action just now; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to block the attack of the second Black Ink Clansman.
Be that as it may, his Martial Uncle clearly had no intention of interfering further, and this was exactly what he wanted. Flowers grown in a greenhouse could not withstand the harsh winds and rain of the outside world and were destined to not live long. Only after experiencing real storms would they be able to thrive.
Although he was only a newly promoted Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Miao Fei Ping’s confidence had greatly increased after his first kill. Moreover, he was quickly adapting to his strength during this life-and-death struggle.
As such, an incense stick after the death of the first Black Ink Clansman, the second followed in his companion’s footsteps.
Miao Fei Ping stood in the void with his sword in hand, his face slightly pale and his aura a little unstable.
Killing two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who were comparable to Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was quite exhausting, and it took a clear toll on him.
Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of him and lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Not bad.”
Miao Fei Ping withdrew his sword and humbly stated, “Martial Uncle is too kind. If it weren’t for Martial Uncle secretly taking action, this Disciple would have already died. However, Martial Uncle, this Disciple seems to have been invaded by Black Ink Strength and is unable to suppress it.”
“I know,” Yang Kai slightly nodded. Miao Fei Ping’s entire body was shrouded in a thick layer of Black Ink Strength and the dark look in his eyes could not be hidden, “There’s no need to suppress it, just open yourself and allow it in.”
Miao Fei Ping was slightly startled, but he still complied.
In less than a dozen breaths of time, Miao Fei Ping suddenly let out a shout before thrusting his sword at Yang Kai with a flick of his wrist.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and caught the longsword between his fingers. Miao Fei Ping roared as he tried to pull his sword back, but it didn’t budge in the slightest. He decisively let go of the sword and rushed forward like a madman, punching at Yang Kai, fist images blotting out the void before he even reached his target.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and the fist shadows filling the void disappeared like the Moon’s reflection in the water.
Surprisingly, Miao Fei Ping had disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight. He had already fled into the distance the moment he swung his fists. His speed was extremely fast. It appeared his fierce attack was just a cover for his escape.
Yang Kai grinned and muttered, “Smart choice!”
Be that as it may, trying to escape from him was destined to be futile.
Yang Kai used his Space Principles, and under the effects of Near Distant Horizon, Miao Fei Ping suddenly froze in place, seemingly unable to escape even half a step further.
Yang Kai slowly strolled over to Miao Fei Ping’s back. His palms glowed with two different colours before he brought them together, releasing a burst of Purifying Light.
Under the Purifying Light, the Black Ink Strength started dispersing with sizzling sounds as Miao Fei Ping’s expression changed from pained to calm.
When the Black Ink Strength was finally dispersed completely and Miao Fei Ping regained his sanity, he found that his clothes were drenched in sweat.
“How do you feel?” Yang Kai asked.
Miao Fei Ping had a look of lingering fear on his face, “Like I’ve awoken from a bad dream!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Every Black Ink Disciple says so when they wake up. Remember this feeling, this is what it’s like to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. In the Black Ink Disciples’ hearts, the Black Ink Clan is supreme, and the Human Race is nothing to them.”
Miao Fei Ping broke into a cold sweat, “Disciple will remember this lesson well. In the future, I will definitely not let myself be corrupted into a Black Ink Disciple and become a slave to the Black Ink Clan.” Pausing for a moment, he apologized, “Disciple was disrespectful to Martial Uncle just now, please forgive me.”
Yang Kai waved off in response, “It would have been stranger if you hadn’t attacked me.”
The two of them continued on their way.
The Feudal Lord’s Fief wasn’t far away. A dark and gloomy Universe World appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision a day later. This Universe World wasn’t big, but the entire world was shrouded in a thick layer of Black Ink Strength, which happened to be particularly dense in one spot.
Through the obstruction, one could vaguely see a Black Ink Nest standing in that direction.
There were many Black Ink Clansmen near the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai led Miao Fei Ping straight towards the Black Ink Nest. Before reaching the Black Ink Nest, Miao Fei Ping took out a Purifying Black Ink Pill and stuffed it into his mouth, holding it under his tongue so that he could crunch it at any moment, after receiving Yang Kai’s signal.
Although Yang Kai could cure him with Purifying Light, Yang Kai had his own plans. He couldn’t take care of Miao Fei Ping all the time, so preparing a Purifying Black Ink Pill in advance was the better choice.
Yang Kai didn’t try to hide himself. He broke straight through the thick Black Ink Clouds and crashed into the ground near the Black Ink Nest as if he had fallen from the sky. His powerful landing sent the ground quaking. The impact caused the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen to be blown away while the weaker Black Ink Serfs even suffered heavy casualties.
The two Feudal Lords who had been guarding this Fief noticed this and immediately flew out from their respective residences.
These two Feudal Lords were not necessarily the Masters of this place. The Black Ink Clan might have many Feudal Lords, but not all of them actually had their own Fiefs. At most a few dozen Feudal Lords had the qualifications to own their own Fiefs under each Territory Lord. The Feudal Lords who owned these Fiefs were undoubtedly rich and powerful.
Those without Fiefs would either find a place to live in the territory of some Territory Lord or seek refuge with those with Fiefs.
This way, they could become stronger using the Black Ink Strength spilling from the Black Ink Nest.
Such a situation was common in the Black Ink Clan, so a mature Feudal Lord’s Fief did not just have one Feudal Lord. Of course, the Master of a Black Ink Nest would always be the one who hatched it.
When the two Feudal Lords guarding the Black Ink Nest rushed out and spotted Yang Kai and Miao Fei Ping, they were stunned.
[Humans!?]
[Humans are actually here!?]
[What’s going on?]
Although it wasn’t as if the Humans had never attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory before, every time the Humans did so they had sent a massive army, never just two of them.
Therefore, when they saw Yang Kai and Miao Fei Ping, these two Feudal Lords worried that the Human Army had arrived. However, after carefully examining their surroundings, they failed to find any traces of other Humans. There were just these two.
The Feudal Lord on the left immediately shouted, “You arrogant Humans, how dare you disdain us!”
The one on the right was relatively quiet, but his movements were as swift as the wind. As his companion shouted, he rushed towards Yang Kai and Black Ink Strength surrounded his giant palm as he ruthlessly slapped down.
Miao Fei Ping hurriedly dodged. Although he had killed two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, he knew that this kind of battle was not something he could interfere with.
After fleeing 1,000 metres, when Miao Fei Ping looked back, what he saw next shook him to the core.
He saw his Martial Uncle holding a spear in one hand, while its other end was stabbed into the Feudal Lord’s head. The imposing Feudal Lord happened to be completely stiff and a look of disbelief had blanketed his face.
With a flick of his spear, the Feudal Lord’s head exploded into mist as his massive body fell to the ground, blood gushing out from his severed neck like a fountain.
An instant kill!
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t believe his eyes. A Feudal Lord had been instantly slain by his Martial Uncle!
He didn’t even notice his Martial Uncle using some mighty Secret Technique, as if just a casual spear thrust had deprived the Black Ink Clansman of his life. The Feudal Lord, who he thought was strong and imposing, was as weak as a chicken in front of his Martial Uncle.
On the way here, the members of Dawn Squad had told him that their Squad Leader’s strength was far superior to an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had even cooperated with others to kill Territory Lords.
But hearing it was one thing and seeing it with his own eyes was completely different.
Miao Fei Ping finally understood the gravity of this evaluation.
His Marital Uncle wasn’t just stronger than normal, his strength was simply unparalleled!
In terms of Order, a Feudal Lord was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Human. Although they would be somewhat weaker than a Seventh-Order Master under normal circumstances, a Feudal Lord was still a Feudal Lord. Even so, this Feudal Lord was instantly killed by his Martial Uncle.
[Just what kind of height has Martial Uncle’s combat strength reached?]
Miao Fei Ping had no idea, but he couldn’t afford to think too much about it at this moment. Many Black Ink Clansmen were rushing towards him, so he summoned his sword and activated his Movement Technique, turning around and charging at them.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clansmen attacking him weren’t very strong. Even if there were High-Rank Clansmen among their ranks, their strength was only equivalent to a Fourth-Order or Fifth-Order Human Master. With his current Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, even if Miao Fei Ping were to fight one against many, he was barely able to hold out. Of course, if the battle dragged on, it would be difficult to say what the outcome would be.
It wasn’t surprising for such a situation to occur. Most of the forces capable of fighting in this territory had been taken away by the Master of this Fief, so the ones left behind were naturally younger, or weaker, so how strong could they be?
He understood his Martial Uncle’s intentions. Obviously, Yang Kai wanted to use this opportunity to sharpen him and familiarize him with the battle against the Black Ink Clan so that he wouldn’t falter or become flustered on the real battlefield.
This was a rare opportunity, so Miao Fei Ping treasured it greatly. Furthermore, he didn’t want to disappoint his Martial Uncle’s expectations, so he put his heart into it, attentively applying everything he had learned in his life.
On the other hand, when Yang Kai killed the charging Feudal Lord with a single thrust, it shocked the other Feudal Lord to the core!
After becoming a Feudal Lord, their understanding of the Human Race was no longer something that those cannon fodder could compare with. He had participated in the siege of Blue Sky Pass several times and had witnessed various Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ methods and Secret Techniques on the battlefield.
However, there had never been a Seventh-Order Master who gave him such an ominous feeling. This must be one of those Seventh-Order Human elites, and judging from the casual way he killed his comrade, probably only a Territory Lord could take him down.
Therefore, after seeing his companion die, this Feudal Lord decisively released a burst of Black Ink Strength before transforming into seven or eight identical figures that rushed out in all directions. One of them even rushed straight towards Yang Kai, wanting to stall for time.
Yang Kai looked around, slightly taken aback.
The Secret Technique of this Feudal Lord was quite interesting. It was obviously derived from some kind of escape technique of the Human Race. In fact, many of the Black Ink Clan’s tactics and Secret Techniques could be traced back to the Humans. After all, during the countless years of war between the two races, the Black Ink Clan had been learning and improving.
If it were any other Seventh-Order Master, he or she might not have any idea what to do in the face of this escape technique. But unfortunately, this kind of trick was useless against Yang Kai.
With a flick of his spear, Yang Kai dispersed the figure that was pouncing towards him. The figure immediately transformed into a thick wave of Black Ink Strength that enveloped Yang Kai, attempting to corrupt his Small Universe. Be that it may, Yang Kai didn’t care about this kind of attack at all. A golden vertical eye suddenly appeared in his left eye. The Demon Eye of Annihilation immediately allowed him to see through all illusions.
Most of the figures were created using Black Ink Strength to divert Yang Kai’s attention, but only one of them was the true body of the Feudal Lord.
This Feudal Lord’s Secret Technique wasn’t bad, but he had not perfectly mastered it, so his flaws became obvious under the Demon Eye of Annihilation’s gaze.
Space Principles surged and a certain figure suddenly froze before an extremely dangerous aura shot towards it from behind.
The Feudal Lord hurriedly looked back and was frightened out of his wits! Much to his surprise, the Human was still standing in the same spot, but had hurled the long spear in his hand at him. The long spear seemed to ignore the limits of space and arrived instantly at its target.
To his dismay, the Feudal Lord discovered that no matter how he tried to dodge this attack, he was unable to. The spear seemed to have locked onto him.
In his panic, he roared as a tangible sound wave swept out in all directions. It seemed to have some kind of repulsive effect, but the spear still did not slow down at all and easily broke through his Black Ink Strength defences, leaving a hole in his chest.
The Feudal Lord went stiff, as if struck by lightning.
The next moment, the long spear flew back into Yang Kai’s hand. Yang Kai did not even spare the Feudal Lord a glance and just walked towards the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai’s contemptuous attitude made the Feudal Lord feel both sad and angry. He raised his hand, trying his best to grab Yang Kai, but as soon as he used his Black Ink Strength, his entire body exploded into a blood mist, leaving not even his bones behind.
The two Feudal Lords had only taken a single attack from Yang Kai each before dying on the spot, a testament to the latter’s great strength.
Although Yang Kai could also do this over twenty years ago, it was even easier for him to do so now.
After returning from Yin-Yang Pass and entering retreat for so many years, not only had his cultivation improved, but he had also gained a deeper understanding of the Spear Dao and the Dao of Space. Now, he was able to integrate these two Grand Daos into a single spear strike. When he attacked with the Azure Dragon Spear, space around it froze, making it impossible to avoid. This was the biggest reason why the two Feudal Lords were so vulnerable.
His comprehension of his own Grand Daos allowed Yang Kai’s combat strength to rise to a whole new level.
Once the two Feudal Lords who had remained behind in the Fief died, the remaining Black Ink Clansmen fell into a panic. Although there were still some who were attacking Miao Fei Ping, most of the Black Ink Clansmen were now fleeing as fast as they could, afraid that they would be buried together with the Feudal Lords if they were too slow.
Yang Kai casually killed some of them who were in his way, but didn’t pursue the ones who fled.
These lower Black Ink Clansmen were simply too massive in number, so he could not kill them all in short order. There was no need to waste time here.
His goal was the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest.
The Void Dao Temple had already been founded for over 100 years, and all of the talented seedlings in Void World had been sent there to cultivate. In the future, these people would definitely be able to break through to the Open Heaven Realm and become a force that would resist the Black Ink Clan.
Miao Fei Ping’s performance was undoubtedly excellent. Although he had only come into contact with the Black Ink Clan for a short time, he had become familiar with how to fight them after killing the previous two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen and was now chasing after the fleeing Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
However, circumstances and environment affected one’s temperament greatly. Perhaps the disciples of the Void Dao Temple were talented in terms of cultivation, but if they really faced the Black Ink Clan, it was difficult to say how each of them would fare.
Perhaps many people would be intimidated when they first came face to face with this kind of fiendish and hostile alien race. So, how could they have the courage to fight them?
Yang Kai wanted to let them familiarize themselves with how to fight the Black Ink Clan while they were still in their early growth period, so that when they advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, they could directly enter the war on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Since Yang Kai wanted these young disciples to familiarize themselves with how to fight the Black Ink Clan, he naturally had to have some kind of control over the situation. The Black Ink Clan was born from Black Ink Nests, so Yang Kai figured all he needed to do was get his hands on one. Yang Kai now only hated himself for not having enough foresight and simply destroying so many Black Ink Nests in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain.
Fortunately, he could still salvage the situation.
The reason he had come to this area under the Black Ink Clan’s control was because he had set his eyes on this Black Ink Nest. As for whether he could take it into his own Small Universe, Yang Kai wasn’t certain.
Back then, he had personally witnessed Zha Gu hatching a Black Ink Nest and had some understanding of its various characteristics; so, he knew that it would be difficult to implement this plan.
There were still some Black Ink Clansmen inside the Black Ink Nest, but Yang Kai quickly cleaned them up.
He then opened his Small Universe, allowing the Black Ink Nest to devour his World Force. Then, using the Black Ink Nest’s Will as a medium, Yang Kai’s consciousness instantly entered a strange space.
This space was formed by the Will of this region’s Territory Lord Black Ink Nest, and at this moment, there were no less than 30 consciousnesses gathered in this space. These consciousnesses were surging, obviously communicating with one another.
The Black Ink Clan of the Blue Sky Theatre had not experienced the tragedy in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, so they were completely unaware of what would happen next. So, when Yang Kai used his Spiritual Energy to attack them, they didn’t even have time to react.
The consciousnesses were destroyed in an instant; after all, Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was on par with a Territory Lord’s, meaning none of these Black Ink Clansmen were a match for him.
When the commotion started, the remaining consciousnesses immediately sensed that something was wrong and naturally pushed their strength to attack Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not fear this counterattack. The situation he had encountered in the Mu Guang’s Royal Domain could not be compared with what he was experiencing now. At that time, Hei Yuan’s Will had also been lying in ambush for him, together with over 30 Feudal Lords, but in the end, Hei Yuan failed to kill him and his Soul had even been severely wounded, forcing him to retreat.
If it weren’t for this, Hei Yuan wouldn’t have been chased down by a mere Seventh-Order Human Master.
As a result, after Yang Kai’s rampage, the consciousnesses here suffered heavy casualties, and as many as 8 Feudal Lords had their consciousnesses destroyed, with those of several other High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were also wiped out.
The destruction of these consciousnesses also signified the fall of these Black Ink Clansmen.
The surviving consciousnesses realized that something was horribly wrong and no longer dared to remain. They quickly scattered like birds and beasts in a wildfire, only thinking of escaping.
Yang Kai was unable to chase them all down and could only helplessly sigh as they fled.
Destroying the consciousnesses of a few Feudal Lords was just a matter of course, but that was not Yang Kai’s original plan. After a while, he withdrew his consciousness and exited the Black Ink Nest.
His Divine Sense surged like a tide as he probed the foundation of the Black Ink Nest.
The Black Ink Nest in front of him was thousands of metres tall, like a giant flower bud planted in the ground. It was the typical size of a fully mature Low-Rank Black Ink Nest, but under Yang Kai’s investigation, he realized that its foundation stretched far further.
The entire Universe World was enveloped in the power of this Black Ink Nest. If the Black Ink Nest before him was like a giant tree, then its roots were spread across the entire World.
If Yang Kai wanted to take this Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, he would have to take this entire Universe World.
This Universe World was not big, but even Yang Kai was unable to take it into his Small Universe.
He already knew this would be the case though and had no intention of taking away the entire Black Ink Nest.
As Space Principles surged and the Void shattered, the roots of the Black Ink Nest were severed one by one, and with the Black Ink Nest as a centre, an area with a radius of over a dozen kilometres was excised from the Universe World.
The next moment, a gateway opened as Yang Kai’s Divine Sense enveloped the landmass with the Black Ink Nest on it, forcefully dragging it into his Small Universe.
This sudden change quaked the entire Universe World.
Yang Kai immersed his consciousness into his Small Universe, but almost immediately, a disappointed look appeared on his face.
He had indeed moved the entire Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, but perhaps because its roots had been cut off, or perhaps because of some other reason, the Black Ink Nest began to show signs of withering. Even when Yang Kai poured his World Force into it, the Black Ink Nest showed no signs of devouring it.
This was unusual, as Black Ink Nests devoured World Force almost instinctively.
The World Force was a powerful tonic for the Black Ink Nest, but since it was not even devouring a bit of World Force, it undoubtedly meant that it had ceased functioning and was doomed to die.
In fact, after the entire Black Ink Nest was pulled into his Small Universe by Yang Kai, it started collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than the time one takes to drink half a cup of tea, it completely withered.
This situation caused Yang Kai to frown. It seemed that taking a Black Ink Nest wasn’t going to be an easy task.
But if he could obtain an unhatched Black Ink Nest, he might be able to hatch it in his Small Universe. There wouldn’t be any problems then.
Be that as it may, unhatched Black Ink Nests were extremely precious even to the Black Ink Clan, so how could Yang Kai obtain one? Unless he could find a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and provide it with a massive quantity of materials, it was impossible to get an unhatched nest.
However, this place was not Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, so searching for and entering a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest would be extremely risky.
The reason Yang Kai had been able to stir up so much chaos in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain last time was firstly because the bulk of the Black Ink Clan Army was engaged in battle with the Human Army, and secondly, the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor had made a move and forced all the remaining Territory Lords who had stayed behind to rush to the Royal Lords’ aid, leaving just Hei Yuan to deal with Yang Kai. Once Yang Kai heavily damaged Hei Yuan’s Soul, he basically had free reign.
The right time, right place, and right conditions made it possible for Yang Kai to act recklessly in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain without anyone to stop him. If even one point was different, he would not have been able to act so brazenly. Even so, in the end, he was unable to destroy more than 10 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest.
In the Blue Sky Theatre, the Black Ink Clan Army was currently gathering, so there were definitely Territory Lords guarding this place. If Yang Kai tried to wreak havoc, he would attract the attention of those Territory Lords. Not many Territory Lords needed to take action, just two would be enough to threaten him. Once two Territory Lords came at him, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he might not be able to escape unscathed.
Yang Kai could not bear such a risk; therefore, he didn’t insist on sticking to his plan of plundering a Black Ink Nest after this attempt failed.
There was still time before the young talents in his Small Universe matured, so he was in no rush for now. It wouldn’t be too late to think of a solution later.
Miao Fei Ping had already returned with his body covered in multiple wounds. Apparently, he had killed many Black Ink Clansmen in this short period of time. His appearance might have been miserable, but he was still filled with zeal and vigour. Furthermore, because of the Purifying Black Ink Pill, he didn’t have to worry about being corrupted by Black Ink Strength for a short time.
“Martial Uncle, since the Black Ink Clan has fled, should we pursue them?” Miao Fei Ping asked eagerly. Obviously, he still did not have enough of the slaughter.
“There’s no need for that, they’re all Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. It’s useless to kill them, we will only be wasting time,” Yang Kai indifferently replied.
“Oh, then where are we going?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before turning his eyes in the direction they had come from, “You should return to Dawning Light to rest.”
“What about Martial Uncle?” Miao Fei Ping asked.
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “I’m going fishing.”
“Fishing?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai didn’t pay any heed to it and just stuffed something into his hand, “Take this with you, don’t put it into your Space Ring.”
Miao Fei Ping grabbed it and found that it was a bead, but he had no idea what it was for. So, he asked, “Martial Uncle, what is this?”
“A Space Beacon! With this bead, I can send messages back to you at any time.”
Miao Fei Ping nodded before carefully pocketing the Space Beacon.
“Go.” Yang Kai waved at him.
Miao Fei Ping stated, cupping his fist, “Disciple will go now, Martial Uncle. Please be careful.”
While speaking, he activated the Universe Transference Law. The next moment, a giant Spirit Array glowed beneath his feet before his figure disappeared with a blinding flash.
By the time he reappeared, Miao Fei Ping had already returned to Dawning Light. Walking out of the Universe Array, Bai Yi, who had already sensed the movements, immediately came forward to meet him. However, after seeing Miao Fei Ping alone, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Where’s Squad Leader?”
Miao Fei Ping scratched his head, “Martial Uncle said he was going fishing.”
“Fishing?” Bai Yi was puzzled, “Fishing for what?”
Miao Fei Ping shook his head, “I don’t know either, Martial Uncle didn’t explain in detail and only told me to return here.”
Bai Yi slightly furrowed her brow. She faintly felt that Yang Kai was going to cause trouble again; however, since Yang Kai didn’t say anything, he probably had his own considerations. Seeing Miao Fei Ping’s miserable appearance, she couldn’t help but ask, “Did you run into the Black Ink Clan?”
Miao Fei Ping immediately replied in an excited tone, “Martial Uncle brought me to take a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest.”
Speaking of this, he was quite enthused. This was the first time he had gone on a mission with his Martial Uncle, yet he had accomplished such a great feat. It was not something just anyone could easily encounter.
As expected, the other Squad members also became interested after hearing this and began asking questions. Miao Fei Ping didn’t try to hide anything and told them everything about his short trip with Yang Kai, causing all the Squad members to look at him with envy. When they heard that two Feudal Lords were unable to resist the might of Yang Kai’s spear and were instantly killed, all the remaining Squad members felt their spirits soar.
Having a powerful Squad Leader was extremely important on the Black Ink Battlefield. Whether it was the success rate of the mission or the survival rate on the chaotic battlefield, a powerful Squad Leader greatly increased these chances.
The Squad Leader was the core of the entire Squad, and also the basis for Human Squads to work together on the Black Ink Battlefield.
While Dawn Squad’s members were getting all excited, Yang Kai’s lonesome figure flickered as he sped through the void in the direction of the Feudal Lord troop he had discovered earlier.
Being alone, Yang Kai no longer had any scruples. He used Space Principles as his figure flickered across the void.
In less than half a day, Yang Kai found a large group of Black Ink Clansmen gathered on a giant universe fragment.
Standing and observing from afar, Yang Kai found that there were more than 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen gathered on this universe fragment.
This place could basically be considered the periphery of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, not far from the Human Race’s territory. With so many Black Ink Clansmen gathered here, the situation was quite obvious.
This should be one of the mustering points of the Black Ink Clan Army. The Feudal Lords had converged here with their troops under a Territory Lord’s orders; otherwise, it would have been impossible for such a large group to be assembled together.
The Black Ink Clan had indeed become restless. Nearly 100 years of rest and recuperation had given them plenty of time to recover from their losses suffered in the last war. Since they had gathered an army here, it was obvious that they were planning to stage a comeback.
Over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen were gathered on a universe fragment. It was quite a magnificent sight. Not only that, but Black Ink Clansmen kept coming from all directions in groups of hundreds to thousands.
Obviously, each group was a Feudal Lord leading his troops.
There was no doubt that this place was one of the rally points of the Black Ink Clan Army. And judging by the scale of the Black Ink Clan army in front of him, it was definitely gathered under the command of several Territory Lords.
In fact, Yang Kai could faintly sense that there were at least five Territory Lords in this Army even from this distance.
Of course, this was not the entirety of the Black Ink Clan Army. Armies were definitely being gathered at other places even now.
Every time the Black Ink Clan attacked, it had millions of soldiers in its Army. If they didn’t have so many, the Humans wouldn’t have to fight so hard.
As a scout, Yang Kai naturally carried out his mission faithfully. Very soon, he sent a jade slip detailing everything he had seen back to Dawning Light via the Space Beacon, and with Dawning Light as a relay point, this information was sent back to Blue Sky Pass, allowing the Army Commanders to obtain the information right away.
Yang Kai remained completely still, paying close attention to the movements of the 100,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army.
Since there was such a large rally point here, there wouldn’t be a second one nearby. The other rally points of the Black Ink Clan Army would be the other scouting Squads’ concern.
The size of the Army continued to increase with time, gradually approaching 200,000. If one Territory Lord could gather twenty to 30,000 soldiers, the number of Territory Lords gathered here would be close to 10.
This was also in line with the current situation. Every time the Black Ink Clan launched a siege, at least four Armies would attack from four different directions at the same time, forcing the Human Race to defend the Great Pass in all cardinal directions. Any negligence in any direction could lead to a complete loss.
Gradually, fewer and fewer Black Ink Clansmen arrived. Apparently, most of them had already gathered. Nonetheless, the Black Ink Clan Army didn’t seem to have any intention of immediately setting out and instead remained stationed on the universe fragment.
Yang Kai presumed that they were waiting for the other Armies to act together.
Although there were over 200,000 of them, if they were to attack the Great Pass with just this much force, they would not be able to cause any real damage. As such, the Black Ink Clan had to prepare all of their forces and attack from all sides in order to overwhelm the Humans.
After sending the last message to Dawning Light, Yang Kai flew out of his hiding place, heading straight for the universe fragment.
After observing for some time, Yang Kai concluded that the size of the Black Ink Clan Army at this rally point wouldn’t increase much further. Presumably, it wouldn’t be long before they attacked Blue Sky Pass; hence, there was no need to continue observing.
He didn’t try to conceal himself, so the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment soon discovered his tracks. The streak of light cutting through the void was extremely eye-catching, so it immediately sent the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment into an uproar.
Some of the impatient Feudal Lords had already rushed out, leading their subordinates straight at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai suddenly stopped, quickly turned around and fled, acting like a Human cultivator who had accidentally run into the Black Ink Clan Army and was fleeing in panic.
How could the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen let this matter go so easily? They chased after him like a shadow, hot on his tail, soon disappearing together with Yang Kai.
Many Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment saw this scene from afar, but most of them remained indifferent, while a few of them even sneered. In their opinion, things were not going to end well for the Human cultivator who had rashly ventured here alone.
However, what surprised them was that the seemingly lost Human cultivator once again flew towards them after half an hour or so, leaving a dazzling trail as he cut through the void. It was quite eye-catching.
On the other hand, the several hundred Black Ink Clansmen who had chased after him were nowhere to be seen.
This shocked the Black Ink Clansmen who witnessed this scene. They were unable to understand how this Human had managed to escape unscathed. And where did their fellow clansmen who had pursued him go?
What was even more hateful was that when the Human came over, he would first fly straight and then saunter left and right like he was enjoying the view. His movements had a thick sense of provocation.
How could they tolerate this?
In the blink of an eye, an army of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen surrounded the Human under the leadership of their respective Feudal Lords.
Just like before, the Human fled, while several Black Ink Clan teams gave chase, gradually disappearing into the distance.
At a certain spot on the universe fragment, a Territory Lord stared deeply in the direction Yang Kai had fled in, “The Human Race must have set up some kind of ambush over there. These idiots are probably dead.”
The Territory Lords weren’t fools. Yang Kai had tried to provoke them at close range twice, so how could they not see through his intentions?
Another Territory Lord coldly snorted, “The Humans have become quite bold recently. They wouldn’t have acted like this in the past. What gives them the confidence to dare come here and provoke us like this?”
Another Territory Lord added, “Regardless of the reason, the Humans seem to have undergone great changes in the last 100 years. You should have heard the news of what happened at Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, right?”
A Territory Lord agreed with a nod, “I heard that the Human Race has developed something called Purifying Black Ink Pills that can dispel the corrosion of Black Ink Strength. That is not good news.”
“However, this also explains why there haven’t been any new Black Ink Disciples for so long! Although the Human Race’s Purifying Black Ink Pills are troublesome, their disadvantage in numbers will never change. For the Human Race to dare set up an ambush so far outside their Pass in these conditions is extremely stupid.”
“You mean…” One of the Territory Lords thoughtfully looked at him.
The Territory Lord who had just spoken chuckled, “Unlike my Black Ink Clan, if any of the Human cultivators were to die, the Humans would feel the loss. Since they dared to set up an ambush outside the Pass, we might as well beat them at their own game and try to eat them up.”
“But do you know how many Masters the Human Race has there?”
The Territory Lord stated, “This place is about a dozen days away from their Great Pass, so how many people could the Humans have sent here? And since our Black Ink Clan Army is preparing to attack, they are definitely preparing to defend as well. Even if they have sent a team to ambush us, it shouldn’t be too big. If I’ve to guess, there should be a number of elites, but would our Army of 200,000 not be able to handle such a small number of people?”
Many Territory Lords were moved by his words.
Even though it should only be a small team of Human Masters, if they could really kill these Masters here, it would be enough to make the Humans’ hearts bleed for a long time. In fact, after every war between the two Races, the casualties on humanity’s side might not even be as great as this. Furthermore, just as the Territory Lord had said, since the Humans dared to set up an ambush outside the Pass, they must have sent quite a number of elites. If they took this opportunity to eliminate them, the Humans would suffer a huge loss.
“There must be an Eighth-Order Division Commander among them. If we can kill one or two Eighth-Order Humans, heh heh… we’ll have avenged the Royal Lord and cleansed ourselves of our most recent shame!”
All the Territory Lords nodded in agreement.
One of the Territory Lords stated, “If we are really going to take action, we need to figure out the position and strength of the Human ambushers. Any volunteers?”
A short, humanoid-looking Territory Lord stood up and smiled, taking the initiative to volunteer, “I’ll go.”
One of the Territory Lords added, nodding, “You’re perfect for this job. That Human should not have gone far, so you’ll be able to catch up to him without much effort. However, you must be careful not to fall into a trap.”
“Rest assured, how could this Lord die before the Humans are destroyed?”
Saying so, he soared into the sky. Who knows what kinds of Secret Technique he cultivated, but his Territory Lord aura had been suppressed to the extreme. Coupled with his humanoid form, it would be difficult for ordinary people to find him.
He was really fast. After chasing the fleeing Human for a while, he soon felt violent energy fluctuations coming from the front. Obviously, someone was fighting up ahead.
Combined with the previous scene, this Territory Lord had already guessed this would be the case and immediately restrained his aura further to stealthily approach the battlefield.
A moment later, when he finally arrived at the periphery of the battlefield and gazed ahead, he couldn’t help but stare in shock.
All the Territory Lords had come to the conclusion that the Humans must have set up an ambush; otherwise, they could not explain why the several hundred troops that had chased after the Human had disappeared so quickly.
He had chased after the Human because he wanted to check up on the position and size of the Humans lying in ambush so that he could formulate a corresponding strategy.
But he did not find a Human ambush. Rather it was just that one Human who had lured the Black Ink Clan troops away before killing everyone who chased him with his spear.
This Human might have been alone, but he was like a reaper of death, slaughtering the Feudal Lord troops like they were nothing.
[How could this Human be so strong?]
The Territory Lord clearly saw a Feudal Lord quietly approaching this Human from behind, attempting to launch a sneak attack, but in the end, he was pierced by a spear before he could even react.
In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, nearly 30% of the Feudal Lord troops had been killed. The Human was covered in blood and radiating intense killing intent, but the blood was all black. The long spear in his hands had reached the acme of perfection. Every time he thrust out, the lives of several Black Ink Clansmen would be reaped.
At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he had finished all of them.
This person is definitely an elite among elites of the Human Race!
For a moment, the Territory Lord couldn’t help but have an intent to kill. This Human couldn’t be allowed to grow anymore. He was already so strong in the Seventh Order, so if broke through to the Eighth Order, none of the Territory Lords could resist him.
But just as he was about to act, he couldn’t help but recall his mission.
He still had not discovered the location and number of the Human Race ambushers, and rashly attacking this Human would only alert the enemy. Furthermore, he could not figure out what was going on in this Human’s mind. Since he had lured out a few Feudal Lord troops, why was he fighting them alone instead of surrounding them?
[Does he think that he alone can take care of this, so he decided not to lure the enemy any further?]
With this thought in mind, the Territory Lord withdrew his killing intent and turned his eyes towards the distance. A moment later, he silently retreated just as he had silently arrived.
On the battlefield, Yang Kai’s spear was dancing like a Dragon. Suddenly, he relaxed as the feeling of being secretly observed by someone finally disappeared.
When Yang Kai parted ways with Miao Fei Ping and said he wanted to go fishing, he really meant to go fishing.
As a scout, Yang Kai had already completed his mission. He had basically figured out the location and deployment of the 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen in this region. After he had sent their location to Blue Sky Pass, the higher-ups would naturally make plans to deal with them.
His original plan was to lure some of the Black Ink Clansmen out and kill them. Although alone, he could only kill a limited number of them and it would not affect the overall situation, it was still better than doing nothing.
But after seeing over 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen, Yang Kai formulated a bigger plan.
If he kept provoking them, maybe he could lure this Black Ink Clan Army into attacking in advance. In that case, this Black Ink Clan Army would definitely be separated from the other forces, which would be quite advantageous for Blue Sky Pass.
However, the chances of this happening weren’t high. The Black Ink Clan weren’t fools. After besieging the Great Passes so many times, they knew that they couldn’t accomplish much just by relying on this army alone. So, they had been waiting for the other armies to gather so that they could advance together. Only by doing so would they be able to put pressure on Blue Sky Pass.
Be that as it may, it was still worth trying.
If he couldn’t achieve it in one try, he could give it couple more tries. Even if he couldn’t achieve his goal, he could still take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate some of the Black Ink Clansmen and relieve some pressure on the battlefield.
With his mastery over the Dao of Space, and Blue Sky Pass being just behind him, Yang Kai could fight or flee at will. Even if a Territory Lord took action, he could escape at any time he wanted.
The first attempt at luring the enemy had undoubtedly been a success. He drew off a troop of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, out of which three were Feudal Lords. The rest were all High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, not enough to threaten him.
The second time, the number of Black Ink Clansmen he had lured was quite high, almost 2,000 in total. Nonetheless, the situation was still under his control. Even if he couldn’t kill them all, it didn’t matter.
But right as he was about to begin his slaughter, Yang Kai suddenly felt as if he was being watched from the shadows. This immediately made his heart clench and he silently split his attention to guard against any unexpected situations. He didn’t know where this spy was hiding, but since he was able to evade his detection, the opposite party had to be a Territory Lord.
[They couldn’t hold back, huh?] Yang Kai was a little taken aback.
Yang Kai wasn’t afraid. Since this Territory Lord was hiding in the shadows, perhaps he wanted to make a move on Yang Kai. Nonetheless, as long as he made a move, he would definitely show some signs, which would allow Yang Kai to escape in time.
So, Yang Kai pretended to not have noticed even though he had. He continued to slaughter more Black Ink Clansmen while giving the impression that he was prepared to leave as soon as things turned south.
To his surprise, the feeling of being watched soon disappeared.
[What are they planning? Since I was distracted, why did he not attack and instead left so quickly?] Yang Kai could not understand what the Black Ink Clansman observing him was planning, but he could not care less about it at the moment. With the Territory Lord gone, he became even more unscrupulous.
Many of the 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered by Yang Kai, while a handful managed to escape. Yang Kai had also suffered some injuries; after all, it was hard on him to fend off so many all alone. However, his injuries weren’t serious and he recovered after half a day of rest.
While Yang Kai was recuperating, a ghost-like figure slowly flew by the place where Dawning Light was hiding. This figure was none other than the Territory Lord who had volunteered to scout for the Human ambush.
Dawning Light’s concealment was quite good. Owing to the advantageous terrain and powerful Concealment Arrays, and with the void being so vast, even if a Territory Lord passed nearby, he might not be able to discover anything if he didn’t carefully investigate.
Along the way, this Territory Lord had noted about eighty to hundred shattered universe fragments, but he only did a quick inspection, so how could he have discovered anything?
Coincidentally, just as he was preparing to investigate further, several large ships flew over from the direction of Blue Sky Pass.
The Territory Lord immediately stopped and carefully observed.
After a short while, his expression changed as he hurriedly flew back the way he came, only stopping when he was at a safe distance.
He could not judge the exact situation from afar, but he was certain that the Human Race was laying an ambush.
[How cunning!] The Territory Lord cursed in his heart. Although he still had not found the exact deployment of the Humans, he didn’t dare to approach them at this moment because he could sense a familiar aura from the lead ship.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Humans were quite familiar with each other after having fought for so many years. So, this Territory Lord was able to determine the identities of the enemy even from a great distance.
[A big fish!] The Territory Lord was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to return to the camp to deliver this news.
At the same time, Bai Yi, Feng Ying, and the others also noticed the movements and hurriedly flew up to check it out. They were all quite surprised when they saw several Warships flying towards them.
A short while later, the ships arrived at Dawning Light’s location before a figure jumped down from the lead ship.
Feng Ying stepped forward and respectfully greeted, “Martial Uncle!”
Zhong Liang slightly nodded before he started looking left and right, “Where’s Yang Boy?”
Feng Ying replied, “Squad Leader is still out scouting for information and has yet to return.”
Zhong Liang snorted, “I knew that brat would be up to no good. What bullshit information gathering, he must be off getting into all kinds of trouble.”
Feng Ying didn’t know how to respond to this, so she chose to remain silent and turned her attention towards the figures coming down from the ships. Slowly, her expression became solemn, “Martial Uncle, you…”
She couldn’t help but be shocked, because the figures coming down from the ships were all Seventh-Order and above Masters. Other than the Army Commander Zhong Liang, there were also over a dozen Eighth-Order Division Commanders. Feng Ying originally belonged to the Western Army, so how could she not recognize the Division Commanders of the Western Army?
[Is the Western Army really going all out?]
In addition to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there were nearly 1,000 Seventh-Order Masters.
Zhong Liang chuckled, “We didn’t have such conditions in the past. Except for the attacks launched under the Old Ancestor’s leadership, all we could do was passively defend inside the Pass. It was quite frustrating, but now that things are in our favour, we naturally have to give the Black Ink Clan a big surprise and vent all our frustrations.”
Saying so, he suddenly took out something and threw it. The object resembled a ball of chiffon that suddenly expanded, enveloping the entire universe fragment. Feng Ying immediately felt as if a mysterious force had enveloped the entire universe fragment, isolating it from the outside world.
At this moment, even if someone were to observe from the outside, they wouldn’t be able to see what was happening inside this place.
Afterwards, everyone scattered about, searching for an empty spot.
Immediately afterwards, portals to Small Universes opened one after another, even Zhong Liang opened a portal to his Small Universe. Soon, figures emerged from these portals one after another.
Feng Ying, Bai Yi, and the others were all dumbfounded. The other members of Dawn were also tongue-tied.
In the blink of an eye, roughly 8,000 people had appeared on the universe fragment. Furthermore, these people immediately converged with their respective Squads and started setting up Spirit Arrays in a skilful manner, concealing their auras.
Feng Ying’s brow twitched as she stared blankly at this scene unfolding before her eyes. She could not help but ask, “Martial Uncle, has the entire Western Army been mobilized?”
At first, she thought that only the Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters of the Western Army had come, but to her surprise, the entire Western Army was here.
Blue Sky Pass only had about 30,000 soldiers, that’s all. And when they were divided into various Armies, each one made up between 8,000 and 9,000 soldiers. The number of soldiers gathered on this universe fragment was almost the same.
Zhong Liang stated in a heavy voice, “How could it be so easy to take down an Army of over 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen? It would take an Army to end this battle quickly, but if we win, our Western Army would have made a great contribution!”
Feng Ying could only sigh, “Martial Uncle, you are really amazing!”
Zhong Liang proudly smiled, “Of course.”
However, she didn’t know that in order to grab this chance from the other three Army Commanders, Zhong Liang was nearly beaten to a pulp. In the end, it was the Old Ancestor who stepped in and gave the final verdict, allowing this good opportunity to fall into the Western Army’s hands.
But if he wanted to devour this Army of 200,000 enemies, there was a prerequisite.
And that was that the Royal Lord should not be anywhere nearby. Even if the Western Army had the ability to defeat the Black Ink Clan army of 200,000, they would still suffer heavy casualties if the Royal Lord made an appearance.
Because of this, the Old Ancestor had personally set out to investigate the current whereabouts of the Royal Lord to implement this plan.
“Contact Yang Boy somehow and ask him about the situation there. If the Black Ink Clan army moves, tell him to immediately report!” Zhong Liang ordered.
Feng Ying accepted the order, “Yes, Martial Uncle!”
Zhong Liang wasn’t worried about not being able to ambush the Black Ink Clan Army. If the Black Ink Clan wanted to attack Blue Sky Pass, they would have to pass through this area. Even if there was a slight change in their route, they would not deviate too far, and so long as they passed through here, the Western Army had the confidence to devour them all.
Naturally, Yang Kai was completely oblivious to Blue Sky Pass’ grand plan.
At this moment, he was considering whether to join up with Dawn or continue to act alone.
In the last battle, he had killed over 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen, while less than half had fled back. Presumably, the Black Ink Clan Army was already aware of his abilities, so if he were to provoke them again, he might not be able to gain anything. Also, the fact that a Territory Lord had secretly been spying on him made Yang Kai a little uneasy.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai soon made up his mind.
He decided to continue provoking them.
It would be great if he could enrage the 200,000-strong army into attacking Blue Sky Pass in advance, but even if he could not, it was not a big deal. Even if the Territory Lords made a move, he could use the Space Beacon to return to Dawning Light in an instant.
At the very least, he would have reaped something, thought Yang Kai.
However, by the time he arrived at the place where the Black Ink Clan army was stationed, the situation had changed far beyond his expectations.
At this moment, the giant universe fragment was shrouded in thick Black Ink Clouds, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
[What the Hell is the Black Ink Clan doing?]
Yang Kai was filled with confusion. These Black Ink Clouds were obviously created by the Black Ink Clan on purpose. Had it been there before, it could be said that the Territory Lords were trying to conceal their troop numbers, but since he had already obtained intelligence about the Black Ink Clan Army, it was pointless to conceal it further.
[Isn’t this equal to taking off pants just to fart? Is this really necessary?]
Yang Kai couldn’t guess the Black Ink Clan’s intentions, so all he could do was continue provoking them.
“That Human really came again!”
As soon as Yang Kai appeared, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen immediately reported to their higher-ups; thus, the Territory Lords quickly learned of this.
“Follow the plan! The Humans have been treating us like idiots, let’s teach them a harsh lesson this time!”
Yang Kai had thought that his little provocation wouldn’t have much of an effect; after all, his strength had been exposed, so no matter how stupid the Black Ink Clan was, they wouldn’t fall for it again and again.
The Black Ink Clan might have even laid some kind of ambush here for him. Furthermore, the Territory Lords might also make a move.
But contrary to his expectation, his provocation actually succeeded this time as well! A few Feudal Lords rushed out from the universe fragment with their troops and chased after him.
Just like last time, when Yang Kai reached a suitable position, he turned around and began fighting with the 2,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen.
Nonetheless, he never lowered his guard. According to his estimate, a Territory Lord should be hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to him. So, he had to be on guard against possible sneak attacks from tricky directions.
Just as Yang Kai was luring Feudal Lords’ troops away, the 200,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army hiding in the Black Ink Clouds on the universe fragment split into three forces under various Territory Lords, rushing towards Dawning Light’s location from different directions. The Black Ink Clan was planning to launch a surprise attack on the enemy forces.
The Black Ink Clan had a total of four armies prepared to besiege Blue Sky Pass with nearly 1 million soldiers in total. This was just one of those four armies.
Although it was not yet time for them to act, the temptation of the Humans lying in ambush on the universe fragment was simply too great.
Not to mention anything else, that one person among the ambushers was sufficient for these Territory Lords to take some risks. Furthermore, after their recent discussion, they had come to the conclusion that there would not be that many Humans lying in ambush as this place was quite far from Blue Sky Pass. 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen and over a dozen Territory Lords would be more than enough to squash them. So, according to them, there wasn’t much risk involved.
They could still move together with the three other armies after eliminating these Humans.
“Wu Ying, are you sure Zhong Liang is also there?” Along the way, one of the Territory Lords asked.
The one called Wu Ying was the Territory Lord who had volunteered to investigate the Human Race’s ambush. Hearing this, he immediately gnashed his teeth as he rebuked, “How could I mistake Zhong Liang’s aura? That old dog severely wounded me back then. I almost lost my life. I would recognize him even if he is reduced to ashes!”
The Territory Lord, who had just asked the question, nodded and continued, “Good. In that case, we’ve caught a big fish this time. Zhong Liang is the Army Commander of the Western Army and holds a high position. If he dies, the morale of Blue Sky Pass will definitely plummet. Perhaps we can capture Blue Sky Pass this time.”
Wu Ying fiercely stated, “I want to kill him myself!”
“Don’t worry, you will get your chance!”
…
[Something’s wrong!]
Yang Kai keenly felt this during the battle. This was the third time he had lured the snakes out of their hole. The first time he had done so, he had managed to kill hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen. The Feudal Lord troops were simply unable to escape from him.
The second time, he was unable to kill all of them as there were just too many and he had no choice but to let a portion of them go.
The third time, he was able to lure the same number as he had lured the second time. At first, he had thought that a Territory Lord was hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity to sneak attack him, but after killing so many Black Ink Clansmen and deliberately showing a few flaws, he still didn’t encounter any sneak attacks. He didn’t even notice the aura of any Territory Lords.
Was there no Territory Lord here from the start?
This wasn’t the most puzzling thing though. What made Yang Kai even more confused was that these Black Ink Clansmen were actually fighting him to the death!
This was very unusual. The Black Ink Clansmen here were clearly in a panic after witnessing their fellow comrades being mercilessly slaughtered and ordinarily, this would be the time for them to escape, but not a single one of them fled.
After some time, Yang Kai managed to kill nearly half of the 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen. If the remaining half didn’t flee, they would be wiped out sooner or later.
Yang Kai faintly felt that he had fallen into some kind of trap, but he could not worry about it at this point. Since there was no Territory Lord hiding nearby, he simply started a bloodbath!
After another hour or two, only 100 or so Black Ink Clan soldiers remained. These Black Ink Clan soldiers were extremely terrified and moved as far away from Yang Kai as possible whenever he approached. Nonetheless, none of them showed any intention of escaping.
Suddenly, a boiling Sword Intent appeared not far behind Yang Kai. The next moment, a sword cry reverberated through the void as a figure clad in sword aura came rushing in, shredding every Black Ink Clan soldier in its path into pieces.
The sword aura suddenly split into several directions before converging the next moment, killing or injuring most of the Black Ink Clansmen.
When the figure wrapped in sword aura rushed towards the last Feudal Lord, Yang Kai hurriedly shouted, “Keep him alive!”
Yang Kai had deliberately not killed this Feudal Lord, so how could he allow someone else to kill him?
Fortunately, Feng Ying’s reaction was extremely fast. She immediately changed directions and slaughtered the remaining small fries after Yang Kai’s shout. By the time she turned around, Yang Kai had already used Space Principles to imprison the wounded Feudal Lord.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai turned to Feng Ying.
Feng Ying instead asked back, “Why can’t your Space Beacon transmit messages in reverse? Martial Uncle Zhong Liang asked me to ask you about the situation here, but since I couldn’t reach you, I had no choice but to come here personally.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “You sent me a message? I kept the Space Beacon in my Space Ring, so naturally you couldn’t reach me.”
After sending the last message, he had put away the Space Beacon because he was afraid that someone would send him a message, which would expose his whereabouts. He had never thought that Dawn Squad would really want to contact him.
“Did something happen?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Feng Ying shook her head, “Nothing like that. What about here?”
Yang Kai replied, furrowing his brow, “It’s a bit strange.”
Saying so, he turned to the imprisoned Feudal Lord and asked, “What are you plotting?”
The Feudal Lord was imprisoned and unable to move. He had been beaten black and blue by Yang Kai, and if it weren’t for Yang Kai intentionally keeping him alive to extract information, he would not have survived till now. Although he was captured though, he just sneered and kept his mouth shut.
“If you tell me, I’ll give you a quick death, otherwise I’ll make you suffer a fate worse than death!” Yang Kai warned.
The Feudal Lord turned away his head. The expression on his face said that he was prepared to die.
Yang Kai pushed his spear into the Feudal Lord’s chest, gently stabbing it in, avoiding his vitals. The Black Ink Clansman’s face twisted in pain as he roared, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai frowned. It had been a long time since he had heard these words. Judging by the Feudal Lord’s attitude, it was impossible to get anything from him. This Feudal Lord knew that he would not survive, so he stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
What’s more, he had no idea about the higher-ups’ plans. He was just following orders to restrain Yang Kai here at all costs.
Yang Kai tried several other methods, but the Feudal Lord still remained silent. Yang Kai knew that he could not get anything from him and decided to finish him off.
Although he could not get anything, the Feudal Lord’s reaction gave him an eerie feeling. These Black Ink Clansmen clearly knew that they were no match for Yang Kai, but they had still chosen to fight to the death, seemingly stalling for time.
Right then, Yang Kai seemed to have realized something and immediately shouted, “Damn it!”
Saying so, his figure flickered as he disappeared from the spot.
Feng Ying anxiously shouted, “Squad Leader!” But Yang Kai had already disappeared from sight. All she could do now was follow the residual fluctuations of Space Principles and chase after him.
Yang Kai soon arrived at the periphery of the universe fragment where the Black Ink Clan army was stationed. The universe fragment was still shrouded in Black Ink Clouds, making it impossible to see the situation inside.
When he first saw these clouds, he found it a bit strange. Why would the Black Ink Clan waste so much effort to create these Black Ink Clouds? But if they were using it to conceal the movements of their army, it would make sense.
If his guess was correct, then this universe fragment was probably empty!
The Territory Lords had sent 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen to occupy him, while covertly mobilizing their forces. The Black Ink Clan was not stupid.
Although he had some guesses, Yang Kai still wanted to personally verify them, so he dove straight into the Black Ink Clouds.
The facts proved that his guess was right, there really wasn’t a single Black Ink Clansman on this universe fragment. The 200,000-strong Army stationed here had disappeared. Presumably, the Black Ink Clan Army had set out just after he left.
[Is it because they had discovered a Human scout and wanted to take Blue Sky Pass by surprise?]
[Fortunately, things are not that bad. I can instantly return to Dawning Light and report this back to Blue Sky Pass.]
Just as Yang Kai flew out of the universe fragment in a hurry, he ran into Feng Ying who was chasing after him.
Yang Kai hurriedly ordered, “Quickly return to Dawning Light, the Black Ink Clan army has already set out.”
Saying so, Yang Kai took out his Space Beacon and activated it, disappearing the next moment.
Feng Ying didn’t even have time to say anything before Yang Kai had disappeared on her again. She immediately stomped her foot in anger, “That impulsive bastard!”
Left with no choice, she could only activate the Universe Transference Law and return to Dawning Light as well.
On the universe fragment where Dawning Light was concealed, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared next to Miao Fei Ping. The moment he appeared, he hurriedly shouted, “Fei Ping, quickly return to Blue Sky Pass and inform the Army Commanders that the Black Ink Clan’s 200,000-strong Army has started moving… Eh? Martial Uncle Zhong, why are you here? What’s everyone doing here?”
Yang Kai’s face was filled with shock, staring at the figures around him. He was unable to comprehend what was happening.
Zhong Liang asked, furrowing his brow, “You didn’t meet Feng Ying?”
“I met her, she should be back soon,” Yang Kai subconsciously replied.
While they were talking, Feng Ying walked out from Dawning Light’s cabin, obviously having teleported back through the Universe Array; however, she arrived a few breaths later than Yang Kai.
“What’s going on?” Upon looking around, Yang Kai noticed that there were 8,000 people on this universe fragment, preparing for battle. Although everyone was silent, there was a murderous aura lingering in the air. This sight caught Yang Kai by surprise, “Is this… the entire Western Army?”
Feng Ying explained, angrily glaring at him, “When Martial Uncle learned that there were 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen gathered here, he led the Western Army here to ambush them. He plans to eliminate one of the Black Ink Clan Armies before the battle to reduce the pressure on the Great Pass.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Yang Kai looked at her.
Feng Ying rebuked him with a glare, “Did you give me a chance to speak?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but scratch his nose in embarrassment. It was a mess caused by him.
Zhong Liang asked, “Is there any movement on the Black Ink Clan’s side?”
Yang Kai quickly reported, “I don’t know where the Black Ink Clan Army has gone, but this Junior’s actions must have made them cautious. The Black Ink Clan used Black Ink Clouds to conceal their movements. I don’t know their current location.”
“They’re gone?” Zhong Liang was speechless. The Western Army had come here with such great fanfare, but now the Black Ink Clan Army had disappeared. [What the Hell? If I returned empty-handed, wouldn’t I be laughed to death by Ding Yao and the other old farts?]
Right then, he suddenly turned his head, looking towards a certain direction in the void. Not just him, but all the other Eighth-Order Division Commanders also sensed something and looked around.
Yang Kai also seemed to have sensed something, but at the end of the day, his foundation wasn’t as deep as the Eighth-Order Division Commanders so his perception wasn’t as strong.
Feng Ying was confused, seeing this, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Zhong Liang happily clapped his hands, “They didn’t run away, they actually delivered themselves to us. Interesting!”
An Eighth-Order Division Commander nodded lightly, “They split up into three groups. Are they trying to surround this place?”
Another Eighth-Order raised his brow, “Judging by the way they are acting, it seems they are aware of our ambush. Since they know there’s an ambush here, why are they being so rash?”
The Eighth Order who had spoken earlier postulated, “Perhaps they only know that there is an ambush, but they don’t know the extent of our deployment. Maybe they think that their Army of 200,000 is enough to take us down?”
“I think that’s the case; otherwise, there’d be no reason for them to willingly fall into this trap.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he reported, “Martial Uncle Zhong, not long ago, when I was in a skirmish with the Black Ink Clan, I vaguely felt a Territory Lord spying on me, but that Territory Lord didn’t do anything and soon disappeared. This Junior was still puzzled, but now that I think about it, that Territory Lord must have come here to investigate and noticed something.”
Zhong Liang nodded in agreement, “We are 10 days away from Blue Sky Pass, a considerable distance by all accounts. The Black Ink Clan would have never thought that we would have sent so many people here. They must be thinking that even if there is an ambush, there wouldn’t be too many of us, which is why they are acting so rashly.”
He chuckled happily, “In any case, this situation is advantageous to us. Since the Black Ink Clan wants to see Hell so badly, how can the soldiers of our Western Army not grant their wishes? Division Commanders, have the Squads on standby. When I give the order, you will attack the enemy with me!”
All the Eighth-Order Masters readily accepted the order before dispersing.
While they were speaking, the three groups of Black Ink soldiers had already arrived by the universe fragment and very soon, finished surrounding it. The Western Army soldiers on the universe fragment had naturally noticed this and this surprised them. They were here to ambush the Black Ink Clan Army, yet, suddenly, it looked like they were surrounded.
Be that as it may, they were not afraid. The Western Army deployed more than 8,000 troops for this operation. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders alone numbered over a dozen. Although the Black Ink Clan occupied the advantage in overall numbers, most of them were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. The Human Masters had nothing to fear.
Realizing that a great battle was about to break out, all of them palmed their fists in excitement. In their eyes, the Black Ink Clan Army of 200,000 was just a pile of Military Merits up for grabs.
“Is this the place?” On the deck of a large ship, a Territory Lord looked down at the universe fragment while standing at the bow.
Wu Ying, who was standing beside him, affirmed with a nod, “En, this is it.”
The Territory Lord carefully looked around before lightly nodding, “There are indeed traces of Spirit Arrays, which only Humans use. It seems they are all hiding inside. Apparently, they are too afraid to show their faces.”
Wu Ying slightly furrowed his brow, voicing his concerns, “There were no Spirit Arrays when I first came here, so how come there are Arrays here now?”
The Territory Lord, who had just spoken, sneered, “The Humans are like that; they like to rely on external forces, but this is not Blue Sky Pass, so how powerful can hastily arranged Spirit Arrays be? With our army of 200,000, we can break them with a snap of our fingers! Pass the order, we should end this battle quickly so as to avoid delaying the attack on Blue Sky Pass.”
Wu Ying nodded and just as he was about to send a message to the Territory Lords of the other two groups the universe fragment below glimmered.
Suddenly, a gap appeared in the barrier that was covering the entire universe fragment in their direction before a large Battalion Rank Warship charged out from inside. A figure stood at the head of this Warship with his hands behind his back, staring ahead with a cold gaze. That sharp gaze immediately caused Wu Ying’s old wounds to ache.
He was all too familiar with that figure. It was none other than Zhong Liang.
Wu Ying was extremely taken aback by the fact that the Humans actually took the initiative to attack, but soon, his surprise turned into shock as he looked closely behind the Battalion Rank Warship. Smaller, but more manoeuvrable Squad Rank Warships appeared one after another.
One ship, two ships, three ships…
In an instant, an enormous number of Squad Rank Warships and Battalion Rank Warships filled his vision as the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters spread across the void.
Wu Ying was shocked, “Have… have the Humans gone crazy?”
The number of Human ambushers on this universe fragment far exceeded his expectations. After having fought the Humans so many times, Wu Ying could instantly tell from the size and number of these Warships that the Humans had mobilized an entire Army for this operation.
Blue Sky Pass only had a total of four Armies, and one of them had come all the way here? Were the Humans not worried that they would not be able to return to Blue Sky Pass if they got tied down?
Regardless of what his thoughts on the matter were, Wu Ying had no time to ponder on them right now, because Zhong Liang’s figure swiftly rose from the ship and shot straight towards him, leaving a streak of light in his wake. Before he even arrived, he fired a fearsome Divine Ability at him.
Wu Ying and the Territory Lord beside him both turned pale in shock and quickly dodged. They could dodge, but the ship they were standing on couldn’t. It was directly smashed to pieces, and the Black Ink Clansmen aboard suffered heavy casualties.
One after another, figures rushed out from the Human Army, all of them in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The next moment, bursts of World Force swept through the void as each Territory Lord was targeted. In the blink of an eye, an earth-shattering battle had broken out and the shockwaves from the clash instantly killed many of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen.
Immediately after the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters engaged the enemy, the Warships began firing dazzling beams of light straight into the Black Ink Clan camp. Each beam warped space along its path, and every Black Ink Clansman that was even close to the attacks were either reduced to mist or severely injured.
In the blink of an eye, the Black Ink Clan had suffered huge losses.
Wu Ying was in an extremely tight spot as he suddenly found himself fighting three Eighth-Order Human Masters by himself! He was already not an opponent of Zhong Liang alone, but now there were two others with Zhong Liang. He fell into mortal danger after just a few breaths.
There was not that big of a gap in the strength between the average Eighth-Order Master and an ordinary Territory Lord. Even if an Eighth-Order Master was slightly stronger than a Territory Lord, this gap was still limited. Only a selected few had the prowess to kill a Territory Lord alone. These people were all top Eighth-Order Masters.
Originally, the number of Territory Lords was about the same as the number of Eighth-Order Masters on the Human Race side, with the Black Ink Clan generally having a few more.
But the Black Ink Clan Army of 200,000 had split into three groups in order to completely surround this universe fragment. Correspondingly, the dozen or so Territory Lords had split into three groups, leaving just five or six Territory Lords in each. They mainly did this to prevent the Humans from escaping.
But contrary to their expectations, the distribution of their forces had become the biggest flaw in their encirclement, giving the Humans an opportunity to take them down one by one.
The Western Army had convened its entire force and commenced the attack without warning. Wu Ying’s group was the first to bear the brunt of this assault, and it was already in full swing before the other two groups could even react.
Right now, the Western Army was facing only 70,000 or so Black Ink Clan soldiers. Although the other two groups of Black Ink Clansmen were rapidly moving to assist, it would still take them some time to arrive. The Western Army was clearly planning to slaughter as many as possible in this short time where they held the absolute advantage.
All the Territory Lords were fighting one-against-many battles, and Wu Ying’s situation wasn’t even the worst fighting three Eighth-Order Masters; for instance, the one who was standing beside him just now was actually fighting five Eighth-Order Masters alone. For a moment, Wu Ying wondered whether he should be thankful that his luck wasn’t the worst.
Obviously, the Humans had attacked with full force in order to finish off a few Territory Lords and decide the trend of the battle!
The battle had already broken out, and naturally, this had not gone unnoticed from the other two Back Ink Clan groups, but even though they responded immediately, it would still take them a dozen breaths to arrive and provide assistance.
A dozen breaths was enough to decide life and death.
Suddenly, one of the Black Ink Clan Territory Lord’s auras vanished!
From the corner of his eye, Wu Ying watched the giant figure of his comrade, who was fighting five against one, sway and fall. His head was nowhere to be seen and black blood was gushing out of his neck.
His comrade may be dead, but he simply didn’t have the time to grieve, because under the siege of the three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters led by Zhong Liang, he too was in imminent danger.
In the distance, some of the Territory Lords who had a good relationship with Wu Ying were rushing over to try to help, their faces filled with anxiety and anger. Wu Ying also tried his best to move in their direction, but every step he got closer came at the expense of several serious injuries.
After just three steps, Wu Ying felt his body lighten and the world spin around him. The concealment technique he had been relying on to survive on the battlefield was completely useless here.
[The Humans… are truly treacherous!]
Turmoil was the best portrayal of the current Black Ink Clan Army’s situation.
They had tried to besiege the Human Race’s ambushers, and every Territory Lord felt that they would be able to make a great contribution today; after all, there was a big fish like Zhong Liang among the ambushers.
But at the last moment, they realized that the fish they were after was actually a giant shark.
The Black Ink Clan Army was caught completely off guard and had lost three Territory Lords in less than a dozen breaths. They were finally able to prevent any other Territory Lord from dying after the other two teams joined the battle. As the Humans were already prepared, and the Black Ink Clan had been taken by surprise, the momentum of the battle had already been set.
Now, all that was left was to see how many of the 200,000 could escape.
Still, fleeing from the fully prepared Western Army was not an easy task. It was quite easy to be injured and even lose their lives in such situations.
The Territory Lords were well aware of this, so they didn’t immediately think to flee; instead, they ordered the various Feudal Lords to gather as many forces together as possible while they were battling with the Eighth-Order Masters.
A fleet of squad-rank and battalion-rank Warships quickly appeared on the battlefield, each of them protected by several Seventh-Order Masters. On the Warships, the glimmer of Spirit Arrays activating lit up the void. Every time an Array was triggered, it would reap the lives of many Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Needless to say, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were nothing more than cannon fodder in every battle between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, so they suffered the most casualties as they were unable to resist the might of the Human Warships.
Although the situation of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen was better, it wasn’t by much. The entire void seemed to have transformed into a millstone of flesh and blood, constantly grinding away the lives of the Black Ink Clan.
Dawning Light sailed through the battlefield. Yang Kai, Feng Ying, and several other Seventh-Order Masters floated around the Warship, each of them using their respective Divine Abilities to kill the surrounding enemies. Bai Yi stood at the prow, shooting down Feudal Lords at will. From time to time, she would even harass the Territory Lords who were fighting with the Eighth-Order Masters, causing them great frustration.
A Seventh-Order Human who was proficient in archery was a great deterrent on the battlefield, especially for those Territory Lords who were caught in the heat of battle and had to divert some of their attention to guard against Bai Yi’s sneak attacks.
Their strength was already inferior to the Eighth-Order Humans, and now they had an extra concern while locked in battle.
Yang Kai did not try to hit the Territory Lords when they were down, instead focusing on the Feudal Lords, which gave him brilliant results. Which Feudal Lord could block his spear? Furthermore, Dawn’s configuration was incomparable with any ordinary Squads. Not only were there more Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but Dawning Light’s capabilities were far superior to other Squad Rank Warships.
Wherever Dawning Light passed, it instantly emptied a large area of Black Ink Clansmen.
The great battle entered a fever pitch soon after it began. The Western Army wanted a quick, decisive victory, so they did not hold back in the slightest.
Although they were far away from the support of Blue Sky Pass, the Black Ink Clan Army was caught by surprise by the Western Army and was dealt a heavy initial blow that they were unable to recover from. It was obvious they could not hold out much longer.
Even though the Territory Lords knew that a disorderly retreat at this time would increase their casualties, if they did not flee, there was a great possibility that the entire army would be destroyed. If they could sacrifice their 200,000 troops for some Human lives, then it would not be considered a total loss; however, all the Fifth and Sixth-Order Humans were hiding in their Warships and would remain safe until their Warship was destroyed. Meanwhile, although there were some Seventh-Order Masters roaming the battlefield, they did not move far from the protection of their own Warships and would retreat to safety as soon as things became dangerous.
Many Black Ink Clansmen were killed or wounded in a fierce battle that lasted half a day, while the casualties on the Human side were quite low.
In such a situation, the choice was clear.
Since the Black Ink Clan Army had been defeated and was retreating, the Humans naturally would not let this good opportunity go to waste. Under the leadership of the many Eighth-Order Masters, they began chasing down and eliminating as many Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
They did not stop until two days later.
The result of the battle was spectacular, but it was impossible to know the exact numbers. The Black Ink Clansmen who escaped shouldn’t have numbered more than 50,000, which meant that at least 150,000 Black Ink Clansmen were killed in this engagement. Although it was not a total annihilation, it was still an enormous success.
Among the 150,000 Black Ink Clan casualties, less than half were killed in the initial battle while the majority were slaughtered as they fled.
150,000 casualties was not a big deal for the Black Ink Clan though as each time they laid siege to Blue Sky Pass with a huge army numbering in the millions. 150,000 troops worth of losses would not impact the overall situation much, only alleviate some of the pressure on the Humans in the initial stages of the war.
What was hard for the Black Ink Clan to accept was that in this battle, they had lost four Territory Lords.
Three of them were killed by the Eighth-Order Masters at the beginning of the battle, and the fourth was killed during the subsequent battle.
This was the loss that really hurt the Black Ink Clan.
As long as there were Black Ink Nests and available resources, they could easily replenish their 150,000 lost troops; however, four Territory Lords were not so easy to replace.
It took a very long time to cultivate even one Territory Lord. In the past, every time the two Races fought, there would be very few fallen Territory Lords. Almost all the dead were the Black Ink Clansmen under the Territory Lord Rank.
Thus, it could be said that the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy losses this time.
Warships of different sizes stopped in the void as the Western Army soldiers abided by the order to halt their pursuit.
Firstly, continued pursuit of the Black Ink Clan would not change the results of the battle significantly; secondly, they had to guard against being ambushed by the other Black Ink Clan armies. After all, if they were to be led into a trap by another fleeing Black Ink Clansmen, they would be at serious risk so far from Blue Sky Pass.
Thus, the Western Army decided to stand down and accept their victory.
The 200,000 Black Ink Clan Army had basically been beaten half to death, and the remaining stragglers could only rally together with the other armies.
The Western Army’s losses were negligible by comparison. Not many fell during this battle as the Warship’s all-encompassing protection allowed them to remain safe during critical situations. However, it was inevitable that the Western Army still incurred numerous casualties in such a large engagement.
“All Squads regroup. We’re heading back to Blue Sky Pass!” Zhong Liang gave an order that echoed across the void.
All abided by the order and one by one, the Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders collected their Warships by placing them into their Small Universes. Then, huge flashing arrays of light appeared at the feet of the Western Army officers and soldiers one after another. Each flashing light represented an Open Heaven Realm Master returning to Blue Sky Pass through the Universe Array there.
The withdrawal was large, but orderly.
More than ten Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master guarded the four directions while those in the Fifth-Order were the first to transport back to the Great Pass, followed by those in the Sixth-Order, and then the Seventh-Orders.
Batch after batch of Open Heaven Realm Masters used the Universe Transference Law in a spectacular scene.
In the past, before Yang Kai had arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, Blue Sky Pass did not dare to let their troops use the Universe Arrays at will, even though they possessed them.
If a Black Ink Disciple infiltrated the Universe Array, then there might be serious consequences.
Things were different now that they had Purifying Light sealed in each Universe Array. Even if a Black Ink Disciple managed to sneak in, they would be instantly purified; thus, there was no risk of being infiltrated via the Universe Array like before. Not to mention that before this battle began, everyone had received a Purifying Black Ink Pill for safety.
Now that there was a way to resist invasion by Black Ink Strength and a swift method to withdraw from the battlefield, the Humans would naturally have the means to take the fight to the enemy.
This was also the first time in countless years that the Human Race conducted this kind of action. It was considered a bold attempt with better-than-expected results. With the success of this initiative, there would surely be more such battles in the future.
The Black Ink Clan no longer held the initiative to wage war.
Once all the Western Army soldiers had re-grouped at Blue Sky Pass, the remaining Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters each activated the Universe Transference Law.
With the return of the Western Army soldiers, the victory of the battle quickly spread throughout the Inner Sanctum, and the entire Blue Sky Pass was in high spirits.
However, this was not the end of it.
The Black Ink Clan countered with another three 200,000-strong armies that approached from three different routes. Perhaps they had already learned what happened to the army that had branched out and lost their men. Either way, within two days of the Western Army’s return to the Pass, Human scouts from afar reported that the enemy armies were advancing towards Blue Sky Pass.
The entire Blue Sky Pass had been in a state of readiness for battle for countless years, so everyone knew exactly what they needed to do.
This time, however, Blue Sky Pass had a pleasant surprise in store for the Black Ink Clan Army.
Half a month later, the three Black Ink Clan Armies finally arrived at the million kilometres mark outside the Pass. The gathering heads looked spectacular from afar, and with Black Ink Strength emanating from them, it was as if a dark storm cloud was rolling in.
However, the Black Ink Clan did not attack immediately. After two or three days of gathering, they finally divided their forces into four groups and surrounded Blue Sky Pass from all four cardinal directions.
The Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Great Pass just as they had for countless years.
The Black Ink Clan could not be blamed for using the same tactics as usual. With a huge Army numbering in the hundreds of thousands gathered in one place, there was really no need for original thinking. If they split up further that would only provide the Humans the opportunity to pick them off one group at a time.
The troops were divided into four groups so that the Humans could only deal with them head-on. In terms of numbers, the Humans were always at a disadvantage.
The two or three days of delay was most likely due to reorganizing the troops.
The three Armies were similar to the original Army that fled and had about 200,000 troops each. The original Fourth Army was beaten half to death and could not just rely on the 50,000 or so remnants to organize a counterattack. It would be suicide if they tried.
They had no choice but to divide part of the three groups into four so that they could have an effective siege.
With nearly 700,000 troops, it was still not the smallest number of troops the Black Ink Clan had used to surround their enemy. There had been times when their numbers had been much smaller.
After all, most of their troops were just cannon fodder, used to absorb the opening blow and create a favourable battlefield for the stronger Black Ink Clansmen.
When the Black Ink Clan got into position, they did not hesitate at all and immediately attacked Blue Sky Pass.
An endless number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen attacked from all four directions towards Blue Sky Pass, shouting and screaming with no regard for their lives.
Once they reached a certain distance, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen used their powers to attack Blue Sky Pass; however, their attacks were destined to be futile. The entire Blue Sky Pass could be considered a massive Mobile Palace Artifact. Through the countless years of operation by the Humans, there were countless shield and barrier Spirit Arrays arranged to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s attacks.
This was not only true for Blue Sky Pass, but for every Great Pass.
The walls of the Great Pass were unfazed by the Low-Rank Black Ink Clan’s Secret Techniques. The walls of Blue Sky Pass were protected by an outer layer light barrier, and the attacks only created ripples on its outer surface.
The Black Ink Clan was not discouraged and kept attacking.
It took energy to maintain such a barrier, and one of the tasks of the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, who were just cannon fodder, was to consume the power of the Humans.
100,000 kilometres… 80,000 kilometres… when the Black Ink Clan was within 50,000 kilometres of Blue Sky Pass, huge pillars of energy suddenly surged from the walls. As those pillars of energy blasted into the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen it was like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Blasting out attacks of different shapes and sizes.
Under the terrifying bombardment, large numbers of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen instantly turned into dust.
At 50,000 kilometres, they were basically right under the nose of Blue Sky Pass, and the Secret Techniques from any Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the support of offensive Arrays could reach such a distance.
So every time the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder attacked, many would be killed at this 50,000-kilometre line.
When troops of the Black Ink Clan died, the Black Ink Strength that escaped from their corpses would fill the void. When it reached a certain density, it would turn into Black Ink Clouds.
Such an environment caused great trouble to the Human Race. While the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could hide in their Warships and rely on them for protection, the Seventh-Order Masters had to roam around the battlefield to make the best use of their strength to kill the enemy. When the battlefield was filled with Black Ink Strength, they had to utilize their own strength to resist its corrosive effects.
The Black Ink Clan could also hide among the Black Ink Clouds to launch sneak attacks.
This was the biggest effect of the cannon fodder. Their deaths not only created a lot of potential problems for the Humans, but they also provided better conditions for the Black Ink Clan Army to fight in.
However, now that Blue Sky Pass not only had Purifying Light, but also Purifying Black Ink Pills, it was hard to say if the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder strategy would work this time.
“Senior Brother, your aim is off. You should target the denser crowds to kill more of the Black Ink Clan,” a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said on the Western wall of Blue Sky Pass.
In front of him, Yang Kai sat within a Grand Array that had a giant crossbow-like artifact installed in it. His stirring World Force began to calm down slowly.
Yang Kai did not need to participate at this point; after all, this was only the early stages of the battle as each Black Ink Clan siege would generally drag on for a long time. Additionally, he had only just returned from a battle with the Western Army and should be spending this time recuperating.
A Master like him would only be required when the real battle began.
The Black Ink Clan attacked Blue Sky Pass with cannon fodder to create a favourable battlefield, and the Humans responded from behind Blue Sky Pass’ shields.
Such a fight would last at least a month or two until the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder was exhausted. Only then would the main enemy force attack. At that time, it would be difficult for Blue Sky Pass’ shields alone to resist the assault. They would need to go out to meet the enemy directly on the battlefield. Then it would become a back-and-forth fight for years to decades until the Black Ink Clan could not handle it anymore and retreated.
However, considering his current Artifact Refining mastery, which had recently reached the Grandmaster Rank, Zhong Liang had positioned Yang Kai at the Western wall.
Numerous artifacts, which were used as Array Cores, were set up here. When used in high-intensity battles, wear and tear became obvious. This would then require Artifact Refiners to maintain and repair them, while Array Masters had to be on standby to coordinate with them.
Yang Kai was now stationed on the Western wall and was performing repairs on a large artifact known as a Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
This artifact was specially made for such a battlefield scenario and needed to be paired with an appropriate Spirit Array to fully utilise its strength.
Of course, it was possible to use this giant Artifact all on its own, but even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai would find it hard to bring out its full power in a battlefield setting.
Thus, it was not quite the same as the normal artifacts used by a cultivator.
The Array Masters used this Scattering Feathers Crossbow as an Array Core for a Grand Array that defended this section of the wall. Yang Kai simply poured his own power into the Grand Array to stimulate the power of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
There were Artifact Refiners and Array Masters assigned to each section of Blue Sky Pass’ walls at regular intervals, all of them on standby to repair and maintain them. That was how each of the artifacts were kept functioning during battle.
This arrangement had the advantage of allowing lower-order Open Heaven Realm Masters to exert the killing power of High-Rank Masters. In short, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could exert the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master if he operated the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
This was the same principle as the artifacts placed on Warships, where Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Humans could combine their might and launch attacks on par with Seventh-Order Masters against the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master, and an extremely powerful one at that, but this was the first time he operated this artifact so he had to get used to it, and the best way to do so was to fire it.
With Yang Kai operating it, this Scattering Feathers Crossbow could launch an attack comparable in power to his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, which was quite astonishing.
The Array Master behind Yang Kai was called Lu Xing. He knew who Yang Kai was, but Yang Kai did not know him. This wasn’t a surprise though as, by now, Yang Kai was universally known throughout Blue Sky Pass.
As an Array Master, Lu Xing had never been involved in a head-on clash with the Black Ink Clan. Each time the Black Ink Clan attacked, he was responsible for the maintenance of this section of the wall. Artifact Refiners, Alchemists, and Array Masters were never allowed on the battlefield because, not only were their skills extremely valuable, but they had often immersed themselves in their respective Daos and were not proficient in fighting. Thus, they were not that useful in combat.
Lu Xing was thrilled to learn that he would be working with the famous Yang Kai to maintain this section of the wall. He secretly told himself that he would do his utmost to assist Senior Brother Yang to kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
He observed that Yang Kai’s attack had gone off the mark, and immediately gave his opinion.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, and as Lu Xing suggested, he adjusted his aim down a bit, and then pushed his own power into the artifact.
The Grand Array hummed, condensing power into the Scattering Feathers Crossbow, causing it to shine brightly.
Yang Kai did not rush to attack, wanting to test the limits of this weapon.
As World Force continued to pour into the Grand Array, the crossbow glowed brighter and brighter, and the energy arrow soon became as bright as the sun.
Lu Xing turned pale as he said nervously, “Senior Brother hold back a little, the Grand Array is about to reach its limit.”
Yang Kai did not know that the Grand Array was about to reach its limit; however, he could tell that the Scattering Feathers Crossbow was beginning to strain under the energy he channelled into it.
It was not surprising that this would happen when a cultivator poured in too much World Force. Furthermore, with the additive effects of the Grand Array, the power of the cultivator would be significantly enhanced.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense locked onto the place where the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder had gathered in the largest number in front of him, and, as he was about to launch his attack, Yang Kai suddenly he had a bout of inspiration and he lifted his hand slightly.
The array buzzed and the void shook, a dazzling light shot out, flying some 100,000 kilometres away.
Lu Xing thought that Yang Kai had missed again, and this time it was even more outrageous than before, but when he looked up, he saw the stream of light had reached the rear of the approaching Black Ink Clan Army before exploding into thousands of rays of light, just like a peacock opening its tail from afar!
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed heartily.
Lu Xing might not be able to see the effect of the strike due to his limited strength, but Yang Kai could see clearly the full effect of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow. Not only did he manage to fire the weapon to the 100,000-kilometre mark, he managed to cause some casualties to the unsuspecting Black Ink Clan Army. At least 100 Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were turned into dust by that attack and even more were injured.
The Scattering Feathers Crossbow was meant to be an area-of-effect weapon, and it suddenly struck the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, which no one was prepared for.
This artifact was more powerful than an ordinary full-powered attack from him, making it worthy of being an all-rounded weapon used for both offence and defence. With such artifacts, the Human Race didn’t need to worry that the Great Pass would fall.
However, such a move was only effective for the first strike and its effect was also limited. When repeatedly done, the Black Ink Clan would be able to guard against it, not to mention the distance his attack had to travel to hit its target made it easier to dodge for those paying attention.
Additionally, launching such powerful attacks would wear down the Scattering Feathers Crossbow and damage it in no time.
Yang Kai just wanted to test where the limits of this Array Artifact were. Dawning Light was also equipped with a Scattering Feathers Crossbow, but he was always roaming around the battlefield to kill the enemies while the Squad’s Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order members were the ones who operated this artifact.
With a plan in mind, Yang Kai once again poured in his power.
Lu Xing watched with trepidation as Yang Kai began channelling his energy; however, he did not do anything unconventional this time. He aimed the weapon and attacked the tidal wave of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder coming in front of him.
One after another, giant bolts of light cleared an area of the void without stopping.
Lu Xing was deeply impressed. He had seen people manipulate this artifact before, but they fired far less rapidly and with far less force than Yang Kai. He had finally seen for himself the reason why Yang Kai was so legendary.
The high intensity of the fight lasted for three days and nights. The Black Ink Clan cannon fodder seemed to be inexhaustible, so no matter how many were killed, more would show up. Furthermore, Black Ink Cloud began to block his view.
Yang Kai had stopped for a moment. The Grand Array formation and Scattering Feathers Crossbow needed to cool down and be repaired. Additionally, he had expended his energy and required some time to restore it.
The good thing was that there were many Grand Arrays and artifacts arranged on the walls; thus, they could take turns to rest and conduct maintenance on some while others were still active. Thus, the intensity of the bombardment would not drop.
After more than 20 days of fighting like this, the wave of cannon fodder finally came to an end. Almost all the cannon fodder that was put into the battlefield was dead.
This was the standard tactic of the Black Ink Clan. They had an endless supply of cannon fodder and could sacrifice them without any concerns. Creating a favourable battlefield with the death of some cannon fodder was well worth it.
Furthermore, in the days to come, the Black Ink Clan would continue to send a steady stream of troops against Blue Sky Pass, including a large number of cannon fodder which had been sent from the Black Ink Clan’s territory as reinforcements. Such attacks would continue throughout the duration of the war.
In between, it would be time for Black Ink Clan’s main forces to enter the battlefield.
The void was silent as Black Ink Strength accumulated and Black Ink Clouds enveloped Blue Sky Pass. The movement of the Black Ink Clan Army was not visible from 100,000 kilometres away anymore. From past experience, the Humans knew that the main force of the Black Ink Clan had begun to move, but they could not track them as they were still too far away.
The Human soldiers gathered to prepare for the impending attack.
Before they encountered the Black Ink Clan main force, they would continue to use the artifacts on the walls to launch harassing attacks. They were not just for eliminating the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder, but also a strong weapon to fight the Black Ink Clan main force.
A sense of anticipation permeated the entire Blue Sky Pass.
At the West Gate, Squads were assembled, and Dawn was among them.
Yang Kai had left his position on the wall days ago, leaving others to operate and maintain the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
As they waited, they suddenly felt a wave of energy surging in from all directions and the whole Blue Sky Pass hummed loudly. Blasts of light from Array Artifacts were constantly sent out in all directions from the walls.
The battle had begun!
Large-scale army combat was not new to Yang Kai. He was once involved in a Blue Sky Pass battle 100 years ago, and more recently at Yin-Yang Pass.
The key point was to work with one’s own Squad, as well as other Squads, and try not to be surrounded by too many enemies. Fight and kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen while constantly remaining on the move and not charging out recklessly on your own.
In terms of numbers alone, the Humans were always at a disadvantage, but they could win by relying on their flexibility, and their carefully designed Warships. The foundation of the Human Race’s ability to survive so long was that they knew how to advance and retreat when needed.
This was the first attack by the main force of the Black Ink Clan Army, and the two sides engaged in a fierce melee in the 100,000-kilometre zone around Blue Sky Pass for half a month before respectively withdrawing.
The Black Ink Clan lost a lot of troops and retreated beyond the 100,000-kilometre mark to regroup, while the Humans returned to the Pass to rest and recover.
The Territory Lords did not fight this time and only watched from afar. Likewise, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not participate. Each of these top Masters had their own opponents, and if they rushed rashly into the battlefield, they would only give the enemy the opportunity to find an opening for a breakthrough.
The two sides had fought for countless years and neither was stupid, which was why the previous ambush that killed four Territory Lords was a rare achievement for Blue Sky Pass.
Throughout the void, two powerful Wills were engaged in a heated confrontation. One from Blue Sky Pass and one hiding somewhere behind the Black Ink Clan Army.
These two Wills were from the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord had naturally come to the battle. If he did not come, the Old Ancestor could act unconstrained and kill the Territory Lords at will. Thus, each time the Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Pass, the Royal Lord would sit at the back of the army and act to constrain the Human Old Ancestor.
These two were also old enemies who had fought each other numerous times, so they knew each other’s methods very well.
However, generally speaking, these two would not fight directly. Their respective presence only served as a deterrent. They only utilized their Wills to confront one another while making their intent clear, ‘If you dare to come out to the battlefield, there will be bloodshed!’
It was very rare that the two would actually engage in a bitter battle. At their cultivation realm, it was almost impossible that one could kill the other, so a battle would only result in both of them being severely injured. The higher one’s cultivation, the more difficult it was for them to heal from injuries. Thus, they would rather sit back and face each other from afar.
The first major attack on Blue Sky Pass did not have the desired effect; however, the Black Ink Clan was not discouraged. They had learned of the resilience of the Human Race countless times. If it was really so easy to break through the Human defences, they would suspect that there would be some form of trap waiting for them.
After recuperating for a while, the battle resumed.
However, it was not as intense as the first battle. Only small groups of troops fought in minor skirmishes.
After that, it was basically a small fight once every five days, then a big battle once a month. This gave the Humans plenty of time to restore their strength. The Squads who were not involved in the battles could rest and recuperate while holding their positions.
Yang Kai led Dawn out several times, participated in many battles with the Black Ink Clan, and killed numerous enemies.
Two years later, the Black Ink Strength and the Black Ink Clouds outside of Blue Sky Pass began to diminish significantly. After all, no amount of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds could survive the clash of a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters and powerful Black Ink Clansmen.
As usual, it would not take long for the Black Ink Clan to send another large number of cannon fodder and reinforcements to repeat their previous actions.
However, there would generally be a big clash before that happened.
Blue Sky Pass had been waiting for this battle.
Zhong Liang, the overall commander of the operation, summoned all the leaders to the Main Conference Hall. All the Division Commanders, Battalion Commanders, and even Squad Leaders were gathered on his orders.
With everyone’s attention on him, Zhong Liang swept his gaze around as he spoke solemnly, “In three to five days, or at the latest, half a month, the Black Ink Clan will definitely launch a strong attack. We have waited for this battle at Blue Sky Pass for two years. This is the situation we painstakingly prepared for and we must finish it in one decisive blow. Over the years, you must have heard many discussions that happened within the Inner Sanctum. Everything we’ve been arranging has been for this moment. If we win this battle, Blue Sky Pass will have 1,000 years of peace. It is incumbent on everyone to fight as hard as they can. Those who do not give their all, I will personally cut down!”
In this battle, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would handle the Territory Lords, while the Battalion Commanders and Squad Leaders would each provide support while clearing out the weaker opponents.
Zhong Liang straightened his back and declared, “I expect everyone to follow my orders and not try to show off. Don’t think that because you’ve killed one or two Territory Lords, they have suddenly become easy to kill.”
A group of people looked towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai awkwardly coughed, “Why are you looking at me?”
He was standing among a group of Squad Leaders and wondered why Zhong Liang specifically mentioned this and targeted him.
A Squad Leader next to him chuckled lightly, “Who else in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, besides you, has killed a Territory Lord?”
Yang Kai muttered, “I didn’t intend to. There were circumstances, mixed with some opportunities that I just happened to grasp.”
Zhong Liang glared at him from above, “What did you say? Louder. My hearing is impaired. I can’t hear clearly!”
Yang Kai braced himself and said loudly, “Army Commander, I would like to ask, how can you be sure that the Territory Lords will act this time? For the past two years, they have been content to sit back and watch.”
Zhong Liang growled, “It’s exactly because they haven’t done anything for the last two years that they are definitely going to fight this time. The Royal Lord sits as their absolute commander. Now that the Black Ink Clan losses are significant, it is even more important for these Territory Lords to enter the battlefield, even if it is just for appearances. Otherwise, why would they even be here? For sightseeing?”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai responded loudly.
“Shut up if you understand!” Zhong Liang reached out and pointed at him, “If I find out later that you jumped out to try to block a Territory Lord, I’ll make sure you get the punishment you deserve!”
Yang Kai nodded obediently and shouted, “Junior will obey your orders!”
Zhong Liang was satisfied with Yang Kai’s response. He then raised a hand and rays of light shot out from it. One ray was sent to each Squad Leader and Battalion Commander.
“Each of you familiarize yourselves with these and make your preparations, but remember that the situation on the battlefield can change rapidly. Do not force yourselves if you can’t do it. Even if you can’t use this this time, there will be a next time as long as you survive, understand?”
“Yes!” Everyone answered loudly and immediately dispersed to their respective homes.
Zhong Liang distributed two items to the Seventh-Order Leaders, a jade slip and a jade pendant.
The jade slip was clearly marked with a location outside of Blue Sky Pass, while the jade pendant was a Control Jade. This was Blue Sky Pass’ special surprise for the Black Ink Clan Army.
Zhong Liang was right when he said that if this operation was successful, Blue Sky Pass would not see a big war for the next 1,000 years. Thus, everyone took it very seriously.
It took Yang Kai only two days to refine the Control Jade. Obviously, the other Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders were not too far behind.
Everything was ready for the Black Ink Clan Army to attack.
The wait was torturous, but the situation was just as Zhong Liang had anticipated. 10 days later, the Black Ink Clan came out in force, and this time, the Territory Lords, who had been watching for more than two years now, finally joined the battle.
They could not help it. In the two years of fighting, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered a lot of losses. The Royal Lord was still their commander and the Territory Lords could not continue to loiter in the rear. Even though they knew that they could not take down Blue Sky Pass with their current force, they still had to put in the effort to gain something from this.
Naturally, they held no expectation to take Blue Sky Pass in this battle, they only aimed to inflict more damage to the Humans, while the follow-up Black Ink Clan reinforcements were on the way. It would not take long for their fallen troops to be replenished. Afterwards, they could continue to chip away at the Human’s defences and wear down their strength.
The fighting was fierce and intense.
However, this time the battle was obviously different than before. Previously, the Squads of the Western Army did not have a fixed position on the battlefield and basically roamed around freely within a certain range. They would proceed to wherever there were more Black Ink Clansmen to kill.
This time was different though. On close observation, one could see that a Squad was fixed in a certain area of the battlefield. They would not move out of their assigned region as they fought against the Black Ink Clan Army.
Not only the Squads, but also the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters began to lure their opponents to specific areas.
Yang Kai led Dawn to cut through the battlefield, using the Dao of Space to imprison the void and encircle a large area of space.
In this area, there were at least 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen, with the bulk of them being High-Rank Clansmen together with a number of Feudal Lords. These 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen were much more experienced and stronger than the initial Black Ink Clan cannon fodder.
This was natural; after all, the cannon fodder was all dead, and after more than two years of fighting, the number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen had decreased drastically.
Yang Kai was not satisfied and pushed his Space Principles to the limit, encircling more and more Black Ink Clansmen.
Dawn’s strength and domineering attitude finally caught the attention of the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen, who were going towards them.
There were many similar Squads who operated like Dawn, but each had their own way of doing things. Each Squad had a large number of Black Ink Clansmen gathered around them.
The situation was going well, but a few people had some comments.
“Brother Yang, why are you snatching so many?” The Leader of a nearby Squad suddenly sent a message via Divine Sense, sounding annoyed.
This could not be helped. There was a group of Black Ink Clan that was heading for his Squad, but they were trapped by Yang Kai’s Space Principles and immediately drawn towards Dawn.
Yang Kai smiled back and said, “Dawn has more people, so we have to kill more.
The Squad Leader was dumbfounded, “These are just small fry. Brother Yang, even if you want to eat the meat, at least share some soup!”
Yang Kai ignored the request and did not even respond to his request.
The Squad Leader yelled furiously, “You scoundrel! How can you be so selfish?”
The lights on Dawning Light flashed wildly. Even though the team members used the Warship to dodge flexibly, there was no way to avoid all the attacks of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen. With so many Secret Techniques hitting Dawning Light’s shields, they faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Miao Fei Ping reported nervously, “Martial Uncle, the Protective Array won’t last much longer.”
There were too many Black Ink Clansmen around Dawning Light, including many attacking Feudal Lords. Although Dawning Light’s performance was excellent, it could not withstand the intense bombardment of so many enemies. Miao Fei Ping began to sweat as the Black Ink Clansmen closed in.
“How much longer can it last?” Yang Kai asked.
Miao Fei Ping immediately replied, “10 breaths at most!”
After 10 breaths, the Protective Array would be broken, and Dawning Light would have no protection at all. His more than 30 Squad members would be exposed to the Black Ink Clan’s attacks, and it was difficult to say if they could survive such an onslaught.
“Understood!” Yang Kai replied, and instead of expanding the battle further, he quietly fished out the Control Jade, silently pushing his power in preparation to activate it.
Yang Kai was not the only one who did this; all the other Squad Leaders did the same.
Above the battlefield, the Royal Lord hid in a Black Ink Cloud and looked down from above.
As a Royal Lord, his senses were extremely sharp. He could sense that the Humans’ behaviour was a bit unusual. The other Black Ink Clansmen may not have noticed it since they were too focused on their own fights, but he did; after all, he had an overview of the whole situation.
The Human Squads seemed to be splitting the battlefield. Since the beginning of the battle, the Humans avoided moving around and did not seem eager to kill the enemy. This was very different from previous battles.
[The Humans must be up to something!] The Royal Lord had a bad feeling about the situation and felt that the Humans had some kind of scheme. Every Black Ink Clansman had experienced how sly and cunning these Humans were at some point in time.
He was not worried about himself. Before absolute power, all plots and schemes were futile; however, he could not act at will. The aura of the old ghost from Blue Sky Pass was locked on him. If he struck out, he might show an opening and would be hit hard by that old ghost. At their Realm, it would be a huge problem if that happened; therefore, he could not give the Human Old Ancestor this opportunity.
[Still, what are the Humans up to?]
The answer would soon be revealed.
Just as Dawning Light’s shields were about to fail, a Divine Sense transmission in the battlefield exploded in the ears of every Human, “Now!”
It was Zhong Liang’s voice!
Yang Kai, who had been prepared for this, did not hesitate. He pushed the power of the jade in his hand, and it shone with a profound light.
The light shot into empty space and dissipated; however, immediately afterwards, a huge black hole suddenly appeared and rapidly expanded.
In that area, whether it was Dawn or the Black Ink Clansmen, none of them had time to react. The black hole enveloped the surrounding area, and although the Black Ink Clan noticed something bad was happening and wanted to get away, they could not overcome the powerful suction force.
The black hole expanded to its limits in just three breaths of time; then, as quickly as it appeared, it collapsed in on itself and disappeared.
Also disappearing was Dawn Squad and the 3,000 or 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen nearby!
This not only happened to Dawn, but to every Human Squad on the entire battlefield outside Blue Sky Pass. Such scenes repeated one after another. Black holes appeared rapidly, expanded, and then disappeared with all the nearby Humans and Black Ink Clansmen.
As soon as these black holes appeared, the Royal Lord knew exactly why he felt so uneasy.
The Humans actually laid a large number of traps outside Blue Sky Pass. The origin of these traps was the Universe Paradises and the Universe Cave Heavens left behind after the death of the Humans Open Heaven Realm Masters over the years.
The Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens expanded into huge black holes when they were suddenly opened, and perhaps because of Spirit Arrays, they collapsed back and sucked in all the nearby Humans and Black Ink Clansmen.
The Royal Lord could never have imagined that something left behind by a dead person could still have such an effect.
The Black Ink Clan had never encountered such a tactic before, so it was certain that this was something new that the Humans set up in the last 100 years.
But if the Humans could do something like this, why hadn’t they done so before? Why wait until now? The Royal Lord could not figure it out. He only knew that he could still not act right now, even though the losses were most likely going to be catastrophic.
With his strength, he was capable of stopping this. From the appearance of the huge black holes to their disappearances, a few breaths of time would pass. Those who were caught were powerless to resist, but the Royal Lord could have saved them.
However, he did not dare to do so; after all, the Human Old Ancestor was intensely focused on him, like a predator that could lash out at any moment and deal him a fatal blow.
Thus, he could only watch as the Army under his command was devoured, one by one by the numerous black holes.
“Hmph!” In the Inner Sanctum, the Old Ancestor snorted in displeasure. The Royal Lord was truly tolerant. He would rather watch the Black Ink Clan Army suffer than risk his safety.
However, the overall situation had been decided. Blue Sky Pass would definitely usher in a long period of peace, and in the meantime, the Black Ink Clan could only cower in a corner.
The original battlefield suddenly became empty after the sudden appearance and collapse of the black holes. There were some lucky Black Ink Clansmen who did not get caught of course, but they were left confused and disoriented, not sure what to do now.
Without waiting for them to figure it out, powerful Secret Techniques and artifacts shelled them from the four walls, causing them to scurry for cover.
Dawning Light quietly hovered in the air while the thousands of Black Ink Clansmen that were gathered up by Yang Kai’s Space Principles had disappeared.
However, Yang Kai knew that all those Black Ink Clan troops were in this Sealed World, just scattered about. All Dawn needed to do was to find them and kill them one by one.
“Is this a Universe Cave Heaven?” Feng Ying looked around and began to ponder.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “En, it’s a Universe Cave Heaven. I don’t know which Senior left it.”
Feng Ying understood, “The 100-year plan is finally being used, huh? Is this what you guys were gathering for?”
The content of that gathering held by Zhong Liang was not revealed to Feng Ying and the others. The existence of such an important plan involving the peace of Blue Sky Pass for the next 1,000 years had to be kept a tight secret. Feng Ying certainly understood this.
Nonetheless, the existence of these traps was well known; after all, the Inner Sanctum had spent 100 years and a lot of resources creating them. Every Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise that could be used had a large number of Spirit Arrays arranged inside. Even then, it was still impossible to suck in all the Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.
Not only that, but each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise also had a Spirit Array at its entrance, which would send the Black Ink Clansmen being pulled in to random locations.
In other words, besides Dawn, which remained together, the Black Ink Clan that were brought in were scattered all over the place. Not only here, but also in the other Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens. Thus, this gave the Human Squads the opportunity to kill them off, one by one.
After being pulled into such a space, the Black Ink Clansmen’s fate was already sealed.
It was time to hunt!
Yang Kai pushed his power into the jade in his hand. With the power of the Control Jade, he looked in a certain direction and said, “There are many Black Ink Clansmen gathering over there.”
Upon hearing this, the team member in charge of Dawning Light immediately made a slight adjustment to their heading and sailed the ship in the direction Yang Kai had indicated.
Although the Black Ink Clansmen were randomly distributed within this Universe Cave Heaven, there would always be some that were lucky enough to quickly gather together. This was also because Yang Kai had rounded up some 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen this time.
Right now, there were several dozens of Black Ink Clansmen gathered together in the spot Yang Kai pointed out. They were naturally confused when they suddenly appeared in such a strange place and could not understand what had happened.
One Feudal Lord vaguely guessed that this place should be a Small Universe that was left behind when an Open Heaven Realm Human died in the past.
He was thinking that no matter what had happened, he should gather more of his clansmen first. Only if he gathered enough power would he have a chance to break out of the Humans’ plot.
At that moment, he suddenly felt something and turned his head to look in a certain direction. To his horror, he saw a Human Warship speeding towards them.
The Feudal Lord was shocked as he yelled, “It’s that Human Squad!”
On the battlefield, battles were mostly dominated by Human Warships. Now that both Humans and their Warship had been sucked into this place, it spelled their doom!
Hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield would find it hard to defeat a Human Warship, so now there were only a trivial few dozen of them, they would certainly be like appetizers served up on a platter.
The Feudal Lord was quick to understand what was going to happen, so as soon as he saw Dawning Light, he immediately fled in the opposite direction.
But, how could he escape? Dawning Light’s speed had been pushed to the limit in order to ruthlessly kill all the nearby Black Ink Clansmen as soon as possible.
Before the Warship even arrived, powerful attacks were launched and the Black Ink Clansmen fell in droves.
The Feudal Lord was still running wildly when he suddenly felt a figure flash by his side. He turned his head to look and saw a Human youth looking at him with a smile, who then said, “Die early and you’ll be reborn early, why struggle so much?”
As he spoke, the youth summoned a long spear into his hand and with a simple thrust, it swept towards him.
The Feudal Lord was frightened to death and wanted to resist, but no matter what he did, he could not avoid this spear tip as it seemed to seal off the space around him as it approached.
The huge figure exploded mid-air into a bloody black mist. Yang Kai then dashed back and pointed in another direction, “That way!”
With the Control Jade in his hand, the Black Ink Clansmen hiding in the Universe Cave Heaven were like fireflies in the dark night, unable to hide from his detection regardless of how much they tried.
Dawn swiftly hunted down and killed the scattered enemies, meeting little to no resistance.
If the 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen that were swept into this place could gather together, it would be difficult for the Dawning Light to deal with them; however, now that these Black Ink Clansmen were scattered, even if some managed to regroup, there were not many of them. Thus, it was difficult for them to resist Dawn’s assault.
One by one, the Black Ink Clan fell, with Dawning Light almost never stopping, simply killing as it flew around.
This Universe Cave Heaven was not small in area, but it only took Dawn an hour to ruthlessly slaughter all the Black Ink Clansmen that were rounded up by Yang Kai.
During this time, the auxiliary Killing and Trapping Arrays that Blue Sky Pass had set up in advance in this Universe Cave Heaven were not even used; otherwise, it could have been even easier.
After using the power of the Control Jade to search the entire Universe Cave Heaven and ensure that there were no more Black Ink Clansmen left, Yang Kai opened up the portal and led Dawn out.
After leaving the Universe Cave Heaven, the members of Dawn looked around and saw that the entire battlefield was empty and silent. In fact, except for their Squad, no one else was around.
This situation was to be expected though. Although the traps had been triggered, there would always be some enemies that got away; however, the walls and offensive artifacts were not for show and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were too few to meaningfully attack Blue Sky Pass. If they stayed on the battlefield, they would become nothing more than target practice; thus, the only option for them was to escape.
Dawn was very fast in eliminating those that were sucked into the black hole with them. The other Squads were still in the midst of killing their enemies, so they were not out yet.
Yang Kai quickly took over the control of Dawning Light and sailed it in a certain direction. They soon came to a spot in the void, and after a brief survey, he waved his hand and manipulated Space Principles.
Ripples passed through the Void and a portal emerged before he drove Dawning Light through it.
This was a Universe Paradise where a 15-man Squad from the Western Army’s Fourth Division, Sky Battalion, was hunting the Black Ink Clansmen caught up in this place.
The Squad Leader was not as bold as Yang Kai, and it was impossible for the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked into this place to be anywhere close to the 4,000 Dawn had faced; after all, the more Black Ink Clansmen that were sucked in, the more pressure they would be under. Thus, the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked in was trivial, probably less than 1,000 in total.
The Black Ink Clansmen were scattered all over the Universe Paradise though, and the 15-man Squad were able to hunt with their Warship, so there was no risk.
After more than an hour of hunting, about half of their targets had been killed, and now this Squad was about to face a tough fight.
The size of a Universe Paradise was naturally no match for a Universe Cave Heaven. So, although only about 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen were sucked in, these enemies were still somewhat tricky to wipe out. They were scattered not far from each other and within an hour, more than 200 of them had gathered in one place, including 3 Feudal Lords.
Among the 15-man Squad, there were 2 Seventh-Order Masters while the rest were in the Fifth and Sixth-Order. With their Warship’s abilities, it was not impossible for them to take on these 200 Black Ink Clansmen, but there would certainly be some risk. After all, in order to ensure that the plan worked, each Squad Warship had suffered varying degrees of bombardment before the trap was sprung, and its Protective Array had been damaged already.
Thus, the Squad Leader of this Squad chose a more cautious approach to battle, which allowed these 200 Black Ink Clansmen to rally together and pursue them.
Nonetheless, in the direction the Squad was heading, there was a Grand Array set up by Blue Sky Pass, and with the power of the Grand Array, it would be much easier to eliminate these 200 Black Ink Clansmen.
In fact, each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise had several Grand Arrays arranged for this exact purpose.
Dawn was extremely powerful, and had numerous Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it didn’t need to rely on Spirit Arrays when it hunted down their targets.
However, not every Squad was as lucky as Dawn, and not every Warship was a match for Dawning Light.
As the Grand Array got closer and closer, and the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen were about to fall into the trap, a blinding light suddenly shone from up ahead.
The Squad Leader was shocked and thought that they were under attack, but when he stared forward, he saw another Warship.
It was a Warship that was very different from the usual Warships!
Instantly, the Squad Leader reacted and cursed, “Damn thieves, did they come here to compete for kills?”
The next instant, a violent energy wave burst from behind them, and the Black Ink Clansmen, who were chasing after them, screamed in agony.
“It’s Dawn!” Some members of the Squad reacted. Dawning Light was incredibly easy to identify, being much bigger and more powerful than standard Squad Warships. It was a Warship envied by many.
It must have cost an enormous amount of Military Merits to build.
“Squad Leader, what do we do?” Someone asked.
The corners of the Seventh-Order Squad Leader’s brow twitched as he growled through gritted teeth, “Turn us around! Attack!”
A short while later, the dust settled.
The two Squads were gathered in one place, and the two Warships were hovering side by side in mid-air, with a sea of bodies and blood below them.
The Squad Leader looked at Yang Kai helplessly as he protested, “Brother Yang, you’re too greedy. Never mind that you had snatched our prey on the battlefield, now you even came over here to rob us of our kills? Can’t you leave some soup for us?”
Yang Kai replied with annoyance, “Senior Brother, Dawn came to help you kill the enemy, but not only is Senior Brother unappreciative, you’re even complaining now?”
The Squad Leader was annoyed, but he did not know what to say in response. Although they could have killed their enemies without Dawn’s help, it would not have been easy, but after receiving their assistance, they did not even thank them and instead criticized Dawn.
The Squad Leader continued, “Brother Yang, why have you all come here? Have you finished killing the Black Ink Clansmen on your end?”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “We disposed of that trash long ago. As for why we came here… all the portals of the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens were found and opened by me, so I can enter them wherever I want.”
“I forgot about that,” the Squad Leader slapped his forehead. The entire plan Blue Sky Pass set up over the last century was only possible because of Yang Kai. Thus, he knew all the positions of all the hidden Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises.
Yang Kai asked, “Senior Brother, how many Black Ink Clansmen are there in this space? Let’s cooperate to kill them.”
The Squad Leader waved his hand and replied, “There are not many left, just a couple of stray dogs. I don’t need Brother Yang’s help. I saw a few Squads that drew in a significant number of enemies though. Perhaps they are in a bitter fight for their lives. They are the ones who need a team like Dawn to back them up.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and nodded, “If that’s the case, then I’ll leave you to it.”
“Good hunting!” The Squad Leader hastily cupped his fist.
After seeing Dawn leave, the Squad Leader sighed, “We’re both in the Seventh Order, but the difference is too great!”
He had witnessed Yang Kai cut down a Feudal Lord with only a few moves. It was impossible for him to do the same, so he could not help but feel inferior. He was determined that after this battle, he would enter retreat and intensely cultivate. He knew that he could not reach Yang Kai’s level of strength, but he should at least try not to fall too far behind.
A member of his Squad asked, “Squad Leader, there should be a lot more Black Ink Clansmen out there, right? Dawn is so powerful, why didn’t you let them help us kill the enemy?”
Squad Leader glared at him and replied angrily, “If I did that, what would be the point of us being here? To pick up the crumbs they left behind?”
Relying on his mastery over the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was able to easily find the hidden portals on the battlefield; after all, he opened them all by himself and knew the century-old layout of Blue Sky Pass.
However, not one team welcomed them, and they would often politely ask him to leave after an initial battle.
Aboard Dawning Light, Miao Fei Ping was scratching his head as he asked, “Martial Uncle, why are we being treated like pariahs? No one welcomes us.”
Qi Tai Chu slapped him on the back of his head, “You brat! Do you have to ask such an obvious question?”
Yang Kai said with a grin, “Of course no one likes us robbing their Military Merits. The way the Inner Sanctum set up the traps ensures that all Squads are able to handle the enemies that they sucked in. It does not matter if we help them or not. This is different from the previous battles and is a good opportunity for each Squad to harvest Military Merits; thus, they naturally don’t want other Squads to intervene. They also don’t want people to think that they are not strong enough and be ridiculed for nothing.”
Miao Fei Ping suddenly realized and then asked, “So, do we continue?”
“Of course we do,” Yang Kai nodded, “We are not robbing Military Merits, we are just inspecting the battlefield. If they don’t need our help, we will withdraw and go elsewhere. If they need our help, they will ask for it. Fei Ping, you have to remember that in this Black Ink Battlefield, every battle-hardened soldier has their own pride. They can be ungrateful, but we can’t just stand by and not help.”
Miao Fei Ping nodded and replied, “Junior understands.”
As he was talking, Yang Kai suddenly looked in a direction where there seemed to be an abnormal Space Principle fluctuation.
He immediately pushed Dawning Light in that direction and soon arrived at a certain spot. He focused his eyes, only to see that the Void in front of him was like a mirror with a crack in it. From the crack, there was actually the aura of a World flowing out.
He reached out towards the crack and manipulated Space Principles, penetrating the World Barrier to explore the details inside.
Moments later, his expression changed, and he shouted, “Brother Shen, stay here! If any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appears, ask him to come here immediately to blockade this place. Everyone else, follow me inside!”
Shen Ao nodded and left Dawning Light to stand quietly in the void.
Feng Ying asked hastily, “What is it?”
Yang Kai opened the portal carefully using Space Principles, and said through gritted teeth, “There’s a big fish inside.”
Everyone in Dawn looked astonished. The big fish that Yang Kai mentioned must be a Territory Lord.
They never expected that there would be a Territory Lord inside!
Blue Sky Pass had been arranging these traps for 100 years with the Great Pass at the centre, splitting the battlefield into two distinct regions, the inner circle and outer circle. In the inner circle, there were Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens which required one Squad each to take control over. Furthermore, the Control Jades were used to pull only a certain number of Black Ink Clansmen inside to be hunted.
At the inner circle, there shouldn’t have been any Territory Lords, so the safety of the Squads could be assured.
The outer circle of the battlefield was meant for Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords. There were Universe Cave Heavens specially prepared for Territory Lords there as well, and the inside was arranged with very powerful Spirit Arrays that would be enough to threaten these enemy Masters.
No one had expected that a Territory Lord would slip into the inner circle. Yang Kai did not know which Squad was so unlucky as to encounter this Territory Lord, but it was obvious they were not in a good situation.
As they spoke, the portal was opened and Dawning Light entered like a streak of light. Yang Kai closed the portal again with a wave of his hand, but the cracks in the World Barrier could not be smoothed out no matter what. In fact, the cracks were continuing to increase in size, a sign that the Universe Paradise would not hold up for long.
As Dawning Light appeared in this Universe Paradise, it immediately became like a leaf in a violent storm under the violent surges of energy. The thick Black Ink Strength rushed around them and the Protective Barrier began to flash wildly.
Yang Kai stood at the bow of the ship and looked up, only to see a ragged Warship in front of him fleeing in their direction. A huge Black Ink Cloud was chasing after the failing Warship and it was rapidly closing in. The whole Universe Paradise was filled with a strong sense of foreboding.
Inside the Black Ink Cloud was a particularly fierce aura. It was obviously a Territory Lord and hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, including many Feudal Lords.
A Black Ink Clan Secret Technique blasted out from the cloud, hitting the fleeing Warship in front of Dawn, causing great damage.
Dawning Light arrived just in time to witness the Territory Lord attack. A huge palm emerged from the Black Ink Cloud and tried to grab the fleeing Warship.
On the Warship, the Human cultivators struggled to counterattack, but with little effect. The difference in strength was so great that they were helpless to repel the Territory Lord’s attack.
Seeing that the big dark hand was about to grab the Warship, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven standing at the stern of the Warship suddenly roared, “Rise!”
As he roared, a Grand Array was activated, and in an instant, it wrapped around the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen.
The Warship did not stop, but ran straight towards the portal. The Grand Array could not trap a Territory Lord for long, but it might be enough to delay him long enough for the Squad to escape this Universe Paradise.
Then, they saw Dawning Light rapidly approaching.
Feng Ying shouted, “Junior Brother Zhou!”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who had just activated the Spirit Array, looked at them and exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Sister Feng, what are you doing here?”
Feng Ying said, “Junior Brother Yang noticed something unusual here, so he brought us here to have a look. Why is there a Territory Lord here?”
The Junior Brother Zhou looked annoyed as he replied, “He was hiding in the Black Ink Clan Army, concealing his aura. Clearly, he had some ill intentions. He was caught unaware, and pulled into this place before realizing what was happening.”
“Which Territory Lord is he?” Yang Kai asked.
The Junior Brother Zhou replied, “If I’m not mistaken, he should be Zhou Xing.”
Regardless of which Great Pass Theatre they were in, Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords were rare, with there generally being several dozen on each side. The number of Territory Lords was always higher, but not by a wide margin. The two Races had been fighting each other for so many years, so the identities and characteristics of the top Masters had been exposed a long time ago. Thus, the Humans had some knowledge of all the Territory Lords they faced.
Yang Kai silently recalled all the information the Inner Sanctum had published on the Blue Sky Theatre Territory Lords.
Among all of them, Zhou Xing’s strength was not the strongest. He was at most ranked in the middle somewhere, much worse than Hei Yuan for example.
Zhou Xing’s greatest skill was his ability to suppress his own aura. He could perfectly disguise himself as a Feudal Lord and hide within the regular Black Ink Amy. This skill allowed him to easily avoid the Eighth-Order Masters’ eyes, and by doing so, he could seek opportunities to conduct sneak attacks on high-value targets. In all the years of war, several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been seriously injured by Zhou Xing’s sneak attacks.
This time, he hid in the Black Ink Clan Army, disguised as a Feudal Lord, obviously with malicious intentions, but ended up being trapped here by this Squad. It was yet to be determined if it was his bad luck or the Squad’s misfortunes.
“Junior Brother Zhao was killed by him. Subsequently, we relied on the various Grand Arrays to survive until now.” Junior Brother Zhou’s face was full of grief. It was inevitable that they suffered losses when they encountered a Territory Lord. Junior Brother Zhao was one of the two Seventh-Order Masters of this Squad.
“How much time do we have?” Yang Kai asked.
“Brother Yang, you know that the Spirit Arrays arranged in this Universe Paradise were not designed to deal with Territory Lords, not to mention that Zhou Xing has many helpers with him. The Grand Array will be broken in a dozen breaths at most,” reported Junior Brother Zhou.
“Are there any other Grand Arrays available?”
“No.” Junior Brother Zhou shook his head, “We’ve used up all three Spirit Arrays. If not for those three, I’m afraid none of us would have survived till now. Brother Yang, we need to go. Once Zhou Xing breaks free, it will be too late for us to escape.”
Yang Kai looked ahead and said firmly, “When we came in, there were no Eighth-Order Masters available outside, so they must all still be fighting with the other Territory Lords. If we leave now, Zhou Xing will surely follow us, and there will be no one to tie him down once we get outside.
Junior Brother Zhou asked, “What does Brother Yang intend to do?”
Yang Kai said as he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear, “Hold him back! Soon, there will be an Eighth-Order Master available. Even if he ultimately manages to break free from here, there will be someone outside to take care of him.”
Junior Brother Zhou did not hesitate and immediately agreed, “Good, we’ll do as Brother Yang suggests.”
He also knew that Yang Kai was powerful and Dawn Squad was very strong. His Squad alone had no chance to win against a Territory Lord, but together with Dawn, though they might not be able to kill such a Master, holding him down should not be too much of an issue.
As they discussed, the Grand Array began to crack. Yang Kai shouted, “Leave Zhou Xing to me and take care of yourselves. There’s no need to kill all of them, just delay them as long as you can!”
Immediately after, he lunged straight towards the enemy.
The Grand Array shattered, and Zhou Xing roared angrily from within the Black Ink Cloud. He was furious that a trivial Human Squad tried to toy with him with these few Spirit Arrays. The impudence! He resolved to kill these Humans ruthlessly in order to soothe the rage within him.
Since the Humans now had Purifying Black Ink Pills, Zhou Xing knew that he could not corrupt them with Black Ink Strength; thus, he could only kill them.
However, just as he was about to act, a dazzling light rushed towards him. Zhou Xing looked up and was momentarily bewildered.
He began to wonder how this Universe Paradise suddenly had a small round Sun. Above the Sun, was a three-legged bird squawking away. The small Sun was even travelling towards him at a high speed.
Behind the small Sun, there seemed to be a figure that glowed with a dazzling light.
Suddenly, he realized that it was not the Sun, but some ‘Secret Technique’ cast by a Human!
Even a Territory Lord as strong as Zhou Xing could feel the threat posed by this Secret Technique and knew he would suffer if he took it head-on without defending himself.
Therefore, Zhou Xing raised his hands and the dense Black Ink Clouds gathered to form a barrier to block the direction where the small Sun was coming from.
Violent sounds erupted as rampaging energy waves swept over Zhou Xing’s body. The Black Ink Cloud thinned noticeably under the blazing energy that was hot enough to incinerate everything in its path.
However, he was a Territory Lord, so although Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun was powerful, it could not harm the former in any way. On the other hand, the Black Ink Clansmen around Zhou Xing died immediately.
Before Zhou Xing could compose himself, a curtain of spear shadows enveloped him, causing black blood to splash out and drawing a roar from Zhou Xing’s lips.
At the same time, the two Warships launched a volley of attacks from their offensive arrays.
The Black Ink Clansmen were instantly thrown into confusion.
Under the leadership of Zhou Xing, they had continued to chase down the Human Warship until they had nowhere else to run, so how could they now turn around to attack them?
However, moments later, the Territory Lord saw what was happening. Originally there was only one Warship, but now, there were two. Apparently, reinforcements had arrived.
Moreover, the Warship that arrived was significantly larger and more powerful!
The Black Ink Clansmen, in spite of suffering many casualties in the initial attack, remained undaunted. Led by several Feudal Lords, they used their Secret Techniques to counterattack, forcing the two Warships to weave and dodge.
Both the Warship of Junior Brother Zhou and Dawning Light were damaged in the previous battle, particularly their shields which had been seriously drained; thus, they were focused on not being hit again.
This gave the Black Ink Clansman a respite as hundreds of them, led by the Feudal Lords, began to bombard the Warships relentlessly.
The two Warships were forced to constantly manoeuvre around, reducing the intensity of their attacks greatly.
On the other hand, Zhou Xing took hundreds of wounds to his body in a very short time. He tried to dodge the attacks but was unable to do so effectively. He was being attacked by Yang Kai’s Supreme Limitless Spear Art enhanced by his Space Principles, so dodging at such close range was all but futile.
The pain caused Zhou Xing to become increasingly furious and he responded ruthlessly. Since he could not dodge, he gave up trying and attacked instead. In his fury, he threw a punch forward with all his strength.
He wanted to trade wound for wound!
He could sense that the Human attacking him was only a Seventh-Order Master, and since he was a Territory Lord, if he traded wounds with his opponent, he would eventually come out on top.
His punch was very effective, as the Seventh-Order Human was blown far away, coughing up blood in mid-air. Zhou Xing continued with another punch to deliver another painful blow to his attacker.
The other party’s body suddenly flickered, then disappeared.
Zhou Xing’s punch hit nothing but air, causing him to be thrown off balance. Just as he was wondering where his target went, he felt a murderous intent coming from his side.
Turning his head to look, the Seventh-Order Master who had disappeared moments ago appeared right next to him somehow. The Human’s spear was thrust out sharply with a small round Sun at its tip.
Zhou Xing was taken aback but swiftly responded by throwing out his fist.
The small Sun was annihilated, but Zhou Xing was also forced backwards, his fists scorched as he grimaced painfully.
Although he was injured, his enemy was in a far worse state, spewing more fresh blood as he flew backwards for a second time.
The difference in their raw strength could not be compensated for by bravery and persistence alone.
Yang Kai had killed a Territory Lord previously; however, he managed to kill Zhu Feng only because Bai Yi joined forces with him. Both he and Bai Yi were seriously injured in that battle though, despite Zhu Feng having been seriously wounded from the start. Even back in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, Yang Kai was only able to chase after Hei Yuan and fight with him because the latter’s Soul was badly injured.
Although Zhou Xing was not as strong as Hei Yuan, or even Zhu Feng, he was currently at full strength; thus, Yang Kai’s current might was insufficient to kill him.
The good thing was that he only needed to stall for time and not really fight Zhou Xing to the death. A few injuries were not a big deal as long as they did not damage his foundation.
Focusing, Yang Kai kept up his attacks and fought back and forth with Zhou Xing.
Of course, he was frequently on the receiving end, but with his Space Principles, it was impossible for Zhou Xing to kill him with a single blow.
Time passed slowly.
Half an hour later, only one of the two Warships was left.
Junior Brother Zhou’s Warship was badly damaged from the start, and now that it was being attacked by hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, after taking several hits, it finally could not hold on and burst apart.
Before the Warship was destroyed, all the Squad members transferred over to Dawning Light, relying on Feng Ying and the others to cover them during the evacuation. Thankfully, there were no casualties.
The two Squads converged on Dawning Light, but their overall strength did not increase. The reason was that all the artifacts and arrays on Dawning Light were being actively used by their regular personnel. The additional hands allowed them to rotate more frequently to rest, but did not enhance the instantaneous lethality of Dawning Light.
Now, the whole Universe Paradise’s situation was not looking good.
This Universe Paradise was left behind after the death of a Seventh-Order Human Master, so although it had become an independent Sealed World now, it had its limits. Before Dawn entered, there were already cracks in the World Barrier of this Universe Paradise caused by the fallout of Zhou Xing’s attacks.
It was because of those cracks that Yang Kai could peek inside and detect that there was a Territory Lord within. That led to Yang Kai deciding to enter with Dawn to render aid.
Now that Yang Kai and Zhou Xing were engaged in a fierce battle, the violent energy surges caused the entire Universe Paradise to become increasingly unstable. Little cracks could be seen all over and this Universe Paradise would collapse soon.
If they remained within the Universe Paradise when it collapsed, then it was very likely that they would be pulled into the Void. When that happened, there was no telling where they would end up.
It was with this in mind that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to be sent into the Universe Cave Heavens, which were more stable. This way, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and Territory Lords could fight for a longer time without worries. If they were in Universe Paradises, they would collapse not long after they started fighting.
This Universe Paradise was facing the risk of collapsing at any moment.
Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, and was not afraid of the impending collapse. Even if he was really sent to the Void, he would be able to find his way back fairly easily. There was even a chance that he could exile Zhou Xing to the Void and simply leave him trapped there to die alone.
However, there were still two Squads here, so he couldn’t do that.
Thus, after a few more exchanges with Zhou Xing, Yang Kai immediately dashed towards Dawning Light while using the Divine Sense to send a message, “Go! Now!”
After such a long delay, the situation outside should have been settled; thus, there should be a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters available.
Dawning Light had taken up position near the portal, so when Yang Kai’s order came, Junior Brother Zhou immediately took out his Control Jade and shot a light into the sky. The portal opened and Dawning Light sped out, followed closely behind by Yang Kai.
The hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen who were following Dawning Light saw this and followed after with Zhou Xing being the last to leave before the portal closed again.
However, before Zhou Xing could stabilize himself, a bright light came down on him, instantly destroying all his defences and inflicting a huge wound on his body.
Zhou Xing roared in pain and anger, turning his head to look at who had attacked him, only for his eyes to shrink as he shouted, “Zhong Liang!”
Not only was Zhong Liang there, but also Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long. The three of them surrounded him in a triangle. Zhou Xing’s heart sank into the abyss as he knew there was no escape for him.
These three Army Commanders were all peak Eighth-Order Masters.
When the Humans Squads took action, these Eight-Order Masters used their own Control Jades to pull a Territory Lord into their respective Universe Cave Heavens. Even though their strength was greater than the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords, it was impossible to kill their opponent so quickly in a fair fight.
However, Blue Sky Pass had arranged multiple Spirit Arrays in these Universe Cave Heavens, which gave the Eight-Order Masters a significant advantage.
Those Spirit Arrays all cost an enormous amount of resources and were arranged by the Array Great Grandmasters, so any Territory Lord who fell into them would see their strength suppressed.
With their superior strength, geographical advantage, and the assistance of several Spirit Arrays, it was not surprising that Zhong Liang and the others killed their opponents in short order.
The three of them had just emerged from their respective Universe Cave Heavens when they were informed by Shen Ao of what had happened. The only reason they didn’t force their way in was they weren’t certain what kind of repercussions that would cause for those inside the Universe Paradise.
When Dawning Light and Yang Kai appeared, followed by hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, the three Army Commanders swiftly slaughtered the mixed fish before turning their attention to Zhou Xing.
The strength of this Territory Lord was considered average at best, so how could Zhou Xing be a match for the three Army Commanders? Zhong Liang and the other two of them did not even utter a word before using their respective Secret Techniques to attack Zhou Xing from all sides.
Not far away, Yang Kai and others watched from afar aboard Dawning Light. Not only them, but many other Squads, who had already cleaned up their opponents, observed the show. These Squads had shown up one after another, surrounding the whole battlefield layer after layer.
“Zhou Xing is doomed,” Feng Ying said softly. Under the combined attacks of three Army Commanders, even the strongest Territory Lords would not be able to survive, so Zhou Xing’s fall was simply a matter of time.
Yang Kai’s attention was not on Zhou Xing and the three Army Commanders though, but instead focused on somewhere far away.
Hundreds of thousands of kilometres away, powerful explosions were taking place. For him to be able to sense the shockwaves this far away meant that the strength of those fighting was overwhelming.
Outside Blue Sky Pass, there were no forces close to where the battle was taking place; thus, it was obvious the fight in the distance was between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord.
It was unknown when and how the two began to fight. At least Yang Kai did not notice it before now. However, even Eighth-Order Masters could not intervene easily in this kind of battle. Thus, Yang Kai also did not think of going to watch.
The Royal Lord and Old Ancestor were old rivals, and this battle was likely to end in a mutual loss.
Portals continued to open around them, and from those portals emerged the victorious Squads. Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters also appeared one after another, while some Territory Lords appeared immediately after them.
It was not that these Territory Lords managed to kill the Eighth-Order Masters to get out of the trap; after all, there were Spirit Arrays arranged in the Universe Cave Heavens to make it impossible for them to escape even if they killed the Eighth-Order Division Commanders fighting against them. However, when the fight dragged on for too long, the Universe Cave Heaven itself would become unstable, making a collapse imminent.
Therefore, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had no choice but to open the portal to leave so as not to get caught up in the collapse. When that happened, the Territory Lord could naturally follow them out.
Those Territory Lords who were lucky to have survived all immediately used whatever means they had to escape. They knew that after the Humans had activated these traps, which took them 100 years to set up, the Black Ink Clan was done for. Sticking around was akin to courting death; thus, they had to escape. It was only by escaping that they stood a chance to survive and recover from this disaster; therefore, they held no desire to fight anymore and only sought the opportunity to flee.
Of course, those Eighth-Order Heaven Realm Masters who failed to kill their respective opponents inside their assigned Universe Cave Heaven would not let their prey go easily and continued to chase them across the void.
Under the attacks of the three Army Commanders, Zhou Xing was only able to last less than a half cup of tea’s time before Ding Yao smashed his head with his fist.
More and more Squads emerged from different portals, largely intact. Thankfully, Junior Brother Zhou Squad’s unlucky encounter was a unique case.
Also appearing were many lone Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, appearances of which meant the fall of a Territory Lord.
It was a glorious result.
The Human Race had been resisting the Black Ink Clan for so many years, and the two sides had fought countless times, but never had there been such a decisive victory.
They could see that about 20 Territory Lords had been killed, and that was not counting those who were still fighting and had not shown up. There would certainly be more as time passed.
In the past, killing more than 20 Territory Lords in one battle was simply unimaginable. The most Territory Lords that had been killed in a single battle was 5, and that was at the cost of 2 Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
Considering the strength of the Territory Lords, while it wasn’t too difficult for the Eighth-Order Masters to defeat them, killing them was a much more difficult task.
If not for the Universe Cave Heaven traps, which had been set up in advance, how could Blue Sky Pass achieve such overwhelming success?
Yang Kai was also overwhelmed. When he first helped Blue Sky Pass find the portals for the Universe Paradise and Universe Cave Heaven, he knew that they could give Black Ink Clan a nasty surprise, but he did not expect it to be to this magnitude.
If Blue Sky Pass had such great success, then Yin-Yang Pass would also have good results; after all, he also helped them to open up the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises around their Great Pass.
Even so, the news of this enormous defeat would certainly be circulated around the Black Ink Clan. Thus, it was unrealistic for Yin-Yang Pass to expect results of this magnitude.
With so many Territory Lords killed, there were naturally hundreds of times more dead and injured weaker Black Ink Clansmen.
One battle had changed the entire course of the war! The Black Ink Clan in the Blue Sky Theatre had suffered an enormous defeat. What awaited Blue Sky Pass, was a period of peace for at least 1,000 years or more, during which the Black Ink Clan would not be able to attack.
However, was this enough to satisfy Zhong Liang and the other higher-ups?
This was the best opportunity for them to add insult to injury to the Black Ink Clan.
Thus, two days later, Blue Sky Pass gathered 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and 20,000 troops led by several Army Commanders to advance deeper into the void towards the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
Blue Sky Pass did not go all out this time, still leaving behind a large contingent to watch over the Great Pass. Additionally, there were some Universe Cave Heaven fights that had not yet concluded that required a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to watch over.
30 Eighth-Orders and a 20,000-strong Army was almost half of the combat strength of Blue Sky Pass. They could not take out more soldiers.
Since Yang Kai had brought Purifying Light, Zhong Liang and the others had been planning for this crusade; however, any foray into the enemy’s territory was of great importance and would take time to prepare for.
Now that the opportunity had come, they were eager to push back against the enemy, who was seriously weakened, and aim for the Royal City!
Naturally, Blue Sky Pass held little expectation that this campaign would be enough to wipe out the Black Ink Clan entirely. As long as the Royal Lord was not dead, the Royal City would not fall. This was just a kind of experiment for the future. At the same time, it was also to establish a precedent and prove that it was possible to take the fight to the Black Ink Clan!
This was a long-established plan; however, except for the Eighth-Order Commanders, no one below them in rank knew about it. Thus, after hearing about the crusade, numerous Open Heavens Realm Masters were very excited.
The Human Race have been trapped in various Great Passes for years, and finally, they had the chance to launch a real counter-attack.
Blue Sky Pass had clearly planned this crusade for a long time. It was impossible to come up with such a plan in just two days.
The Expeditionary Force was led by two Army Commanders, Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long. Two Purifying Black Ink Battleships were deployed along with about 1,500 Warships of various Ranks.
The huge force set off from Blue Sky Pass as soon as preparations were completed.
Dawn was also part of the Expeditionary Force, its Squad members taking turns to operate Dawning Light while the ones off duty spent their time in their cabins to restore themselves.
The damage to Dawning Light had been repaired by the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners before they departed Blue Sky Pass, so it was as good as new.
However, for this crusade, they were not taking many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners with them; thus, if a Warship got damaged, it might not be able to be repaired in short order.
This crusade was very different from guarding the Great Pass. When backed by Blue Sky Pass, the Humans could fight with confidence and without fear. Even if their Warship was damaged, logistical support was close by. However, a crusade was not the same, as the supply lines and logistics to support the soldiers would be stretched out over a much larger area.
If this matter was not addressed, it would become a major constraint for this crusade.
However, this shortfall could not be satisfactorily resolved. If all the available Array Masters and Artifact Refiners were mobilized for the crusade, they would require a large contingent of soldiers to protect them, reducing the crusade’s overall fighting capability.
Meanwhile, this crusade was more of an attempt to make a statement rather than a concerted effort to eliminate the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
Half a month after the Expeditionary Force left Blue Sky Pass, it fought its first major battle with a Black Ink Clan Army of nearly 300,000!
The 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen that had previously attacked Blue Sky Pass were all basically dead or severely wounded, so these 300,000 were assembled from the Black Ink Clan’s reserves.
This was the Black Ink Clan’s modus operandi, sending in wave after wave of soldiers to fight a protracted battle. Each time a siege happened at a Great Pass, the Humans would have to endure many waves of attacks by the subsequent enemy reinforcements, and this time was no exception.
However, the collapse of the Black Ink Clan’s Main Army on the front line was too sudden. Blue Sky Pass’ 100-year plan was a huge trap that sucked the Black Ink Clan Army into numerous Universe Paradises and Cave Heavens, where they were mercilessly slaughtered.
The reinforcement army that came from the Black Ink Clan did not get the news in time and was led by a sole Territory Lord as they flew towards Blue Sky Pass.
When they encountered each other, the leading Territory Lord obviously was not aware of what had happened and was caught completely off guard.
Of the 300,000 reinforcements, nearly 200,000 were cannon fodder while only 100,000 were High-Rank or above. Besides the lone Territory Lord, the strongest Masters among the troops were the Feudal Lords.
Such a lineup was no match for the elite soldiers of the Expeditionary Force.
The Territory Lord quickly realized that something was amiss and immediately ordered all the Low-Rank cannon fodder to charge towards the Expeditionary Force while he fled at the first opportunity. He did not even bother about the rest of his 100,000 troops.
It was another great victory for the Humans. The 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army was overwhelmed. With no Territory Lords to lead and shelter them, there was no one to fight off the 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Thus, the Warships just sailed forward in a straight line and mowed down the scattered Black Ink Clansmen.
They took just one day to defeat this reinforcement army. The Expeditionary Force then continued to advance undeterred, with its sights set on the Royal City.
Along the way, any Black Ink Clansmen that they encountered were slaughtered.
After another month, they arrived at the first territory controlled by a Territory Lord.
This was one of the outermost Territory Lord territories, so the one assigned here was naturally not very powerful as he would be the first to bear the brunt of any Human attacks.
In fact, this Territory Lord’s domain had been attacked by Humans before. The last time the Old Ancestor led a large army to attack this territory, Yang Kai was living here with Nu Yan.
According to the limited information available to Blue Sky Pass, the owner of this territory was named Gou Wu.
Gou Wu was dead though, killed by an Eighth-Order Division Commander of the Southern Army in one of the Universe Cave Heavens outside of Blue Sky Pass.
Thus, Gou Wu’s territory was leaderless.
As the Expeditionary Force marched on, it was inevitable that news of their advance spread; however, they did not meet any real form of resistance. Even Gou Wu’s territory was essentially unprotected by the Black Ink Clan. There were some Black Ink Clansmen who were brave enough to attack the Expeditionary Force, but many realized that it was suicidal and simply fled deeper into Black Ink Clan territory.
It only took a few hours for the Expeditionary Force to capture Gou Wu’s home territory. Although they killed many, those were mostly Serfs and Low-Rank Clansmen.
This was only to be expected. Most of Gou Wu’s forces were deployed to participate in the siege of Blue Sky Pass and were thus already dead. When those who were left behind saw the advancing Expeditionary Force, they naturally knew that whoever was sent to Blue Sky Pass had been annihilated. Thus, those that could immediately turned around and ran for their lives.
The Expeditionary Force did not stop after they captured this area. Both Ding Yao and Zhong Liang knew that speed was of the essence, so only a small number of men were assigned to clean up the battlefield while the rest of the army continued on.
The so-called battlefield cleanup was nothing more than plundering resources.
It was just like what Yang Kai had done in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain. A Territory Lord’s home territory was the most prosperous place in every region. It usually had a lot of stores and cultivation resources that the Expeditionary Force would not want to miss out on.
Yang Kai also stayed behind.
However, he was not interested in plundering resources as they were not attractive to him anymore. The resources in his Small Universe were already inexhaustible to him.
The reason he stayed was to acquire a sub-nest.
Some time ago, he brought Miao Fei Ping to a Feudal Lord’s territory and moved the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, but it withered away soon after. It was obvious that a mature Black Ink Nest could not be moved easily. It was like a big tree, so cutting its roots to move it would kill it.
If he could get an unhatched sub-nest and nurture it in his Small Universe, it might be different.
Feng Ying also stayed and acted as his protector since Yang Kai was vulnerable when his consciousness was connected to the Black Ink Nest. There would be trouble if a hidden Black Ink Clansman jumped out and attacked him.
Feng Ying frowned as she watched Yang Kai enter the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The aura inside the Black Ink Nest made her feel extremely uncomfortable and even a bit nauseous. If she did not have to stand guard for Yang Kai, she would never have gotten close to such a place.
As Yang Kai walked along, he soon came to the central chamber.
Yang Kai pondered and appeared hesitant to act.
To be honest, although he had been inside Black Ink Nests before, and had even taken advantage of their strange network to defeat many Feudal Lords by destroying their consciousnesses, he still did not understand how to hatch a sub-nest. After all, Zha Gu never told him about it.
Obviously, hatching a sub-nest was a function of a Territory Lord Black Ink Nest and required a certain amount of resources, but as to the exact process, Yang Kai was clueless.
In front of Yang Kai was the Black Ink Pool, where Black Ink Strength tumbled and surged as if it were an Ominous Beast.
Yang Kai opened his Small Universe and used his own World Force as a bridge to connect his consciousness with that of the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness to investigate a little.
To his surprise, he did not enter the strange space this time. It was as if his whole body was one with Black Ink Nest, and he could see the state of Black Ink Nest as if it were his own.
Yang Kai instantly understood that different locations of the Black Ink Nest had different purposes. This place, where the Black Ink Pool was located, was where the Black Ink Clansmen would be bred and sub-nests created.
[To think it’s this simple!]
With an idea in mind, Yang Kai immediately began to work, taking a large amount of resources from his Small Universe and injecting them into the Black Ink Pool.
The Black Ink Strength inside the Black Ink Pool tumbled more and more fiercely, and as the vast amount of resources disappeared, the abundant energy was greedily absorbed by the Black Ink Nest.
After a few moments, the walls of the chamber, which were fleshy, seemed to form a tumour. The tumour rapidly grew and the wall suddenly broke open, and a wet, beast-like Black Ink Clansman came out, trembling.
Pa pa…
More tearing sounds rang out as the chamber’s flesh walls soon hatched more than a dozen Black Ink Clansmen of different forms.
Feng Ying felt a stinging chill as she watched all this. Although she knew that the Black Ink Nest gave birth to Black Ink Clansmen, no Human had actually witnessed the process before.
These Black Ink Clansmen were not entirely hatched by Yang Kai. They had not been fully formed before he entered this place, and thus, had not hatched. After Yang Kai injected resources into the Black Ink Pool, their development was accelerated and they managed to hatch.
The newly hatched Black Ink Clansmen were not much of a threat, not even qualified to be cannon fodder, so Feng Ying flicked her longsword and the wave of Sword Qi killed them all on the spot. She then shouted, “Squad Leader!”
Yang Kai opened his eyes and saw the situation around him, and immediately responded, “I’ll change my approach.”
It was his first time trying to create a Black Ink Nest, and he was not sure how to do it, so he accidentally hatched a dozen Black Ink Clansmen.
However, after he made some adjustments, the fleshy tumour wall no longer broke open, and no more Black Ink Clansmen were born. Instead, the entire Black Ink Pool was filled with rich power and stirred more and more.
Feng Ying felt that it was a pity for such a large amount of resources to be sacrificed to the Black Ink Pool.
Blue Sky Pass had only become affluent in the recent several dozen years, after Yang Kai introduced the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. In the past, cultivation resources were very tight in every Great Pass so they had to save as much as they could, whenever they could.
She was used to living in poverty, so she cringed when she saw Yang Kai throwing away resources in such a manner.
However, she also knew that Yang Kai had his own reasons. If he could get a Black Ink Nest, it would definitely be of great use. The interoperability between the Black Ink Nest and the Black Ink Clan might even allow them to spy on the Black Ink Clan without having to leave their own territory.
It was not certain how many resources were put into the Black Ink Pool, but after a few days, it suddenly trembled as the water swirled. Something was about to emerge from it.
Feng Ying looked over and a few moments later, a small and exquisite Black Ink Nest emerged from the churning water.
At the same time, Yang Kai also eased what he was doing and looked at the little Black Ink Nest that spawned from the Black Ink Pool. He exhaled gently when he realized that his efforts were not in vain.
Although he had succeeded in obtaining a sub-nest, Yang Kai was not sure if it would work given the special connection between the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests.
Even so, he had to try it out to be sure.
After putting the sub-nest into his Small Universe, Yang Kai did not rush to hatch it. He just temporarily placed it somewhere isolated.
A little while later, he, along with Feng Ying, left the place.
“Squad Leader, do you intend to destroy the Black Ink Nest?” Feng Ying asked.
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I can’t leave it for the Black Ink Clan to use.”
Feng Ying flicked out her sword, sending out a flying slash that split the Black Ink Nest in half in an instant. Rich Black Ink Strength gushed out from the two halves and it began to wither away.
Yang Kai kept checking up on the sub-nest in Small Universe, and after a moment, he could not help but sigh, “I thought as much.”
The sub-nest that he had spent a lot of resources to obtain withered rapidly after the Territory Lord Black Ink Nest was destroyed. Although he had expected this outcome, he still felt disappointed.
It seemed that the connection between this Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests bred from it was unbreakable, and not even moving it to his Small Universe could isolate it. If the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest connected to it was destroyed, the Low-Rank Black Ink sub-nests would not be spared either.
It was only when the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was left in place, that Yang Kai would be able to preserve the sub-nest.
However, this was obviously unrealistic. No matter how strong the Expeditionary Force was, they would not be able to fully eliminate all Black Ink Clansmen around Blue Sky Pass. As long as the Black Ink Clan here had not been completely annihilated, leaving any Black Ink Nest around would only benefit the Black Ink Clan.
After composing himself, Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to check the area and ascertained that this place was already empty. His allies who had stayed behind to collect resources had already left.
Thus, he and Feng Ying used the Universe Transference Law to return to Dawning Light.
For a time, the Expeditionary Force’s momentum was unstoppable. As it marched on, the Black Ink Clan was unable to form any effective resistance against its overwhelming power, and most fled before they even arrived.
Half a year after the Expeditionary Force’s initial sortie, they had captured four domains owned by Territory Lords. They had also destroyed four Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and swept clean several dozen Feudal Lord Fiefs.
This was when the Expeditionary Force advanced in a straight path. It had to be said that they could have achieved much more if they were willing to take some detours.
After six months, the Expeditionary Force finally encountered a tough battle.
Three Territory Lord domains away from the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan once again gathered an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands. This army fought the Expeditionary Force with dogged determination.
The Black Ink Clan’s counterattack became fiercer as the Expeditionary Force marched deeper into their territory. This Human incursion was a huge insult to their pride. They had always been the ones to attack. This was the first time in countless years that the Humans had attacked them so close to the Royal City.
These three Territory Lord’s domains were all that was left before the Humans could assault the Royal City. It would be a great embarrassment for the entire Black Ink Clan if their Royal City was infringed upon.
Although many Territory Lords died during the most recent siege of Blue Sky Pass, they were not totally annihilated. The original number of Territory Lords was greater than the number of Eighth-Order Humans. Taking into account those who were not deployed, and those who had escaped from Blue Sky Pass though, there were at least 40 Territory Lords still alive.
The Black Ink Clan Army, led by more than 20 Territory Lords, stood in front of the Expeditionary Force.
The two sides fought nearly 100 battles in just three months. Each side incurred losses of varying degrees. The resilience and determination of the Expeditionary Force shocked the Black Ink Clan, and many were killed in this defensive battle. Still, they continued to regroup, attack, and suffer over and over again without any hesitation.
The Black Ink Clan had a huge advantage in terms of location. Their reinforcements did not have to travel far, so they could easily gather together from all sides and even look for opportunities to surround the Expeditionary Force.
The battle raged throughout this Territory Lord’s domain, and it was so bloody that this vast stretch of the void soon turned into a massive grave for the Black Ink Clan.
It was not until a year later that the Territory Lord’s domain was completely conquered. In that year of battle, more than a million Black Ink Clansmen died. The nearby void was literally covered in thick Black Ink Strength, and huge Black Ink Clouds blotted out the sky.
Other than the legions of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder that were killed, two more Territory Lords had fallen in this year-long battle.
As the remnants of the Black Ink Clan retreated to the next Territory Lord domain, and the Expeditionary Force continued to advance, it was only to be expected that the Humans would be greeted by fiercer counterattacks and resistance.
This was similar to the situation that Yang Kai encountered when he wreaked havoc in the Yin-Yang Theatre. The deeper he went into Black Ink Clan territory, the more concentrated the enemy resistance became.
The Expeditionary Force set up a temporary camp on a massive universe fragment in the domain of the recently conquered Territory Lord domain. The Array Masters arranged a massive Grand Array to isolate the surrounding Black Ink Strength so that the soldiers could rest and recuperate.
30 Eighth-Order Division Commanders, led by Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long, gathered in one of the largest tents.
Yang Kai was summoned and saluted before looking at the two men sitting in front, “What are your orders, Seniors?”
Ding Yao said, “How many Universe Arrays are needed to set up a direct link to Blue Sky Pass from here?”
The Universe Array was an extremely convenient tool that allowed cultivators to use the Universe Transference Law to return to it any time they wanted. As long as they were in the same World, there was, theoretically, no limit to the distance one could traverse. However, there were still limits to what individual cultivators could endure.
This place was very far away from Blue Sky Pass. Even so, those from Blue Sky Pass could still use the Universe Arrays aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to communicate with the Expeditionary Force. However, if a cultivator really tried to teleport back directly, not many of them would be able to survive the stresses of the transit through the Void. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master faced the risk of instant death if they attempted it. Perhaps only the Eighth-Order Masters could safely accomplish this.
Thus, there had to be a transit point set up using another Universe Array.
Yang Kai was the only one capable of doing this, which was why the Eighth-Order Masters summoned him.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before answering, “Considering the endurance limits of those in the Fifth Order, two should be enough.”
Ding Yao nodded and replied, “As expected.”
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat as he asked, “Isn’t the Expeditionary Force continuing?”
Ding Yao shook his head, “We can’t. Although the Black Ink Clan suffered huge losses, we’ve also suffered casualties. The Expeditionary Force soldiers need to take Purifying Black Ink Pills every time they fight against the Black Ink Clan. After such a long crusade, the Purifying Black Ink Pill stock is running low. The Warships have also suffered varying degrees of damage, which could not be repaired in the heat of battle. Additionally, there are other considerations, so this crusade has to stop here.”
Yang Kai understood all these issues and had also anticipated this happening sooner or later. In fact, those in the Expeditionary Force with a little bit of foresight were aware that they were at the limit of what they could do so far away from Blue Sky Pass. Casualties would begin to rapidly climb if the Expeditionary Force advanced any further.
Additionally, the closer they got to the Royal City, the more intense the Black Ink Clan’s resistance would become. Blue Sky Pass’s forces could not bear such losses.
Although the crusade was not completely successful, it was still a great victory for the Humans to take the fight to the Black Ink Clan.
Privately, the soldiers were discussing when the Expeditionary Force would withdraw, but there were many different opinions and no definite conclusions; after all, only the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had the authority to decide such matters. A Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai did not have the authority to discuss such matters with the Eighth-Order Masters.
However, what Ding Yao said seemed to indicate that he did not intend to withdraw. If they were to withdraw, why bother arranging more Universe Arrays?
Yang Kai suddenly realized something and asked, “Sirs, do you intend to permanently occupy the ground we’ve taken and reduce the territory controlled by the Black Ink Clan?”
Liang Yu Long smiled and said, “You’re a quick one. En, we intend to hold our position here, expanding our territory while reducing the Black Ink Clan’s. The Expeditionary Force has spent so much time and paid so much to gain such a large swath of territory, how could we give it up just like that? The Expeditionary Force will not move forward, but we will also not retreat. We will build a forward outpost here and repel any Black Ink Clansmen that dare to enter its range. The Black Ink Clan must be seething to have lost so much territory. Just by the losses of the Black Ink Clan after the battles, it would take them over 1,000 years to rebuild their forces. As long as the Expeditionary Force is here though, there is no way the Black Ink Clan can completely restore their foundation.
Yang Kai was shocked by the boldness of these Eighth-Order Masters.
By doing this, the Black Ink Clan would surely have hard times ahead. Not only would they lose almost half of their territories, but all the resources of those territories would be denied to them. Without those resources, rebuilding their army would take twice as long.
Thus, even if the Expeditionary Force was not as powerful as the whole of Blue Sky Pass, as long as they held their ground here, they would be able to restrict the restoration of the Black Ink Clan in this Theatre.
Yang Kai even predicted that the Expeditionary Force would continue to launch attacks from time to time in order to hamper the Black Ink Clan’s recovery efforts.
When the time was right, assaulting and conquering the Royal City was certainly a possibility. Such a glorious goal could not be accomplished overnight though and would take many years of effort.
Compared to a direct attack on the Royal City, this tactic was much slower, but it was more secure and assured. Furthermore, the current situation did not allow the Expeditionary Force to continue their march forward. Their logistics could not keep up and the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force needed to rest and recuperate just as much as the Black Ink Clan.
Blue Sky Pass only had some 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, so building a forward outpost here would spread its forces thin. On top of that, the Universe Arrays that needed to be set up between the two had to be guarded, which would consume more manpower.
Even so, these were none of Yang Kai’s concern as the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be the ones working out the details.
What he needed to do now was find suitable locations for the two Universe Arrays, and then link the Expeditionary Force and Blue Sky Pass together, to ensure that they could support each other rapidly.
That was the reason the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had summoned him to the meeting.
A universe fragment inside a certain Territory Lord’s domain, which was captured, became the forward base of Blue Sky Pass.
Although the crusade was over for now, the great war with the Black Ink Clan would not stop anytime soon. The Expeditionary Force had advanced in a straight line, capturing any Black Ink Clan territories along the way; however, those on either side of their advance could not be ignored.
That meant that they had disregarded a lot of potential enemies, who were now technically behind their lines.
If the Expeditionary Force were to withdraw, they would not need to pay attention to these enemies; however, now that they wanted to hold their position here and establish a forward base, they had to go back and clear out those territories.
At the very least, the forward base had to be protected from a Black Ink Clan siege on all sides. The Black Ink Clan had lost a lot of resources and manpower in this battle, and with less than 40 Territory Lords left, which was basically half of their previous total, they had pulled back most of their forces to protect the Royal City and no longer dared to move around freely.
Thus, while the forward base was surrounded by Black Ink Clansmen, they were mostly stragglers and weaklings. The Humans only needed to spend a little time and effort to clear up all those Black Ink Clansmen behind them.
It was foreseeable that clearing the Black Ink Clansmen between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base would be the next big task required of Blue Sky Pass.
The forward base was soon bustling with activity.
Several Warships began to deploy to certain locations in the void and formed a defence perimeter.
Then, a remote area was selected and several Warships descended to ensure that it was safe.
After a few moments of searching around, a depression in a mountain valley was identified.
There were countless such places like this in the void and this valley was very well hidden, making it suitable for setting up a Universe Array. Obviously, even if the Black Ink Clan were to pass by this place, they would not be able to find anything without intentionally searching for it.
Furthermore, if the Universe Array was really set up here, it would be covered by Spirit Arrays and guarded by soldiers. Thus, if there was an attack, reinforcements would soon be able to come and provide support.
The Warships were led by Dawning Light, and two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Division Commanders went along just in case they were needed.
Yang Kai began arranging the Universe Array while the Array Masters who came along with him began to set up various Spirit Arrays around the mountain valley. Some for cover, some for protection, and various other kinds of support and auxiliary purposes.
In the past, Blue Sky Pass did not have the number of resources necessary to engage in such an endeavour; after all, Spirit Arrays of this size and quality required a huge amount of resources. The more powerful the Spirit Array, the more resources were needed. In the past, Blue Sky Pass was so poor that it could not do these things; but now, it was different. Apart from the resources collected from their previous conquests, they could now easily mine more from the vast territory they had occupied.
After the work was completed, everyone left their Imprints on the Universe Array and an Eighth-Order Master and a Battalion worth of soldiers stayed behind to guard it while the rest continued to the next location.
Taking into account the capacity of those Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, only two Universe Arrays were required.
A few months later, the second Universe Array was completely set up, connecting Blue Sky Pass to the forward base. Cultivators only needed to leave their Imprints in each Universe Array and they could quickly move between the two places.
Of course, this meant that all the soldiers had to first leave their Imprints in the two Universe Arrays in transit to facilitate future use. The easiest way to do this was to have the Eighth-Order Division Commanders leave their Imprints first, then for them to shuttle the weaker cultivators back and forth between the Universe Arrays.
An Eighth-Order Master’s Small Universe was large enough to carry a large amount of Open Heaven Realms Masters; thus, all the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass could quickly leave their marks on the new Universe Arrays.
Still, this was not something that Yang Kai needed to think about as it would be left to the Eighth-Order Masters to handle.
After completing the second Universe Array, Yang Kai returned to Blue Sky Pass.
This could not be helped. When Zhong Liang, who stayed behind at Blue Sky Pass, sent a message for Yang Kai to return, Yang Kai had already departed to set up the Universe Arrays. Thus, the message had not reached him until now.
Yang Kai hastily returned to Blue Sky Pass and reported to Zhong Liang, where he was then told about what had happened.
“Martial Uncle Lu has disappeared?” Yang Kai was extremely surprised.
The Martial Uncle Lu he was referring to was Lu An of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was a Western Army Division Commander, and due to their shared background, he had taken care of Yang Kai since he came to Blue Sky Pass.
Although Lu An was old, his cultivation was high; thus, Yang Kai could not understand how he had just ‘disappeared’.
“Come with me,” Zhong Liang did not explain. He just waved for Yang Kai to follow him outside.
Soon the two of them left the gates.
The battlefield from the previous war had been cleaned up, and now the area outside Blue Sky Pass was empty. No one could have imagined from this scene that just two years ago the Black Ink Clan Army had come in full force and engaged Blue Sky Pass in a huge battle.
When he arrived, Yang Kai was immediately drawn to a small crack in the Void in front of him, and after a moment of observation, he could not help but frown.
Zhong Liang explained, “There was a Universe Cave Heaven here, I don’t know if you remember.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I remember.”
All the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass were personally found and opened by him, and then filled with traps; thus, Yang Kai naturally had some memory of them.
Zhong Liang continued, “Your Martial Uncle Lu was responsible for this Universe Cave Heaven. We do not know who his opponent was, but he was likely quite strong. Their battle was still ongoing when the Expeditionary Force departed, but six months after the Expeditionary Force departed, this Universe Cave Heaven suddenly collapsed and a Void Crack formed. Thereafter, your Martial Uncle Lu and his opponent were nowhere to be seen.”
Yang Kai said with a frown, “Martial Uncle Lu and that Territory Lord must have been caught up in it and dragged into the Void.”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Exactly, that old fart is a stubborn one. Most likely, he was unwilling to let that Territory Lord escape, which is why they ended up in this situation. This Void Crack was quite spacious when it was first formed, so I went inside to investigate, but as you know, the Void is incredibly chaotic and I became disoriented the instant I entered. I could not find any trace of your Martial Uncle Lu, so I have no choice but to withdraw while I still could. After so long, and with the Void Crack here close to healing, I’m afraid that your Martial Uncle Lu might never come back.”
“I’ll go in to find him!” Yang Kai stepped forward.
“Are you sure?” Zhong Liang looked concerned.
Yang Kai grinned and said, “This Junior will be right back!”
Thereafter, he manipulated Space Principles and plunged into the small Void Crack.
In the Void, chaos and void turbulence raged.
Yang Kai silently pushed his Space Principles to swim against the currents, leaving a trail of his aura behind along the way.
At first, everything was calm, but as he swam deeper, disruptions in the turbulence began to appear. Yang Kai examined these traces carefully and realized that they should be remnants of a battle between Masters.
It was obviously the result of the fight between Martial Uncle Lu and a certain Territory Lord.
Zhong Liang had come in before and was confused at the sight, but to Yang Kai, these traces were the best clues to find his targets.
Following the traces, he began to search for them.
This section of Void was extremely dangerous because it had been greatly disturbed, making it even more chaotic than normal, with no semblance of direction or time. In this damned place, one would never know where he was or how much time he had spent there. Perhaps one could spend thousands of years inside the Void, only to emerge and find that but a brief moment had passed in the outside world. Changes within the Void were highly unpredictable.
Only someone like Yang Kai, who was well versed in the Dao of Space, could find some kind of order in this damned place.
Using Space Principles, he made use of his Divine Sense, and was able to monitor his surroundings as he searched.
After an unknown span of time, Yang Kai suddenly felt a disturbance and zoomed off in a certain direction.
In no time, he came to a Void turbulence and sensed a corpse floating and sinking into it.
The corpse was covered with wounds and there was a fatal wound in its head. The expression on its face looked like it was glaring in disbelief before its death.
It was the corpse of a Black Ink Clansman!
Yang Kai was relieved to see that this corpse was the Territory Lord’s who had fought against Lu An. The fact that his corpse was here meant that Lu An had won.
After carefully identifying the Territory Lord’s corpse, Yang Kai recognized that this guy should be one of the top five strongest Territory Lords in the Blue Sky Theatre, on par with Hei Yuan from the Yin-Yang Theatre.
Now, it made sense why Lu An, a senior Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, could not take him down quickly even with the geographical advantages.
In fact, Lu An did not have to be so determined to kill this Territory Lord. As early as when the plan was being implemented, Zhong Liang and others had explained that if they could not win the fight quickly, then should escape before the Universe Cave Heaven collapsed; otherwise, they would most likely be sucked into the Void.
Many Eighth-Order Division Commanders did this; otherwise, there would not have been so many Territory Lords escaping that day.
Lu An apparently did not heed those orders though. He was willing to die to make sure that the Territory Lord did not escape. As a result, the two were sucked into the Void.
If this corpse was here, then obviously Lu An should not be too far away; however, this whole place was directionless. Thus, if he got caught in one of the turbulent currents, there was no telling where he would drift to.
Yang Kai continued his search, his Divine Sense extended to its limit.
Yang Kai soon sensed a fluctuating life aura in the distance, this fluctuation was very unusual and obviously intentional to point out its location.
Quickly reacting, Yang Kai smiled and flew through the Void like a fish swimming upstream towards the unusual fluctuations.
A short while later, Yang Kai came to an old man who was sitting cross-legged. With a grin, he called out, “Martial Uncle, sorry for the long wait.”
Lu An apparently also knew that Blue Sky Pass would send someone to find him. Naturally, this person had to be Yang Kai; after all, he was the only person who could freely transverse through the turbulent Void.
Lu An had tried to get out of the Void; however, even if he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could not find his way back through the chaotic space. Worse, he was injured after the battle with the Territory Lord and was far from his peak state.
Thus, instead of blindly looking for a way out, he opted to sit and wait; after all, Yang Kai was sure to come and find him. Similarly, his sitting still also helped Yang Kai locate him.
Finding Lu An and returning was not hard for Yang Kai.
When he saw the two of them appear, Zhong Liang, who had been waiting outside, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Every Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a pillar in the Human Race’s fight against the Black Ink Clan. Furthermore, since the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in each Great Pass was not large, each of their deaths greatly impacted the Human Race. Thus, he was gratified to see Lu An was alright.
Still, since Lu An’s injuries were not light, he quickly headed back to rest and recover.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai embarked on a journey to the forward base with the rest of Dawn.
The forward base had been nailed deep within the territory of the Black Ink Clan. In this recent war, Blue Sky Pass had achieved extremely brilliant results. The huge losses of the Black Ink Clan were enough for them to be unable to recover for at least 1,000 years. Furthermore, that timeframe was dependent on their ability to destroy Blue Sky Pass’ new forward base.
If Blue Sky Pass could gain a solid foothold and suppress nearly half of the Black Ink Clan’s territory here, then the Black Ink Clan might not ever be able to recover to its previous strength. However, if the Humans lost the forward base, their victorious outcome would be greatly diminished.
Therefore, the existence of the forward base was critical to both sides. However, they could not just defend their current position. They had to take the initiative or they would eventually be pushed back.
Blue Sky Pass deployed 20,000 soldiers from the previous crusade, but now more than 10,000 more have been deployed to provide support with the help of two transit Universe Arrays Yang Kai had set up.
Currently, in Blue Sky Pass, only the most basic personnel were left behind. The rest had been moved outside. They had been passively defending for so many years, so when they finally had a chance to take the initiative, the decisions those at the top made were all bold and aggressive.
Nonetheless, the movements of troops made sense; after all, there was no need to worry about Blue Sky Pass being attacked. Since they were now deep within the Black Ink Clan’s territory, the enemy would be too preoccupied with those forces close to their Royal City to target Blue Sky Pass itself.
The Black Ink Clan could also not expect reinforcements from other Theatres as each war zone had its own issues to deal with. It was no different for the Humans, who could not send large-scale reinforcements to each other; thus, for both sides, they were basically fighting an independent war.
While Yang Kai was arranging the Universe Arrays, the soldiers at the forward base had been recuperating. After Blue Sky Pass’s 10,000 reinforcements had arrived at the forward base, a slew of construction projects were implemented.
One by one, Squads patrolled around the forward base, clearing out any Black Ink Clansmen in the area. Even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were moving, trying to use this opportunity to suppress the Black Ink Clan as much as possible.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clan would not sit still and get attacked. Though they did not launch any large-scale battles, they continued with small-scale ambushes. In fact, almost every day, Squads that ventured even a little far from the forward base would be ambushed by the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans and the Black Ink Clan had been fighting for hundreds of thousands of years in the space between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base. It was just that this time, the Humans had the absolute advantage; thus, such ambushes were all but meaningless.
After all, most of the Territory Lords here would not dare to move easily; furthermore, Human Squads had their Warships, which held an absolute advantage when faced against a small number of Black Ink Clansmen. In fact, if a Squad found itself dangerously outnumbered, or facing a powerful, unbeatable foe, the Warships possessed defensive Spirit Arrays which would protect them. In the worst-case scenario, there was still the Universe Array aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleships anchored at the forward base, which enabled them to escape the battle if necessary.
Thus, as long as they still had some luck, and the situation was not that dire, there was no need for them to fear for their lives.
In the void, a Warship flew back and forth as rays of bright light shot out from its hull. Unable to resist the powerful attack, the Black Ink Clansmen burst into a mist of blood.
Around the Warship, several figures were moving around, eliminating whatever scattered Black Ink Clansmen were present using their own Secret Techniques.
Within a short time, hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen were killed.
Miao Fei Ping flashed and flew back to Dawning Light, looking indifferent, with no joy or surprise in his eyes. With the baptism of blood and war, he quickly matured and was no longer as helpless and nervous as he had been the first time he fought the Black Ink Clan.
Under normal circumstances, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him would not leave their Warship to kill the enemy directly. He should stay inside the protective Spirit Arrays on the Warship and use its offensive arrays to deal damage.
However, today’s battle was different from the usual. They encountered some scattered Black Ink Clansmen, so there was leeway for the Sixth-Order Masters to gain some direct combat experience.
The Black Ink Clan usually sent out massive armies, with powerful Masters leading them. Thus, even a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who could not be considered weak, would find it difficult to survive in that chaotic battlefield. As a result, those below the Seventh Order were generally tasked with controlling their Warship’s Arrays.
Of the hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen Dawn encountered today though, only one was a Feudal Lord, and he was swiftly killed by Feng Ying. Meanwhile, the rest scattered like sand. A few Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help but rush out of the Warship to fight, and Yang Kai didn’t stop them.
Such skirmishes could be found everywhere in the void. The soldiers of the forward base also began to refer to this kind of mission as ‘hunting’. Furthermore, these hunts did not only occur with small groups of Black Ink Clansmen. Sometimes, bigger hunts were organized where several Squads would cooperate to deal large amounts of damage to the scattered Black Ink Clansmen. As a result, the Black Ink Clan began to worry that if this kept up, the Human Army would begin advancing towards the Royal City again.
With their situation being what it was, the Black Ink Clan was forced to concentrate the vast majority of its Masters into defending the Royal City. Naturally, that meant that the space between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base had no powerful Black Ink Masters at all.
“Squad Leader, it’s time,” Feng Ying reminded Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “Let’s head back, we’ve been at it long enough.”
In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of all soldiers, the forward base also established some rules, including time limits on each Squad’s ‘hunt’, and the range of activities that they could operate in.
This was done out of fear that the soldiers would get carried away in killing the enemy, which might reveal openings and cause unnecessary tragedies.
It had been half a year since Dawn last set out from the forward base, and the area they were active in had always been at the outermost reaches allowed by the rules. Naturally, it was because the further out they went, the larger the number of Black Ink Clansmen there were.
Half a year was the time limit stipulated by the forward base before they had to return. Beyond that, Military Merits would not be calculated, and there might even be penalties, such as sending them back to Blue Sky Pass. Naturally, such penalties were meant for the safety of the soldiers.
After all, establishing a fortified position was a long-term plan. It was impossible to achieve this overnight, so it is necessary to ensure the integrity and combat effectiveness of the soldiers at the forward base.
After half a year of battle, they would then rest for the next half a year, maintaining a balance.
At Yang Kai’s command, Dawn’s members began using the Universal Transference Law to return. In the end, Yang Kai was the only one remaining as he stored Dawning Light in his Small Universe. After that, he flickered and disappeared.
Back at the forward base, where the Universe Array was, those from the Dawn appeared, one after another. As soon as they appeared, they skillfully moved out of the way so as not to interfere with the transference of others who were also returning.
“Get some rest and cultivate. After half a year, we will gather again,” Yang Kai gave the order and the crowd immediately dispersed.
He then strolled towards the Merit Hall. Military Merits obtained by hunting for half a year had to be registered, and Dawning Light had also taken some damage, so it needed to be sent to the Refining Hall for repairs.
Yang Kai was traversing this familiar path at this point. It had been ten years since the Expeditionary Force established the forward base, and every time he came back from a hunt, as the leader of Dawn Squad, he needed to fulfil these duties.
Arriving first at the Merit Hall, registration of military contributions was recorded by Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Such positions didn’t involve directly fighting against the Black Ink Clan, so they were usually filled by the cultivators with the lowest Orders.
Registration of Military Merits was naturally very smooth. All Yang Kai needed to do was provide evidence for the kills.
Next, Yang Kai went to the Refining Hall and handed over Dawning Light. After that was done, he didn’t need to worry about his ship anymore. He would just need to get it after half a year, when Dawn went out on its next hunt.
The Refining Hall was now the busiest location in the entire forward base; however, this couldn’t be helped. One by one, Squads would go out, hunt down enemies, and then return with a damaged Warship that needed repairs. Since there was a limited number of Artifact Refiners, the Refining Hall was always kept busy.
In the past, when the Great Pass was under siege by the Black Ink Clan, the Artifact Refiners would be so busy they did not even have the time to breathe, but after the siege ended, they would have time to rest. However, that was in the past. Since the forward base was established, Artifact Refiners were now busy round the clock, with no time for rest at all.
When the forward base created the rules, limiting ‘hunting’ to only half a year and a minimum of half a year of cultivating afterwards, they did not really take into account the Artifact Refiner’s workload.
After all, half a year was barely enough for an Artifact Refiner to fix up a Warship.
Although Yang Kai was now an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and he could patch up simple problems with Dawning Light, some of the damage was to its Spirit Arrays, and since he knew little about the Dao of Spirit Array, he had no choice but to ask for an Array Master to fix it, which was why he sent it to the Refining Hall.
Just as he was about to walk back to where he stayed, he heard a Divine Sense transmission.
He turned and then moved towards a particular direction.
He quickly entered a Grand Hall, where the Eastern Army Commander, Ding Yao, was talking to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. After briefly exchanging a few words, the Eighth-Order Masters turned and left, while Ding Yao turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Greetings, Sir!”
Ding Yao gave a light nod and said, “I have a task for you.”
Yang Kai looked solemn as he replied, “Please tell me.”
“I need you to return back to Blue Sky Pass and pick someone up.”
“Pick someone up?” Yang Kai frowned, puzzled and asked “Pick who up?” “
“You don’t have to know. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
Yang Kai was a little displeased with this strange order and couldn’t help but object, “Sir, wouldn’t it be better for an Eighth-Order Division Commander to act as a guard? I’m only in the seventh order, so even if I want to store someone inside my Small Universe, I at most can only bring those in the Sixth Order or below. How would I be of any help in this case?”
Ding Yao glanced at him, “I don’t need you to use your Small Universe to store this person, I just need you to show the way here. What’s more, this person is in the Eighth-Order, so other Eighth-Order Masters would not be able to store them either and would have to travel side by side.”
“Eighth-Order?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Since it’s someone in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, I believe that person has enough strength to ensure his own safety. Why do I need to fetch them here?”
“Stop spouting so much rubbish,” Ding Yao glared at him and rebuked, “This person is a newcomer to the Black Ink Battlefield. While it’s true they are an Eighth-Order Master, they aren’t well-versed in fighting. Since this person is someone who is still not used to the Black Ink Battlefield yet, I’ve tasked you to be this person’s escort.”
“Someone new!” Yang Kai’s heart started to race, “From the 3,000 Worlds?”
Ding Yao nodded, “That’s right.”
He then added meaningfully, “Perhaps there’ll be someone you know. So, would you like to go?”
“Yes, of course,” Yang Kai responded decisively. If it was just picking up someone, it wasn’t a difficult task. Though, it was still somewhat pointless for him to escort such a person all the way here, it would still be interesting to meet this newcomer.
Since Ding Yao said that it might be someone he knew, Yang Kai was eager to meet them. Even if it wasn’t an old acquaintance, more than 100 years had passed since he came to this Black Ink Battlefield, so this was a chance to see if there were any new changes in the Star Boundary and Void Land after he left.
Similarly, Yang Kai understood that the dispatch of an Eighth-Order Division Commander for this kind of small matter was wasteful; after all, there were only a handful of people in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and each of them had their own important tasks which kept them perpetually busy. Thus, such matters were best left to those in the Seventh Order.
Even among those in the Seventh Order, Yang Kai’s strength was obvious to all. He was also the one who set up the new Universe Arrays; thus, it was certainly much more convenient to have him personally lead the way, which was probably the biggest reason why Ding Yao tasked him to do so.
“In that case, I’ll leave this to you. Take note of the time. The newcomers should arrive in a few days. For now, get back to the Pass,” Ding Yao waved his hand.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and turned to leave.
First, he went back to the place where Dawn was stationed and told Feng Ying about his mission. He also informed her that he should be back in time for the next hunting mission. If not, she should just take the Squad out without him, which Feng Ying agreed to.
Since he had nothing to prepare before the trip to the pass, Yang Kai immediately activated the Universe Transference Law. He focused on the Universe Array of Blue Sky Pass, and it was not long before light engulfed him starting from his feet.
Usually, those in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm would find it impossible to directly teleport from the forward base to Blue Sky Pass as the distance was too great. The stress of transiting that far through the Void would more than likely crush an ordinary Seventh-Order Master, hence the two Universe Arrays arranged between them to serve as waypoints.
Since Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, however, he could mitigate such effects.
Space Principles fluctuated, and Yang Kai reappeared inside Blue Sky Pass. With the mission in mind, he directly headed to the Western Army’s Headquarters to greet Zhong Liang.
“Sir, Sir Ding asked me to come back to welcome a newcomer, are they here yet?”
Zhang Liang shook his head and replied, “Not yet, but news has already arrived a few days ago. Well, as you know, it’s not easy for those from the 3,000 Worlds to come here, so just wait for the time being.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Can you tell me who this is?”
“People coming from the 3,000 Worlds are all arranged by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, we are only responsible for receiving them. We don’t know exactly how many people are coming, or which Sects they are from. Just that they will be sent over from the No-Return Pass.”
Yang Kai gritted his teeth. He couldn’t help but hold some anticipation.
It seemed there was more than one person arriving, so he couldn’t help wondering if there were any newcomers from the Star Boundary or Void Land among them. There were also a lot of Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Star Boundary and Void Land; thus, it would be normal if some were assigned to the Black Ink Battlefield. However, neither the Star Boundary nor Void Land were part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises; thus, according to long-standing practice, they were not eligible to set foot onto the Black Ink Battlefield.
Although he had been in the Black Ink Battlefield for over 100 years, and had also fought in two different Theatres, even infiltrating the Black Ink Clan’s territory twice, Yang Kai still didn’t know much about a variety of things. One such thing was how the 3,000 Worlds assigned reinforcements to the Black Ink Battlefield.
Since there was nothing for him to do, Yang Kai decided to ask Zhong Liang.
Zhong Liang explained, “Basically every 100 years, the Cave Heavens and Paradises will dispatch some people to reinforce the Great Passes. The number of people sent varies, as a lot can happen in 100 years. Even so, as you know, every time we fight against the Black Ink Clan, it will always result in casualties. Though not many, they accumulate over time. Eventually, if there are too many casualties, and few left to defend our lines, wouldn’t the Great Passes fall? So, regular reinforcements from the Cave Heavens and Paradises are a necessity.”
This was also the reason why Yang Kai used to think that Cave Heavens and Paradises were not worthy of their reputations, as the forces they showcased in the 3,000 Worlds did not seem as imposing as they should have been. One would expect the Cave Heavens and Paradises, with their extremely long histories and deep foundations, coupled with the long lifespans of cultivators in the Open Heaven Realm, to slowly amass an enormous number of Open Heaven Realm Masters. However, when Yang Kai visited a few of them in the past, the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters he saw in the Cave Heavens and Paradises was not as numerous as he had anticipated.
Now, everything made sense; after all, these top forces had been sending the vast majority of their strongest Masters to the Black Ink Battlefield over the years.
“The reinforcements will first be gathered at the No-Return Pass, then they will be dispatched from there to the various Great Passes. This is done to ensure the integrity of each Great Pass. The number of people dispatched to each Pass will depend on the loss and demand of the Great Pass itself. Take this time as an example. Our Blue Sky Pass’ losses during the recent crusade were not small; so, there should be more reinforcements who’ll be assigned to us. Furthermore, because of the forward base, there will be a need for many people with a variety of skill sets. This was the requirement of Blue Sky Pass, which we put forward to 3,000 Worlds to meet. Well, I think news of what we have accomplished so far would make them feel gratified.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding, thought for a while, and then asked, “There should still be many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in each Cave Heaven and Paradise’s headquarters. Since the 3,000 Worlds are essentially stable, why not transfer more of them to the Black Ink Battlefield? That way, we’ll be able to overwhelm the Territory Lords with superior numbers. It should not be that difficult to do, right?”
Zhong Liang answered with a smile, “It’s not difficult, of course. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have strong foundations and heritages, so it certainly won’t be a problem to get a few more Eighth-Order Masters assigned here, but have you thought through what that would mean? Would there be any decisive change if we really did as you said? There is currently no way to completely eradicate the Black Ink Clan, so what is the use of this small advantage? Before you brought us the Purifying Light, the Human Race was basically powerless to resist the corrosion of Black Ink Strength. Many had to sacrifice pieces of their Small Universes to protect themselves. We have fought against the Black Ink Clan for so long, so what we want is not a small advantage to give us a more favourable position, but rather a way to completely eradicate the Black Ink Clan. Before we find a way to do that, maintaining the current balance is the best option.”
Yang Kai pondered over what he said before nodding in agreement.
Zhong Liang exhaled lightly, “Our crusade this time was not only an experiment, but also a campaign to provide hope. If what we are doing works out well, in the next 100 to 1,000 years, we Humans will be able to continue to reduce whatever available territory the Black Ink Clan has. Eventually, we will be able to find a way to completely wipe them out. This is definitely a long-term goal, and it might even take several generations to accomplish. Even so, we will do it.”
Zhong Liang would have never said these things to other Seventh-Order Masters, but with Yang Kai, it was different. His arrival changed the whole landscape of Black Ink Battlefield and his contributions alone made him qualified to understand the plans of the higher-ups.
“When the day comes, all the top Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises will be sent to the No-Return Pass. At that time, what do you think will happen to the Black Ink Clan?”
Yang Kai imagined the scene, where the hidden Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises all came out in force. The thought drew his imagination as he said, “They’ll be in for an unpleasant surprise.”
…
Inside the Grand Hall, where the Hyper Space Array was located, Yang Kai sat cross-legged as his heart started pounding.
His conversation with Zhong Liang made him understand one thing: Since he was not in that high of a position, he failed to see the grand scheme of things. What he was thinking about was how to win the battles in front of him. Meanwhile, what those at the top were thinking about was how to win the War and completely annihilate the Black Ink Clan. It was a distinct difference of perspective.
It’s not that he was short-sighted; after all, he was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. He was the leader of a Squad, and had been in the Black Ink Battlefield for more than 100 years so he could not be called inexperienced. Even so, how could he possibly be compared to people like Zhong Liang and the others who had been fighting this war for thousands of years?
Thus, now, it was made clear. It was not that the Cave Heavens and Paradises could not send more Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to gain an advantage over the Black Ink Clan. They were just accumulating strength, preparing to give Black Ink Clan a fatal blow when the time came.
Blue Sky Pass’ Expeditionary Force had taken a crucial step in that direction. The crusade was a bold attempt to change the course of the war, and if all went well, one day in the near future, all the Great Passes would be able to form large-scale Expeditionary Forces and send them out to crusade. They would finally be able to suppress the Black Ink Clan, until it was uprooted entirely.
“There are signs of activity,” one of the people guarding the Grand Array suddenly shouted.
Yang Kai raised his eyes and looked ahead. He saw that the Grand Array, which had been silent for several days, suddenly lit up. It hummed gently, and there were obvious Space Principle fluctuations coming out of it.
That was a clear sign that the Grand Array had been activated, which was what Yang Kai had been waiting for.
The No-Return Pass was the only gateway to the 3,000 Worlds, and it was also the transit point for those in the 3,000 Worlds to enter the Black Ink Battlefield. As such, a Hyper Space Array was arranged there which could connect to all the Great Passes. These were all set up by ancient Great Experts who were simply incomparable to today’s cultivators.
With the Hyper Space Arrays set up by such experts, ultra-long-distance teleportation could be done without worrying about one’s life. However, the consumption of materials would be extremely large; thus, between the Great Passes, they tried not to unnecessarily send people over. In most cases, they would teleport some jade slips as a means to communicate with the other Great Passes.
Under the gaze of the many cultivators guarding the Grand Array, a dazzling light suddenly filled their eyes. From it, a faint figure appeared.
Yang Kai immediately felt an aura of someone in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but to his surprise, this aura was faintly familiar to him.
As the light faded, Yang Kai discovered that there were already at least 100 people standing on the Grand Array, many of them appearing dizzy and disoriented as they had obviously not recovered from the ultra-long-distance teleportation. Although the arrangements of the ancient Great Experts were enough to allow them to teleport here safely, there were still some drawbacks to doing so.
Immediately, Blue Sky Pass’ men, who had been prepared ahead of time, stepped forward and all kinds of Secret Techniques were activated to help alleviate the sequelae of these 100 or so people.
It took just a moment for the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to shake his head and focus his eyes. In the end, he was an Eighth-Order Master whose strength was incomparable to the rest who still needed some time to recover from the dizziness.
Yang Kai suppressed his excitement, stepped forward, and saluted, “Grand Master’s noble bearing is still the same as ever, even after so many years.”
Ding Yao’s words had been prophetic, as Yang Kai really knew someone who came here this time.
He was a remnant of Great Evolution Paradise, Grandmaster Ma Fan.
Yang Kai had dealt with him plenty of times. The first time was when he went to ask about refining Array Artifacts for Void Land’s Grand Array. At that time, the Proprietress took him to Grandmaster Ma Fan. Later, Ma Fan helped him improve the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. He even passed the Great Evolution Paradise’s Good Fortune Divine Furnace to Yang Kai. Afterwards, many of the remnants from Great Evolution Paradise, led by Grandmaster Ma Fan, went to the Star Boundary to open a Dao Temple. They did this in an attempt to revive the former glory.
Thus, they were old acquaintances.
Ma Fan, who had recently broken through to the Eighth Order, was clearly a Great Grandmaster in Artifact Refining now. It should be said that those who were Great Grandmasters were all Eighth-Order Masters, equivalent to Dong Guo An Ping from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven whom Yang Kai was acquainted with.
“Yang Boy!” Grandmaster Ma Fan looked surprised, clearly never having anticipated he would meet Yang Kai here of all places.
More than 100 years ago, Yang Kai dove into a Void Corridor and never came back. Without any news, whether he was even alive or dead was unknown. Nonetheless, his disappearance and sacrifice were no secret in the 3,000 Worlds; after all, many were present when he went to seal the Void Corridor.
Furthermore, although the Black Ink Battlefield could pass some news back to 3,000 Worlds, matters related to Yang Kai were still only known to a few top officials within the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Thus, Grandmaster Ma Fan was not aware that he was here. When he came to the Black Ink Battlefield, he never expected to see Yang Kai.
It was natural that upon seeing an old friend, they were both overjoyed.
Suddenly, Grandmaster Ma Fan’s face cramped up as he said, “Yang Boy, find me an open space, this old man can’t hold them in any longer.”
Yang Kai wondered, “Hold them in? Hold who in?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snickered, “You don’t think it’s just us, right? There are more in my Small Universe.”
Yang Kai instantly understood what he meant. For those that were transported here, except for one Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Grandmaster Ma Fan, the rest were all in the Seventh-Order.
Since teleporting from the No-Return Pass to any of the Great Passes required a massive amount of resources, the High-Rank Masters would all store those in the Mid-Rank inside their Small Universes in order to save on consumption.
The No-Return Pass had always done it like this. Since Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield through an unconventional method, he had no experience in this; thus, in his moment of elation, he forgot how people normally travelled through Hyper Space Arrays.
After realising his mistake, he quickly led the way.
Not long after, they arrived at the square where Yang Kai had first stepped into when he initially arrived at Blue Sky Pass. This was also where the first Purifying Black Ink Battleship had been built.
The square was huge. During the non-war period, the soldiers liked to exchange pointers here; thus, this place was often full of people, but now, it was empty. After all, most of the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass had been moved to the forward base, leaving only a small contingent behind.
In the meantime, everyone dispersed and kept a distance from the newcomers. Then their Small Universes opened, and from the various portals, numerous figures walked out, one after another.
They were all in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
Yang Kai initially thought that there would not be too many newcomers arriving at Blue Sky Pass, a few hundred at most. However, when the hundreds of portals were opened, with Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters continuously pouring out, he realised that his initial assumption was wrong.
Grandmaster Ma Fan’s Small Universe alone could accommodate more than 40 people, while others in the Seventh Order, whose Small Universes were not as large as his, could only hold a dozen or so people.
After everyone came out, Yang Kai was surprised to find that there were over 1,000 newcomers this time!
That was a huge number. Furthermore, everyone here was in the Sixth Order and above. In other words, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had sent at least 10 cultivators at or above the Sixth Order each, and that was not even counting the reinforcements sent to the other Great Passes!
Which Sect in the 3,000 Worlds could do this? Which force had such an immeasurable heritage? Even in Void Land and the Star Boundary, how many Sixth-Order or Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were there now? In fact, even if the whole Void Land and the Star Boundary were hollowed out, they would not be able to provide such a force.
This just went to show how powerful and deep the heritages of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were.
A stream of light suddenly shot over from somewhere in Blue Sky Pass before coming to a hover above the square. It was none other than Zhong Liang.
Everyone looked up, and Zhong Liang nodded lightly before saying out loud, “You have come from afar. This is Blue Sky Pass, and this Zhong is the Western Army Commander.”
Everyone saluted in unison, and Zhong Liang returned the salute and continued, “You are from different Cave Heavens and Paradises, and all of you were elites in your respective Sects, but the Black Ink Battlefield is different from 3,000 Worlds! You need to remember that no matter which Cave Heaven or Paradise you came from, after you set foot into Blue Sky Pass, none of that matters anymore. You are all Blue Sky Pass soldiers here, and we have only one enemy, the Black Ink Clan. All those who are here now, and the ancestors who came before us, have sacrificed our blood, sweat, and even lives in this empty place to prevent the Black Ink Clan from invading the 3,000 Worlds. Countless have fallen on this battlefield for countless years, and the next one may be me, or it may be one of you, but as long as the Cave Heavens and Paradises stand, the Black Ink Clan will never step into 3,000 Worlds, “
“You are all from Cave Heavens and Paradises, so before you left, the Elders of your respective Sects must have warned you about all of this. Blue Sky Pass and the Black Ink Battlefield have many things you will gradually need to become familiar with. This Zhong will give you one piece of advice now, and I hope you will remember it in your hearts, ‘Survive. No matter what, do not give up.’ I say this from the bottom of my heart, and truly hope you will keep it in mind at all times.”
“Now, this Zhong still has responsibilities to attend to, so it is not convenient for me to remain here. Yang Kai, take them to register themselves and make preparations.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai bowed.
Zhong Liang turned and left.
It was not troublesome to register in Blue Sky Pass, but it took some time for over 1,000 people to go through this process. As the only Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among the newcomers, Grandmaster Ma Fan was naturally the first to register.
After receiving his Identity Token, he went to Yang Kai and handed him a jade slip, “This is what your Wives had asked me to pass to you.”
Yang Kai reached out and took it solemnly, “Many thanks.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “It’s understandable for someone young to be rather unscrupulous, but brat, you really have gone a little too far.”
Yang Kai smiled awkwardly, without defending himself as he took the jade slip. He scanned it using his Divine Sense and his expression gradually softened.
There was nothing really special in the jade slip, just a few words from his loved ones. The first one was written by Yu Ru Meng, the Charm Demon Saint, then it was Xia Ning Chang, Xue Yue, Ji Yao, Qu Hua Shang, and Tao Ling Wan’s turn. They each only wrote a sentence or two at most.
Yu Ru Meng was as hot-tempered as ever as she snapped, “If you dare to die outside, I will take my Sisters and have them all remarry!”
Little Senior Sister was much gentler, “Junior Brother, you must take care of yourself when you are outside. The most important thing is to make sure you protect yourself.”
The seductress from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven was bold as usual, “If you are lonely outside, you can find a Senior Sister from Yin-Yang Heaven to discuss the Dao of ‘Yin and Yang’. Make sure you don’t look for someone else from some other place, okay?”
All this made Yang Kai smile and warm his heart.
There were no messages from Su Yan, Zhu Qing and Shan Qing Luo in the jade slip. Obviously, they are still in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, and did not know much about what was happening in the outside world.
After reading the jade slip over and over again, Yang Kai held it tightly to his chest and asked, “Great Master, how is the situation over in the 3,000 Worlds?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan casually remarked, “Things are as usual. Those who are unaware remain the same, calm and stagnant, but those in the know are all aware that there is currently a huge undercurrent surging under the seemingly calm surface. I don’t really need to say much about other things, just the influence of your Star Boundary alone is huge. It is truly deserving of its reputation as an Open Heaven Realm Cradle. Countless geniuses have emerged from the Star Boundary over the years, and every Cave Heaven and Paradise has gained a lot. In the eyes of those great forces not in the know, the top great forces are just expanding their influence and getting stronger; however, only those of us aware of the truth understand that everything is done in preparation for the war against the Black Ink Clan. So, we need to cultivate more people with greater strength. Still, the one that gained the most is not the Cave Heavens and Paradises, but your High Heaven Palace.”
Yang Kai suddenly became interested, “How so?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “High Heaven Palace is the greatest native Sect of the Star Boundary, and with how the Great Emperors there have turned the tide and saved the whole world not once, but twice, all natives of the Star Boundary recognise it. Many remain unaware, or simply cannot comprehend how great the Cave Heavens and Paradises are, so in the end, High Heaven Palace is still the best place in their eyes, and many of them still choose to worship under its banner. With so many genius disciples having been taught by strong Elders since birth, if this trend continues, after a few thousand years, your High Heaven Palace will be able to stand on equal footing with the Cave Heavens and Paradises, “
Yang Kai smiled and said, “That’s still a long way from now. Who can clearly say what will happen over such a great span of time.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded and said, “It is said that fate is full of uncertainties, and no one can say what will be until it is. If it was in the past, High Heaven Palace would definitely not be allowed to exist by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. It’s not that they are intolerant and greedy, but rather that so many excellent disciples could not be taken away by one Sect. Each of them wants to cultivate more elite disciples to fight against the Black Ink Clan. Even so, they will not move against your Sect. After all, your Wives are now Direct Disciples of various different powerful Ancestors. Each of them has someone powerful standing behind them, giving them close relationships with several Cave Heavens and Paradises. What’s more, now that you, High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master, have entered the Black Ink Battlefield, and the higher-ups of High Heaven Palace are themselves aware of the real situation, no one wants to hinder its development, which has paved a smooth road for its growth.”
Yang Kai nodded happily. Before he set off from Black Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield, several of his Wives were indeed taken in as Direct Disciples of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters. Among them, Xue Yue became a Disciple of Golden Antelope Paradise’s Liu Mu. Yu Ru Meng became a Disciple of Myriad Demons Heaven’s Mo Sha. Xia Ning Chang became a Disciple of Divine Medicine Heaven’s Zi Yu. Ji Yao became a Disciple of Great Battle Heaven’s Pi Li. Meanwhile, Qu Hua Shang and Tao Ling Wan, needless to say, were part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and held strong positions within their Sect.
The reason why these Eighth-Order Masters took them as Disciples was not just due to their aptitude; after all, there were countless geniuses in their own Cave Heavens or Paradises. Their aptitudes might be the same or even better than his Wives, so the main reason why they took them on was because Yang Kai was going to sacrifice himself for the peace and stability of the 3,000 Worlds. Thus, they wanted to give Yang Kai some form of reassurance. It was to indicate that even if something were to happen once he entered that Void Corridor back then, his Wives would be taken care of, and by extension, High Heaven Palace and Void Land would be protected. In short, ‘we old fogies will ensure your Widows and Sect are taken care of, so that may rest assured and go all out’.
This was also a kind of compensation from the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Of course, his Wives were all talented enough to become Direct Disciples of these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; after all, each of them had directly ascended to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could thus be expected to reach the Eighth-Order in the future.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s personal strength and accomplishments in the Dao of Space were exceptional; on top of that, he possessed various unique methods which helped him survive. Since he came to the Black Ink Battlefield from Black Territory, he had overcome plenty of difficulties and managed to live till now.
Now that his Wives in the Star Boundary had the backing of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, coupled with Yang Kai’s previous efforts to, seal up the Void Corridor alone, High Heaven Palace had the opportunity to grow and develop without interference. If not, with the Cave Heavens and Paradises needing excellent disciples to send to the Black Ink Battlefield, how could they possibly sit back and watch a small Sect take up so many talents? It had nothing to do with avarice or envy, they simply had no choice as they held the responsibility of protecting the Human Race!
In the face of such a noble goal, anyone or anything that stood in their way would be crushed to dust without the slightest hesitation.
Now, knowing that everything in the Star Boundary was alright, Yang Kai could finally rest easy.
Since the Star Boundary was well and good, and High Heaven Palace was thriving with strong momentum, what else could possibly worry Yang Kai? On the other hand, disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises willingly shed their blood in the Black Ink Battlefield as they waged war against the Black Ink Clan for no other reason than a strong sense of responsibility to protect the 3,000 Worlds.
The situation of the Star Boundary and High Heaven Palace was enough to allow Yang Kai to rest easy.
“Actually, I didn’t expect to meet you so soon,” Grandmaster Ma Fan sighed, “I wanted to settle down in the Black Ink Battlefield first, and then find out where you were. I didn’t think that you would be here. Say, Yang Boy, you are something like a half-disciple of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, so why didn’t you go to Yin-Yang Pass?”
Yang Kai shook his head and said, “I didn’t come here through the normal route, so Blue Sky Pass was the first Great Pass that I encountered. As a result, I settled here. Overall, against the Black Ink Clan, it’ll be the same no matter which Great Pass I go to.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan gave him a fixed look, then nodded, “Fair enough.”
Yang Kai suddenly remembered something and curiously asked, “Why did you come to the Black Ink Battlefield, Grandmaster? You are a remnant of Great Evolution Paradise, so even if you’ve made it to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, logically speaking, you didn’t need to come here.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “I don’t need to be part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises to fight against the Black Ink Clan, right? As long as I have the heart it is more than enough. Brat, what qualifications do you have to tell an Old Master like me that I need to be part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises to come here?”
Yang Kai scratched his head and could only laugh bitterly, “Grandmaster, please calm yourself!”
Being asked to calm down only sent Grandmaster Ma Fan into a rage, “Just because I was no longer part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises this Old Master needed to ask their permission to come here! Great Evolution Paradise used to be one of them, and ever since I advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm I had repeatedly requested to be assigned to the Black Ink Battlefield, but every single time they rejected me! Bastards! The Black Ink Battlefield is not their backyard, so why not just let me come!?”
Yang Kai didn’t know how to answer; he wouldn’t have known about it if Grandmaster Ma Fan hadn’t mentioned it himself. However, he guessed that it was probably because of this very fact that Grandmaster Ma Fan always seemed unhappy with the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
But from another standpoint, were the Cave Heavens and Paradises not trying to protect Grandmaster Ma Fan? After all, Great Evolution Paradise had fallen, and only this old man was still around, struggling to support it by himself. If he was sent to the Black Ink Battlefield, then the whole legacy of Great Evolution Paradise would probably end with him.
Even Grandmaster Ma Fan must have known how the Cave Heavens and Paradises felt about this situation. However, anger does not listen to rational explanations.
“If you weren’t allowed to come before, why did they let you come this time?” Yang Kai asked.
Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “Isn’t Blue Sky Pass in dire need of Artifact Refiners? This Old Master may be sloppy, but Artifact Refining is my speciality. So, this time, a few of those old ghosts actually came to me and asked me to come and support this Pass. Of course, I refused. Those bastards refused Father here so many times in the past, yet they had the gall to ask me, their Father, to come out here on a whim now? Who do they think I am, huh? How dare they!”
Yang Kai nodded like he was a chicken pecking rice and flattered, “Yes, yes, that’s how it should be, Grandmaster. It was right for you to refuse. But, Grandmaster… why did you change your mind? “
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted and said, “This Father has a firm will, but I’m still no match for those old bastards when it comes to cunning. They kept using soft and hard tactics to get me to agree and eventually, after thinking it through, I realised that Great Evolution Paradise now has no lack of worthy successors. So, I decided I should come over to join in on the fun.”
Yang Kai expressed his understanding, but was laughing secretly in his heart, [This old man is certainly prideful. He wanted to come all along but refused out of pure stubbornness.]
However, now, it seemed that it is not a coincidence that Grandmaster Ma Fan was assigned to Blue Sky Pass. Due to Blue Sky Pass’ crusade, they had an urgent need for a large number of Artifact Refiners. Furthermore, Ma Fan was extremely proficient in the Dao of Artifact refining; thus, it was only natural that he was assigned here.
Grandmaster Ma Fan added, “Half of the 1,500 reinforcements who had came to support Blue Sky Pass this time are proficient in Spirit Arrays, Alchemy, or Artifact Refining. Those who are proficient in Artifact Refining actually account for 80% of those numbers. I have to ask, what happened in Blue Sky Pass. Did all its Artifact Refiners die or something? Why do you need so many to come and support you? “
Yang Kai laughed and said, “Spirit Arrays, Alchemy, Artifact Refining are all specialized professions. No matter which Great Pass, talents proficient in them are heavily protected and will not easily enter the battlefield. In fact, unless a Great Pass is destroyed, these Masters won’t die. No Artifact Refiners from Blue Sky Pass have died. The reason why we needed your help, is because Blue Sky Pass launched a crusade recently, and we have now established a forward base deep within the territory of the Black Ink Clan. Of course, it’s still a distance away from a Royal City, with three Territory Lord territories between them. Over there, soldiers have been engaging in skirmishes with the Black Ink Clan on a daily basis, so Warships are constantly being damaged. The original number of Artifact Refiners wasn’t sufficient to keep up.”
“A crusade?” Grandmaster Ma Fan’s eyes lit up. Not only him, but the other Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had already been registered, were interestedly listening in. They were not specifically trying to eavesdrop, but Yang Kai and Grandmaster Ma Fan’s conversation was quite open, so it was natural for those nearby to overhear. After all, everyone here was at least in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Before they arrived, the Elders of their Sects had mentioned the situation of the Black Ink Battlefield to them; thus, they had a general understanding of the status quo.
But, as far as they knew, the armies of the Great Passes on the Black Ink Battlefield were extremely passive and defensive. Every 100 years or so, the Great Passes would fall under siege. On the other hand, it was extremely difficult for them to go on the offensive.
Thus, when they just arrived at Blue Sky Pass, and heard a crusade had been made, it made them excited. After all, one would always get more passionate when on the attack than when passively defending.
“Senior Brother, can you share more about this crusade? I’m new here, so although I know a little bit about it, it’s just from word of mouth. I haven’t seen it, nor participated in it. So, I’m really curious.” A young man asked.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at the source of the voice. It was from a handsome youth who looked like he came from a wealthy background and had a face as smooth as jade. He had a dignified appearance and wore a spotless white robe. Even amongst all those in the Open Heaven Realm, he stuck out. He seemed so perfect that those around him, be it consciously or unconsciously, seemed to distance themselves, as if afraid of being compared to him if they stood too close.
However, this man obviously did not let this bother him. There was even a hint of arrogance in his indifferent expression.
Yang Kai was now in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and he had cultivated for many years so his vision was quite sharp. Thus, as soon as he saw this young man, he understood that he didn’t just look young, but was young. He was unlike most cultivators in the Open Heaven Realm, who, because of their long lifespans, it was difficult to judge their age based on their appearance alone.
Based on Yang Kai’s estimation, this youth before him was only two or three hundred years old!
Yang Kai’s face remained as usual, but his heart was slightly shaken, [Seventh-Order at two or three hundred years old? It’s not an exaggeration to say this person is a favoured Son of Heaven. For someone at his age to reach the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, the only possible way is to directly ascend to the Seventh-Order! It’s impossible for him to directly enter the Sixth Order and then cultivate to the Seventh Order in such a short time.]
It had to be noted that those who directly entered the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm were basically precious seedlings who had the opportunity to become Old Ancestors in the future.
Yang Kai had only met one such person so far, Luo Ting. He met her in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Samsara Pavilion; however, at that time, Luo Ting He had already been in the Seventh Order for thousands of years and she had broken through to the Eight Order shortly after, so her temperament was naturally very different from this man.
At such a young age, to achieve such a cultivation, he certainly had every right to be arrogant; after all, he had the capital to back up his haughtiness.
“This Junior Brother is…” Yang Kai looked at him with a smile.
The young man cupped his fist and saluted, “Asura Cave Heaven, Zhang Zhou!”
Yang Kai was a little stunned, “Junior Brother is from Asura Cave Heaven?”
He had also come into contact with those from Asura Cave Heaven, and all of them were fierce and vicious, completely different from Zhang Zhou’s gentle and dignified demeanour. In fact, if Zhang Zhou had not said where he was from, Yang Kai would never have guessed that he was actually from Asura Cave Heaven. That was just how different he was from the usual militant cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven.
Looking at the 3,000 Worlds, out of all the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there were two that stood out when it came to militant behaviour. One was Asura Cave Heaven and the other was Great Battle Heaven. The latter obviously developed this personality in order to fight against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. Meanwhile, the former cultivated based on the Dao of Battle and Slaughter. Thus, Asura Cave Heaven disciples all fought endlessly to cultivate. If they wanted to get stronger, they just had to risk their lives in life-or-death battles.
Still, in the 3,000 Worlds, Asura Cave Heaven was still one of the 36 Cave Heavens, so it was impossible for their disciples to go around wantonly killing innocents just for the sake of their cultivation. Doing so would damage their prestige too heavily for them to remain stable.
Even so, they still needed some way to continue to cultivate; thus, when their disciples wanted to practice, they just needed to go to the Asura Arenas. In the Arena, they could battle it out and even kill their opponents.
Furthermore, the Asura Arenas were extremely popular and existed in every major Star City. Even the Void Star City and High Heaven Star City had Asura Arenas.
These Arenas also brought in a hefty profit for Asura Cave Heaven; thus, it served two purposes at once. It could be said that the Asura Arenas were the foundation of Asura Cave Heaven.
In the Asura Arena, life and death battles were to be honoured; thus, even if an Asura Heaven disciple died inside, the Sect would not take revenge! This wasn’t just rhetoric, but an established truth as many Asura Cave Heaven disciples had died in the various Asura Arenas over the years, yet the Sect never pursued the matter.
Yang Kai had also fought people in the Asura Arena, so he was familiar with their rules.
Zhang Zhou directly broke through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so if he had come from any other Cave Heaven or Paradise, he would definitely be guarded carefully. He would be allowed to completely immerse himself in cultivation, and strive to become an Old Ancestor in the future. But since he was from Asura Cave Heaven, such a thing was not allowed.
There were no Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Asura Arena who would engage in life-or-death fights; after all, the better use for such Masters was being sent to the Black Ink Battlefield. Thus, Zhang Zhou came here.
Yang Kai had been on the Black Ink Battlefield for more than 100 years, and although he was usually dealing with the Black Ink Clan or cultivating, he had heard a lot of things unrelated to the war itself as well. This included things about Asura Cave Heaven.
All the Cave Heavens and Paradises would only sparingly send reinforcements to the Black Ink Battlefield every 100 years, deploying only the personnel that were really needed. However, Asura Cave Heaven was the sole exception to that trend. They could not wait to send all their Open Heaven Realm Masters here. In fact, they wished they really could send in all their Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
If someone calculated which Sect had the largest proportion of disciples sent to the Black Ink Battlefield, Asura Cave Heaven would definitely take first place. In fact, Yang Kai could not think of any other Sect that had sent as many or more than Asura Cave Heaven.
However, due to how they cultivated, requiring them to engage in killing, it was not uncommon for them to die in the process of growing up. Thus, the number of disciples who would advance to the Open Heaven Realm was much less than other Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Even so, in terms of combat capability, Asura Cave Heaven would definitely rank among the top three of all Cave Heavens and Paradises. Whenever those from Asura Cave Heaven fought, they would do so as though they held no regard for their own lives, and this gave rise to a nickname, Asura Lunatics. They were so notorious for this that it had become widespread throughout the Black Ink Battlefield.
Dawn also had a disciple from Asura Cave Heaven, he was just in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm though. So, when fighting against the Black Ink Clan Army, he could only remain inside Dawning Light and control the various Arrays to kill the enemy. He had no chance to leave the Warship, which caused him to complain to Yang Kai many times.
It was only when the forward base started ‘hunting’ that he finally got the chance to directly fight against those scattered Black Ink Clansmen. It was the only time when someone like him, who was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, could finally come out and fight.
In fact, it was when Dawn was out hunting that he was the happiest. He would not hesitate to put himself in danger just to be able to kill off his enemies. In fact, after each hunt, he would always be covered in blood and leak out an incomparable murderous intent. It was not a stretch to say that he was a madman when it came to combat.
Even so, Yang Kai was relieved that his subordinate was a brave fighter. It was just that, this brave fighter was also somewhat prickly.
Yang Kai still liked those from Asura Cave Heaven though. He did not mind youngsters being arrogant, as long as they had the ability to back it up.
Grandmaster Ma Fan whispered, “This kid is the most outstanding genius in his generation from Asura Cave Heaven. He advanced to the Emperor Realm while he was around 100 years old. He then managed to advance to the Seventh Order after less than 20 years. Right now, he should be somewhere around 200. His future is many times better than yours. He’s also the first person from the Star Boundary to advance directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and is known as one of the Star Boundary’s Two Rising Stars. The other is your Disciple, Zhao Ya. On the day he advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, the top Masters of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises stationed in the Star Boundary all rejoiced and celebrated; after all, his successful breakthrough proved once and for all that the Star Boundary was worthy of its status as the Open Heaven Realm Cradle.”
Yang Kai nodded silently and did some quick calculations. When Zhang Zhou was practising in the Star Boundary, he had already come to Black Ink Battlefield. So, it was not strange for him to have never heard of such an outstanding person before.
“What would Junior Brother like to know?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Zhang Zhou said, “As long as it’s about the crusade, anything is fine.”
Looking around, Yang Kai could see many curious eyes. Although some of the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Masters standing here were older than him, on the Black Ink Battlefield, age did not matter. He was a well-regarded Senior to them.
Yang Kai then began talking about the battle that nearly wiped out the Black Ink Clan Army, and many things about the crusade. As they listened, the newcomers could feel their blood boiling. They could not wait to enter the battlefield and kill tens of millions of Black Ink Clansmen, to make it feel like all the time they spent cultivating had been worthwhile.
Yang Kai looked at them with interest. He didn’t want to throw cold water on them as it was normal for new recruits to be eager to kill the enemy and accomplish meritorious deeds. It was only after one had actually dealt with Black Ink Clan a few times that they could appreciate the hardships involved in each battle.
There were 1,500 people in this group of reinforcements, so it took almost two hours to register everyone. Once they were all registered, Yang Kai led them to the Universe Array of Blue Sky Pass and asked them to leave their Imprints on it. This was essential; after all, they might have to use the Universe Array here to escape in the future.
Then, someone from the Pill Hall came and took away several of the Alchemists.
For Alchemists, they did not need to be posted at the forward base, considering Spirit Pills could be refined in Blue Sky Pass and then sent to the front lines, which would ensure the safety of the Alchemists.
Currently, the main task of the Pill Hall was to refine more Purifying Black Ink Pills. The consumption of this pill was extraordinarily high; after all, when each Squad went out on a mission, they needed to have at least one such pill on hand to prevent accidents. Previously, the Expeditionary Force could not go deeper into enemy territory because of two reasons. One, the resistance encountered was too strong, and two, the logistics could not keep up with the consumption. Especially the consumption of the Purifying Black Ink Pill, which was particularly serious.
It could be said that 80% of what the Pill Hall was currently doing now was refining Purifying Black Ink Pills.
After this whole experience with the Expeditionary Force, it was believed that the Pill Halls in every Great Pass, would also shift their focus to refining more Purifying Black Ink Pills in the future. It was necessary to build up a reserve for any potential Expeditionary Force and to simply have the capital to push back against the Black Ink Clan.
After a few days in Blue Sky Pass, the newcomers were all set.
In order to successfully send these 1,500 people to the forward base, Zhong Liang specially asked the War Materials Hall to bring out a massive ship.
This ship had 10 floors and was over 100 metres tall while stretching more than 500 metres in length. It was an imposing sight to behold.
The only downside was its combat capabilities. It had not yet reached the level of a Mobile Palace Artifact nor a Warship and was basically useless in a fight against the Black Ink Clan. It was only useful as a large-scale transport.
Before leaving, Zhong Liang and Shen Tu Mo, who stayed behind at Blue Sky Pass, showed up together and explained a few things to the newcomers.
All the new recruits were at least in the Sixth Order; thus, they moved like the wind, and soon, all of them had boarded the large ship.
Zhong Liang turned to look at Yang Kai, “It’s all up to you now.”
“Sir, rest assured, they will all be sent to the forward base without a single one missing.”
In terms of safety, Yang Kai need not worry about that. Although there might still be some scattered Black Ink Clansmen along the way, these newcomers were not weak and all of them were extremely eager to fight, as though they could not wait to encounter the Black Ink Clan. They also wanted to see if the so-called Black Ink Clansmen had three heads and six arms.
Even if they did not meet a Black Ink Clansman along the way though, it would still be fine. In fact, if they did meet one, it just meant that the Black Ink Clansman’s luck had run out.
With how much combat power was concentrated in this one ship, there was no way a Territory Lord would have sat back in their domain and let them pass by; however, all Territory Lords were currently huddled around the Royal City to protect it. Furthermore, with the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters watching them, how could they possibly show up so deep within enemy territory?
Even so, Yang Kai still reminded the newcomers to be cautious and that they must remain vigilant.
The large ship set sail, and Yang Kai arranged for the newcomers to take turns in managing the Grand Array to deliver power to the large ship. They would do so while he personally concentrated on controlling the direction the ship was headed.
The deck was full of people, all of them were looking around curiously, with their Divine Senses scanning the surroundings, presumably looking for any hidden enemies nearby.
However, to their disappointment, they did not see any Black Ink Clansmen even a month after they left Blue Sky Pass.
A little over a month later, they arrived at the first transit Universe Array.
There was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Battalion stationed here, guarding the Universe Array all year round. Naturally, there were also many Spirit Arrays around the Universe Array, some for protection, while others were to conceal its presence. In fact, if one did not know its location in advance, they probably would never have been able to find the Universe Array here, even if they were standing right next to it.
After verifying their identities and the intention for their visit, the large ship was allowed to pass through the various barriers. Soon, the newcomers went to the Universe Array and one by one left their Imprints behind before the ship set off again.
This location was originally occupied by the Black Ink Clan. In the past, it would have been impossible for the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass to dive this deep into enemy territory; however, after the crusade, the Black Ink Clan’s domain was greatly diminished and this region now fell under the control of Blue Sky Pass.
Currently, this far out from Blue Sky Pass, it was entirely possible to encounter scattered Black Ink Clansmen. The Expeditionary Force had moved in a straight line, without clearing out all the enemies to the sides of the bridgehead. Although many Squads were currently out hunting these remnants with the goal of cleaning up all Black Ink Clansmen in the area, there would always be some fish that slipped through the net.
Half a month after they passed by the first transit Universe Array, the newcomers finally encountered some Black Ink Clansmen.
It was just a group of a few dozen enemies without even a Feudal Lord around.
With Yang Kai’s consent, hundreds of newcomers rushed out and slaughtered the dozens of Black Ink Clansmen.
The battle ended as quickly as it broke out. Even the weakest of the newcomers was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and there was no shortage of those in the Seventh-Order; thus, how could such a small and weak team of Black Ink Clansmen possibly be their opponent? After a dozen breaths of time, they were all slaughtered. It was so quick that most newcomers only had the time to take a look at what those Black Ink Clansmen looked like, without the opportunity to make any moves at all.
It was Zhang Zhou who killed the most. He killed three Black Ink Clansmen by himself, but he was left very dissatisfied. These Black Ink Clansmen were too weak. They were at most equivalent to cultivators in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. With him being in the Seventh Order, he was basically playing with toddlers.
Yang Kai had no intention of extending time on the road; after all, the newcomers would be quickly assigned to various Squads when they reached the forward base, and they would soon get used to fighting against the Black Ink Clan.
Although he did not intend to dally, the Black Ink Clan did take notice of the huge ship they were on; after all, it was too conspicuous to miss. Thus, after passing the first Universe Array, they would often encounter some scattered Black Ink Clan groups. The largest groups had hundreds of enemies, but without at least one Feudal Lord, these Black Ink Clan groups were just like the passing wind. Now, the newcomers were all standing on the deck, looking forward to seeing more, to have an opportunity to kill more Black Ink Clansmen.
As he approached the second Universe Array, Yang Kai suddenly frowned and looked in a particular direction.
At that location, there seemed to be a lot of Black Ink Clansmen gathering. Yang Kai even detected a Feudal Lord among them.
They were very close to the Universe Array, and although there was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Battalion assigned to protect this location, due to the importance of this place, they were only responsible for protecting the Spirit Array. They were not tasked to clean up the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen.
If the large ship of newcomers were to approach the Universe Array, the Black Ink Clan might discover its location.
With that in mind, Yang Kai changed their heading slightly, sailing straight for where the Black Ink Clansmen were gathering.
Half an hour later, a battle broke out, and the newcomers, as always, rushed out with their blood boiling.
There were a lot of Black Ink Clansmen gathered, but still fewer than the newcomers themselves. In that chaotic battle, many Black Ink Clansmen were wounded, if not killed, and even the Feudal Lord was killed by Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou had advanced to the Seventh Order not long ago and still needed to consolidate his cultivation. Even so, the Feudal Lord was still not his opponent, which went to show how powerful the cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven were.
Yang Kai had found out that this guy’s polite appearance was just a disguise. He was no different from any other Asura Cave Heaven disciple he met in battle, bloodthirsty and vicious.
Zhang Zhou was the last to return, covered in fresh black blood with his murderous aura as strong as ever. The others on board looked at him in awe.
Yang Kai checked on him, and a strange light flashed in his eyes, “Junior Brother, are you injured?”
Zhang Zhou slowly shook his head, “Senior Brother, it’s just a small scratch. It’s no big deal.”
Yang Kai nodded and earnestly explained, “Battles against the Black Ink Clan must not be taken lightly. Perhaps they are not as powerful as you, but they have their unique abilities.”
Zhang Zhou nodded and said, “I understand.”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “In that case, rest.”
Zhang Zhou silently sat cross-legged.
After making sure there were no other Black Ink Clansmen around, Yang Kai sailed the large ship towards the Universe Array.
Having experienced this once before, this time, without Yang Kai needing to give any orders, everyone already knew what to do and moved to leave their Imprints the Universe Array before setting off again.
There were only two transit Universe Arrays between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base, so after passing the second, it would only take a month for the reinforcements to reach their final destination. For Yang Kai, that would mean that he had basically completed the task assigned to him. The rest would be handled by Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long, who would be assigning the newcomers to their respective Squads and roles.
After several small skirmishes, the morale of the newcomers was at an all-time high, and some overly excited ones were even encouraging Yang Kai to look around to see if they could find more Black Ink Clansmen.
Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t agree to their request; thus, many of the excited newcomers soon grew bored.
On the deck, Grandmaster Ma Fan suddenly whispered, “Is there something wrong?”
Yang Kai turned to look at him, “Grandmaster, why would you suddenly ask such a question?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan frowned and shook his head, “I can’t say for certain, but it feels as though you’re concealing something.”
Yang Kai smiled, “What could I possibly be concealing? Everyone here is still new to the Black Ink Battlefield, but they will all one day experience what it’s like to suffer a loss here. Through that pain, they’ll be able to wise up. Of course, if everything remains so smooth, it won’t be good either. They’ll start to get too prideful and arrogant. The Black Ink Clansmen we’ve encountered so far were all not strong and they were few in number, so they were easy to deal with. But, if we come across a large Army, like those during the siege, it will be different.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan looked at him, still suspicious, even though he knew that Yang Kai’s words were right.
At that moment, Yang Kai gently clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the newcomers, “You’re all new here, but now that you’ve seen Black Ink Clansmen, and even killed some of them, I need to warn you. Don’t think that they will always be as weak as this. If you dare to think in this manner, you probably won’t be far from your graves. The Black Ink Clan is an extremely difficult race to deal with. Their numbers are inexhaustible, and they will stop at nothing till they kill us all. What’s more, they have all kinds of strange and insidious abilities. For countless years, the Human Race has fought against them on this Black Ink Battlefield and guarded the tranquility of the 3,000 Worlds with only one principle, be cautious and careful. I hope that after you arrive at the forward base and join your respective Squads, you can also learn from our predecessors. Only by surviving can you kill more Black Ink Clansmen. Carelessness will only lead to annihilation.”
Many newcomers listened openly and nodded lightly, but some did not move and remained silent; after all, they were all in the Sixth Order and above. None of them could be considered children. They had been cultivating for so many years, so they knew the truth and felt they did not need to be lectured like this.
Yang Kai took a look around of the crowd for a moment, smiling lightly before he turned to look at a particular individual and asked, “Junior Brother Zhang Zhou, do you have anything to add?”
Zhang Zhou was startled and slowly shook his head, “No.”
Yang Kai seemed to be anticipating something as he smiled warmly, “Is there really nothing you’d like to say?”
Zhang Zhou frowned slightly but didn’t say a word.
Just when the newcomers were wondering why Yang Kai suddenly called out Zhang Zhou, the latter suddenly pushed his aura. His World Force rumbled, and he slammed a palm to the side.
When this sudden change happened, no one managed to react, not even Grandmaster Ma Fan who was standing nearby.
Standing beside Zhang Zhou were a few Sixth-Order Masters. They were caught completely unprepared while Zhang Zhou was merciless with his strike. With the power of this palm, these Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be gravely injured even if they did not die.
However, his palm was abruptly stopped.
Almost immediately after he made his move, Yang Kai had rushed towards Zhang Zhou. When the two palms collided, World Force rampaged. The fallout of an exchange between two Masters in the Seventh Order was extremely violent, and the shockwave was so strong it split the boat in half.
Only then did the newcomers realize that something was wrong and they all spread out.
When they looked back, Yang Kai was already fighting with Zhang Zhou. Both of them were extremely fast, and neither had any intention of defending at all. They simply continued to attack each other recklessly.
Cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven were like this. No matter how gentle and elegant they appeared in normal times, once they fought they would change into complete madmen. Even so, the newcomers didn’t expect that the genial Senior Brother, who came to welcome their batch of newcomers, would be even stronger and more ferocious than Zhang Zhou.
No one could understand what was happening, except for Grandmaster Ma Fan, who frowned thoughtfully.
As the battle continued, many people still could not comprehend what had happened. Nonetheless, they grew more curious about Yang Kai’s identity.
After all, all cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven were crazy when in battle. Even if they were in the same Realm, cultivators from the other Cave Heavens and Paradises were not willing to easily clash with those from Asura Cave Heaven. Mainly because they really went for the kill when they fought.
Even Zhang Zhou, who was just a newcomer and who had just advanced to the Seventh Order, was not weaker than most veterans in the Seventh Order who had advanced more than 100 years ago.
Even in the face of the most senior Seventh-Order Masters, Zhang Zhou could still put up a fight.
Therefore, many newcomers were surprised when they saw that Yang Kai had suppressed Zhang Zhou within just a few breaths of time.
Just next to Grandmaster Ma Fan, a Seventh-Order Master frowned and asked, “Grandmaster, which Cave Heaven or Paradise does this Senior Brother come from?”
Although they had been together for so many days, and Yang Kai was the person responsible for welcoming and guiding them, he had never once introduced himself. Meanwhile, the newcomers had only been thinking about fighting the Black Ink Clan so no one had asked about his origins. As a result, until now, no one knew much about Yang Kai, only that he was in the Seventh-Order Masters from some Cave Heaven or Paradise.
Grandmaster Ma Fan slowly sighed, “He’s not from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises, he is the Lord of the Star Boundary.”
The person who asked the question was surprised, “The Lord of the Star Boundary?”
Someone suddenly remembered something, raised his brow and said, “The one who left Black Territory to seal up a Void Corridor?”
Black Territory and the Royal Lord there was a major event in the 3,000 Worlds. During that time, there was a lot of noise inside every Cave Heaven and Paradise and many had participated in the battle to kill the Royal Lord. All those who were sent to fight were in the Seventh Order or above. As for those who did not participate, many had still heard about Yang Kai before as his name was just that famous. However, there were only a handful of people who had met him in person, so it was only natural that they could not recognise him.
“En, him!” Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
“So that’s why. No wonder Senior Brother Yang can easily suppress Zhang Zhou,” Someone sighed with emotion.
Yang Kai’s deeds were practically legendary in the 3,000 Worlds. When he was still in the Emperor Realm, he stirred up the entire 3,000 Worlds because he wanted to directly ascend to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. As a result, it attracted the joint suppression of several Cave Heavens and Paradises. When he was just a Sixth-Order Master, he fought with and killed a Master in the Seventh-Order from Thousand Cranes Paradise. Even so, the event that really made him famous was the war in Black Territory.
After fighting in that great battle, he alone dove into a Void Corridor, using his mastery over the Dao of Space to seal it. He had not returned, and there was no news of him since then.
Such a legend had actually been standing amongst them, yet none of them knew. However, if they thought about it carefully, he was indeed one of the few people who could possibly set foot in the Black Ink Battlefield without having any Cave Heaven or Paradise behind him.
“Grandmaster, why did Senior Brother Zhang Zhou suddenly try to kill me?” Someone asked.
Grandmaster Ma Fan sighed, “Before you came here, you must have been given some information by your Elders, right? They must have at least warned you about the dangers of the Black Ink Battlefield. Zhang Zhou is someone from Asura Cave Heaven, so there would obviously be no reason for him to suddenly attack his allies if he was still sane. Since he did so, there must be a reason for it, and you all must have your own guesses. So, why bother to ask this Old Master?”
Someone immediately exclaimed, “Senior Brother Zhang Zhou was corrupted by Black Ink Strength!”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded, “Besides that, there is no other explanation. Zhang Zhou is now a Black Ink Disciple.”
“But, when did he get corrupted by Black Ink Strength? I’ve been around him this whole time and didn’t notice anything strange.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan thought carefully, “Didn’t Zhang Zhou dive into a Black Ink Cloud to pursue that Feudal Lord some time ago? It is most likely when that happened. He must have been invaded by Black Ink Strength at that time.”
Everyone was busy killing the enemy except for Grandmaster Ma Fan, who did not make a move at the time; thus, he noticed some finer details that others had missed.
It was now obvious that when Zhang Zhou returned, Yang Kai had already noticed and that was the reason he asked Zhang Zhou if something was wrong. Otherwise, there was no way to explain what happened next, let alone explain why Zhang Zhou suddenly attacked and Yang Kai could stop him in time.
Yang Kai had clearly been waiting for this to happen.
At this thought, Grandmaster Ma Fan snickered and shook his head. Yang Kai was aware of this and was confident he could deal with it; thus, there was no need to worry about anything else.
[That brat most likely didn’t immediately resolve the issue because he wanted to take this opportunity to teach these newcomers a lesson. It didn’t have to be Zhang Zhou who got corrupted, it just happened to be him, so Yang Boy just made use of it.]
It was just as Yang Kai had said: People grew from experiences, especially painful ones. On the Black Ink Battlefield, being arrogant and prideful would never end well, even more so for someone like Zhang Zhou who advanced directly into the Seventh Order and was raised by Asura Cave Heaven. He was the best of the best, so it was only natural for him to grow arrogant.
Even when Zhang Zhou noticed himself being invaded by Black Ink Strength, his first instinct was to solve the issue himself, so he was unwilling to ask others for help. Unfortunately, he overestimated his own ability and underestimated the horror of Black Ink Strength. Now, after being fully corrupted, he had degenerated into a Black Ink disciple.
“Grandmaster, do we need to help?” Someone asked.
Since this was the legendary Yang Kai, who was able to kill someone in the Seventh Order when he was only in Sixth Order, now that he was in the Seventh Order, he naturally would not face any issues dealing with Zhang Zhou; however, different situations had their own difficulties. With the strength Yang Kai had shown, it was clear he would easily be able to defeat Zhang Zhou, but it might prove difficult to capture him alive.
However, if the Grandmaster took action, there would certainly not be any problems.
Still, Grandmaster Ma Fan shook his head and said, “No need. The outcome has already been decided.”
Everyone turned their heads back and saw Zhang Zhou’s figure becoming more and more sluggish. It was as if he was slowly sinking into a swamp. Every time he moved, Space Principles would bind him down more intensely.
Soon, pitch-black Black Ink Strength poured out from Zhang Zhou’s body, and even his eyes turned black, making him look extremely ominous.
However, no matter how hard he struggled, he could not extricate himself from his situation.
His movements were getting smaller and smaller, as if he was chained by invisible forces, and after a while, he was completely unable to move despite the surging Black Ink Strength inside and outside of him.
Yang Kai then stretched out his hand and dragged Zhang Zhou back to the crowd of newcomers.
The newcomers swiftly distanced themselves. They did not want to be contaminated by Black Ink Strength, after all. However, at this moment, they were thoroughly shocked. No one expected that two people, who were both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, would have such a decisive winner, and that one of them would be easily captured alive.
To be able to do this meant that Yang Kai had completely eclipsed Zhang Zhou in terms of strength…
When Yang Kai left Black Territory, he was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. He only recently, a little more than 100 years ago, managed to advance to the Seventh Order on the Black Ink Battlefield. Thus, technically, he was still a newly promoted Seventh-Order Master.
Thus, he should be on par with Zhang Zhou in terms of them both being new to the Seventh Order.
Even so, the difference in their strength was so astonishing it left all the newcomers in shock.
Zhang Zhou was still struggling, but under the shackles of Space Principles, he seemed to have been exiled to another time and space. No matter how hard he struggled, it did not help.
Yang Kai did not immediately disperse the Black Ink Strength in his body; rather, he continued his lesson, “Black Ink Disciples are rare nowadays, but even so, you need to be aware of this truth. Everyone here should already know that if a Black Ink Disciple does not stimulate the Black Ink Strength inside of them, their outer appearance will be no different to that of a normal cultivator, making it difficult to identify them. In the past, if a cultivator was invaded by Black Ink Strength, it was impossible to resolve unless they sacrificed a piece of their Small Universe.”
“That was the only method our ancestors had to deal with the corruption of Black Ink Strength. The moment Black Ink Strength invaded their Small Universe, they would immediately cut off that part of their Small Universe. That was the only way to protect themselves. This is why you will see some in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm in Blue Sky Pass. When they came to the Black Ink Battlefield, they were the same as you. They were in the lowest Order acceptable here, the Sixth Order, but after continuously sacrificing parts of their Small Universe, their Order regressed. Naturally, sacrificing one’s Small Universe comes with risks and side effects. Their future Martial Dao was cut off, and their situation became more dangerous. With their more unstable foundation, it became harder to resist Black Ink Strength. So, they either ended up dead or could no longer resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength and eventually degenerated into Black Ink Disciples, “
“For our ancestors, being reduced to becoming Black Ink Disciples was a fate far worse than death; after all, once they became Black Ink Disciples, they would become slaves of the Black Ink Clan and would be enemies of the Human Race. So, most would choose to die rather than become Black Ink Disciples. However, life is full of uncertainties, and after each war, there would be an indefinite number of Humans who were corroded by Black Ink Strength and reduced to Black Ink Disciples.”
“Fortunately, we Humans now have means to fight back against the invasion of Black Ink Strength.” While speaking, Yang Kai took out a Spirit Pill, “Blue Sky Pass was fortunate enough to obtain an incomplete ancient pill recipe while exploring a Sealed World. Under the leadership of two Great Grandmaster Alchemists, the Pill Hall was able to deduce the pill recipe for the Purifying Black Ink Pill. This pill in my hand is one such pill. Once taken, you will be able to resist Black Ink Strength for a certain period of time. It can also disperse a certain amount of Black Ink Strength inside one’s Small Universe; however, this pill has its own limitations. If you have already become a Black Ink Disciple, taking it will have no effect, so you cannot be too over-reliant on it when fighting against the Black Ink Clan and always need to remain cautious.”
Someone then asked, “Senior Brother Yang, according to you, it is useless for Senior Brother Zhang Zhou to take a Purifying Black Ink Pill in this situation, so what should we do?”
Yang Kai smiled and explained, “In this situation, we have to use other means to deal with it.”
Saying so, his left and right hands suddenly lit up with yellow and blue light. He clasped his palms together, and a pure white light illuminated the void. The white light enveloped Zhang Zhou, and in an instant, a sound which reassembled sizzling oil could be heard.
Zhang Zhou struggled in pain, but as the sound died down, the Black Ink Strength in his body was dispersed and purified, allowing him to calm down within a few breaths.
“That was Purifying Light. It can be used to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength and is arguably the greatest nemesis of Black Ink Strength!”
The newcomers whispered to each other for a while. Many obviously held great interest in the Purifying Light; after all, if they could learn this Secret Technique, they would no longer need to fear the Black Ink Strength’s corruption when they fought on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yang Kai didn’t tell them that only he could perform this Secret Technique; after all, they would stay on the Black Ink Battlefield for a long time and would naturally learn more about it when the time was right.
Even he had to learn how it could be used in the Black Territory. At that time, he had little understanding of Purifying Light’s properties, but eventually, he learned and managed to restore most of the Black Ink Disciples to their original states.
He then turned his head to look at Zhang Zhou, “You should have asked for help as soon as possible. Before the appearance of Purifying Light and Purifying Black Ink Pills, the corruption of Black Ink Strength was an unsolvable problem for the Human Race. Even those in the Eighth Order were helpless against it and would need to sacrifice part of their Small Universes just to maintain their sense of self, not to mention someone like you who has just entered the Seventh Order.”
Zhang Zhou was drenched in a cold sweat as he fearfully said, “This Junior Brother was careless. What Senior Brother has taught me will forever be engraved in my mind.”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Let’s go.”
The group continued on their way, but because the large ship was destroyed in the conflict between Yang Kai and Zhang Zhou, everyone could only fly the rest of the way to the forward base. Fortunately, this place was not far from their destination; thus, they only needed to avoid some large Black Ink Cloud on the way.
Yang Kai had no intention of making Zhang Zhou understand he was being too arrogant, it was just that as the person tasked to be their escort, he had the obligation and responsibility to teach these newcomers about the dangers of Black Ink Strength. Furthermore, letting them witness these dangers with their own eyes was far more convincing than mere verbal warnings.
He believed that after the incident with Zhang Zhou, no one would dare to underestimate the Black Ink Clan ever again.
Grandmaster Ma Fan flew over to Yang Kai and used his Divine Sense to send him a message, “Brat, who developed the Purifying Light Secret Technique? Is it difficult to learn?”
Yang Kai was a little speechless as he didn’t expect that Grandmaster Ma Fan would be so interested in Purifying Light.
“If I could teach you, I would, but this Secret Technique is unable to be used by anyone besides me. So, I have to apologize.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan then wondered, “If that’s the case, why are you able to use it?”
Yang Kai replied, “Because of a gift from the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer…”
After some explanation, Grandmaster Ma Fan showed a regretful look, “So that’s how it is. This Secret Technique can only be performed by you alone, and others cannot do it.”
“Exactly.”
Although the number of people in this group was large, all of them were above the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm; thus, their pace was pretty quick.
After another month, the forward base came into view. Along the way, the newcomers’ enthusiasm for killing the Black Ink Clan was still high, but their initial careless attitude had been thoroughly ground down and they were now much more wary of the enemy.
The arrival of the newcomers did not cause any waves. After all, there were not that many people idle in the forward base. Most of those who were stationed here were either resting or out on hunting missions.
Yang Kai went straight to Ding Yao, which marked the completion of his task. He then bid farewell to Grandmaster Ma Fan and returned to where Dawn was stationed.
The Squad members were all recuperating, and Yang Kai did not want to bother them, so he just went back to his residence to cultivate.
There was still a little time left before the next mission, so he took advantage of this time to restore his energy.
Two months later, Dawn was ready to go. Yang Kai picked up the repaired Dawning Light from the Refining Hall and set sail once again.
The plan of fortifying the forward base and clearing the area around it had been going smoothly. Now, all conflicts in the Blue Sky Theatre would basically only break out around the forward base. As such, for the Human Race, it was necessary to eliminate the Black Ink Clan wandering around, and further reduce whatever territory the Black Ink Clan controlled.
Meanwhile, for the Black Ink Clan, their priority was to recapture occupied territories; thus, both sides engaged in a continuous campaign around the forward base.
However, major conflicts were rare, as it was even rarer for the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters to get involved.
The Territory Lords had suffered huge losses in the previous war, and it would be difficult for them to restore their numbers in a short time. Thus, none wanted to venture out too far from the Royal City. On top of that, unless circumstances were special, if they wanted to withdraw from a fight, the Eighth-Order Humans could do nothing about it. As such, the top Masters from both sides preferred to spend their time recuperating.
After the newcomers joined the forward base, its strength increased greatly. The arrival of hundreds of Artifact Refiners alone was enough to ensure the continuous combat capability of each Squad.
Some years later, the small-scale skirmishes between the two sides only became fiercer. It was especially obvious to the Squads who were out hunting. The biggest change was that when they were out of the forward base, they would encounter larger groups of Black Ink Clansmen. Enemy groups were sometimes so large that they numbered in the tens of thousands. Thus, the initial plan to clear the surrounding region and build up a solid defensive position got more difficult as time passed. Furthermore, they did not know why the Black Ink Clan’s resistance suddenly became so strong once again.
There were more Humans casualties, and even more in the Black Ink Clan. Even the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Masters fought more frequently than before.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was basically the Black Ink Clan’s final stand; after all, as long as they could survive this period, the overall situation would stabilize. If the Human Race continued to push forward, and more territory was taken from them though, the Royal City would be in peril. Not to mention, the flanks between the forward base and Blue Sky Pass would eventually also fall under the control of the Human Race.
If this came to pass, Blue Sky Pass would completely change the landscape of the battlefield and hold a significant advantage.
…..
Inside the forward base, in a sealed space, deep underground, a pillar was rooted to the ground. The floor was covered with Spirit Arrays, and there was a Black Ink Clansman bound by the Arrays to the pillar. No matter how the Black Ink Clansman struggled, he could not break free from his shackles.
Judging from the power emanating from this Black Ink Clansman, he was obviously a Feudal Lord. In fact, even among the Feudal Lords, this one was quite strong.
It was unfortunate that even he did not know who had captured him and imprisoned him here.
Right in front of that Feudal Lord, two figures stood side by side.
One was Yang Kai, and the other was Grandmaster Ma Fan.
After showcasing the power of Purifying Light in front of Grandmaster Ma Fan, the old man became extremely interested in it. Although Yang Kai repeatedly reiterated that only he could cast it, he still continued to pester Yang Kai with questions, obviously wanting to study it more.
However, his research was built on the foundation of torturing Black Ink Clansmen.
For decades, in his spare time, Ma Fan had been researching and refining an artifact that could exert the power of the Purifying Light.
He was, after all, an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster, someone capable of even refining Mobile Palace Artifacts and Warships. Furthermore, Yang Kai was not staying somewhere far away; thus, he would go up to him and get him to help in his research whenever possible.
Naturally, Ma Fan was swamped with work most of the time; after all, he was an Artifact Refiner and needed to repair the damaged Warships and fortify the forward base, so his research was somewhat intermittent.
Nonetheless, a decade ago, he had a breakthrough in his research.
He had developed a spear artifact, which was no more than three metres long. He named it the Evil Purging Divine Spear, an extremely rustic name. In fact, Yang Kai had expressed his disdain for the name more than once, but the old man ignored him and continued to name it as he pleased.
Yang Kai also did not know who had captured the Feudal Lord, who was bound here. Nonetheless, it was easy to tell that the one who captured this Feudal Lord must have been an Eighth-Order Master.
Moreover, since the old man’s research involved Purifying Light, which would be of great benefit to the Human Race if it was successful, he was definitely being supported by Zhong Liang and the other Army Commanders.
Yang Kai was also looking forward to it; after all, if Grandmaster Ma Fan’s research was successful, the Human Race would gain a powerful weapon against the Black Ink Clan. It might even be able to disrupt the current stalemate!
The war on the Black Ink Battlefield had raged on for countless years, with neither side having a decisive advantage.
The Human Race relied on their Great Passes and Warships to resist the attacks of the Black Ink Clan, making it difficult for them to break through and invade the 3,000 Worlds.
Meanwhile, although the Black Ink Clan always suffered heavy losses after each major war, the Humans could not completely weed them out since as long as they had enough Black Ink Nests and resources, they could quickly restore their numbers and find a chance to make a comeback.
This was how the Black Ink Battlefield had maintained its balance for countless years.
Yang Kai’s arrival broke this pattern to a certain extent. He brought Purifying Light, Universe Arrays, and Purifying Black Ink Pills. These had allowed Blue Sky Pass enough leeway to launch a crusade and achieve something that countless ancestors could only dream of.
Even so, currently, the crusade was at an impasse. They had reached another deadlock. Under the increasingly tough resistance of the Black Ink Clan, they could no longer move forward.
The arrival of Grandmaster Ma Fan might be able to break the pattern again; of course, his research was still only in its early stages.
Technically, there were a lot of Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters in the Human Race; in fact, every Great Pass had at least two to three of them. Furthermore, in terms of Artifact Refining skills, Grandmaster Ma Fan was only on par with them, with no one being better than the other.
The key difference was in their way of thinking and overall perspective. He was given a problem and had a different way of seeing it from the other Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters, especially since he had just arrived at the Black Ink Battlefield.
In the old man’s own words, the Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters stuck in the Black Ink Battlefield have lived far too long following the same pattern, so all they thought about was defence. Thus, they were extremely focused on methods to make the Mobile Palace Artifacts and Warships more durable and how to reduce the losses of human soldiers.
He was different though. Although he was definitely old, he could be said to be a rookie here; thus, he had the vigour and determination of a newcomer. From his perspective, the best defence was a good offence! After all, no matter how strong or tough the walls were, there was no point if they could not eradicate the Black Ink Clan.
It was precisely this unique perspective that gave birth to the idea of developing the Evil Purging Divine Spear.
Of course, it also had something to do with Yang Kai showing him Purifying Light while guiding and teaching the newcomers upon their initial arrival. At that time, Yang Kai had said something which he may not have realised had become deeply ingrained in Grandmaster Ma Fan’s heart.
‘Purifying Light is the greatest nemesis of Black Ink Strength!’
If it was the nemesis of Black Ink Strength, why not find ways to further utilise it? Since Purifying Light could only be cast by Yang Kai, Ma Fan wanted to further strengthen it by using an artifact. This would allow it to be used offensively.
With this in mind, the Evil Purging Divine Spear came into being.
This was also strongly supported by Zhong Liang and the others; in fact, the Feudal Lord imprisoned here was captured by Zhong Liang himself. Furthermore, this was not the first Feudal Lord that had been captured. Before this, there were plenty of other Feudal Lords, but they had eventually been killed as the old man continued his research.
“Come, come. The same old thing. This version of the Evil Purging Divine Spear has been improved by this Old Master after much careful consideration. Seal some Purifying Light inside.” Grandmaster Ma Fan said, handing the long artifact in his hand to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took a look at it and nodded, “En. I hope it won’t be like last time. It exploded before I could even use it.”
The Evil Purging Divine Spear was meant to be used against the Black Ink Clan, so it needed him to seal Purifying Light in it just like how he originally sealed Purifying Light in the Purifying Black Ink Battleships.
However, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were huge, and they had many Spirit Arrays, which were all properly arranged for different purposes. Thus, it was not that difficult to seal Purifying Light inside of them.
The Evil Purging Divine Spear was very different. This artifact was only three meters long, but it not only had to seal Purifying Light inside, it also had to increase its lethality. This required great Artifact Refining skills and was something only an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster like Ma Fan could do. The difficulty of accomplishing this was further proven when he, even after so long, had not succeeded.
Every time during the experiment, there would always be some kind of problem, which would lead to the result being unsatisfactory. Last time was the most ridiculous. Yang Kai had just sealed Purifying Light inside the spear, when it exploded. At that time, all kinds of burnt materials splattered across Yang Kai’s face, making it black like coal, while all his hair had been sticking up after being blown away. Even the old man could not stop himself from laughing at the comical scene.
This time, Yang Kai brought up that incident again, and Grandmaster Ma Fan immediately glared at him, “It’ll be fine! Why would it not? Brat, you’re so long-winded. Look. You already know that if this succeeds, we will be famous. Our names will go down in history and will last forever. At that time, we can basically take half the credit for eradicating the Black Ink Clan.”
They had been getting along with each other for many years and knew each of their backgrounds and personalities. So, they hardly had any scruples when speaking with each other.
Yang Kai naturally knew the importance of the Evil Purging Divine Spear, so he stopped talking about it and began casting Purifying Light while holding the Evil Purging Divine Spear.
Under normal circumstances, once Purifying Light had been cast, unless Yang Kai deliberately suppressed it, it would slowly dissipate; after all, strictly speaking, Purifying Light was just a form of energy that appeared as white light.
Under Yang Kai’s control though, the dazzling white light slowly poured into the Evil Purging Divine Spear. The spear contained a small storage space, which Grandmaster Ma Fan improved upon after carefully studying the various Spirit Arrays in the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
The Feudal Lord, who was bound not too far away, suddenly became restless. His eyes were round as he stared at the deadly white light, madly struggling to escape. It was evident that his eyes were filled with horror.
Purifying Light was the nemesis of Black Ink Strength, so although this Feudal Lord didn’t know what the white light was, he instinctively felt threatened by it.
Both Yang Kai and Grandmaster Ma Fan were not surprised by this situation as every Feudal Lord who had been captured before reacted the same way when they saw Purifying Light.
But, their minds were completely focused on the Evil Purging Divine Spear at the moment.
Under the close attention of two pairs of eyes, the Purifying Light slowly disappeared without a trace, completely pouring into the Evil Purging Divine Spear. When the light disappeared entirely, Grandmaster Ma Fan heaved a sigh of relief.
[Success! It did not explode this time! The improvements I’ve taken so long to make have finally paid off. Now, it’s time to test the efficacy of the Evil Purging Divine Spear!]
It was not easy to refine this spear, and even though it is only three metres long, it consumed a lot of precious materials. It also took Grandmaster Ma Fan a lot of effort to produce. All kinds of problems encountered during its development were solved by him alone, as he had never asked for help from others.
He couldn’t get help either; after all, the other Artifact Refiners had their own tasks and no one had the time or energy to help him.
Grandmaster Ma Fan looked up at Yang Kai, “Will you be the one that does it, or me?”
Yang Kai checked the Evil Purging Divine Spear and said, “I’ll do it.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan gave a nod and his hand seals changed. The Spirit Array in the secret room flickered, and the binding power suddenly disappeared.
The Feudal Lord, who had been bound to the pillar, had been struggling the whole time. Naturally, it was futile with the restraint of the Spirit Arrays, but immediately after Grandmaster Ma Fan released the restraints, the Feudal Lord took action.
There was no way out of this secret room, so the Feudal Lord only had one choice, which was to pounce on Yang Kai and Grandmaster Ma Fan.
The Black Ink Strength madly surged and turned into a mass of black mist that enveloped him. He then moved as swiftly as the wind.
With a faint boom, the Feudal Lord let out a pained scream as a figure rushed at him and struck him with a powerful force.
The Feudal Lord noticed there was a sharp pain in his abdomen, and when he looked down to check, his pupils suddenly shrank
He did not know when, but there was now a spear lodged into his abdomen, the same one the two Humans were mulling over before.
For Feudal Lords, such an injury was not considered light, but it was not considered fatal either; thus, as long as they had enough time, they could restore themselves.
But the terror in the Feudal Lord’s eyes at this moment was thick and overflowing. He sensed that from the spear, a mysterious energy was suddenly spreading out. It poured into his body, and quickly dissolved the foundation of his power.
The Feudal Lord was horrified. He thought back to what he had seen before and knew that it must have been that dazzling white light which had made him feel uneasy.
Reaching out his hand, he ruthlessly pulled the spear out of his body, causing black blood to freely splatter around.
He wanted to urge his Black Ink Strength to stop the flow of blood spilling and seal his wound; however, he could not stimulate it to heal his wound at all! The mysterious energy lingered in the wound, like maggots on rotting bones, dispersing any Black Ink Strength he tried to condense there. Worse, it was also eating away at his strength. Looking down, he could even see a dazzling white light blooming from inside the wound.
“Kill me and you can go free!” Yang Kai shouted and rushed forward to punch the Feudal Lord.
The Feudal Lord gritted his teeth and fought back, exchanging blows with Yang Kai.
He didn’t know if what this Human said was true, but regardless, he could not sit still and wait to die. After all, he was a proud Black Ink Clansman who had become a Feudal Lord. He was resilient and would not give up hope so easily.
However, his own situation was worse than he had thought. Under the erosion of the mysterious energy, his strength had plummeted, and no matter how hard he tried, it was difficult for him to exert much of his strength.
After half an hour, the Feudal Lord fell to the ground panting. His face was strangely pale, and the huge gap in strength between him and his enemy made him no longer want to resist. Even so, he was unwilling to die here in total ignorance; thus, he looked at Yang Kai and indignantly asked, “What kind of power is that?”
Yang Kai looked down at him, his expression unfazed, “Us Humans have been fighting against your Black Ink Clan for countless years, and the situation has not changed much in all that time. Neither side holds a clear advantage, so it is obvious that you are not stronger than us. Instead, all you rely on is your Black Ink Strength. Tell me. Without it, what are you? Simple, you are nothing.”
Black Ink Strength possessed an overwhelming corruptive property, especially to the Small Universes of Open Heaven Realm Masters. Once Black Ink Strength invaded one’s Small Universe, there was basically no solution.
Before Yang Kai arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, the Human Race had fought against the Black Ink Clan under these harsh conditions. This was why the Human Race heavily relied on a large number of Warships to provide favourable platforms for cultivators below the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm to fight.
The Seventh-Order Masters, on the other hand, often had to fight the Black Ink Clan in close combat. Not only did they have to resist the attacks of those from the Black Ink Clan, but they also had to constantly resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength. This made it difficult for them to display their full strength.
Just now, the strength of this Feudal Lord had been suppressed by the Purifying Light that was invading his body.
The Black Ink Clan finally had a taste of the same suffering that the Human Race had experienced over the course of countless millennia. The Black Ink Clan had been relying on the Black Ink Strength, but now, the Human Race could rely on Purifying Light.
Instead of killing the Feudal Lord, Yang Kai simply imprisoned him once more. His injuries weren’t serious, so he would be back on his feet with some rest after the remaining Purifying Light had dissipated, allowing Grandmaster Ma Fan to continue experimenting on him.
“The suppression effect is about 30%,” Yang Kai stated his conclusion outside the secret room.
The so-called 30% was how much the Evil Purging Divine Spear’s Purifying Light could suppress the Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Strength.
It was quite a terrifying number. If an ordinary Master were to suddenly lose 30% of their strength in a battle against an evenly-matched opponent, they would almost certainly be doomed. Not to mention that in the same Realm, a Seventh-Order Human was generally stronger than a Feudal Lord to begin with.
It could be foreseen that if the Evil Purging Divine Spear was introduced into the battlefield, the Seventh-Order Masters would be able to slaughter Feudal Lords as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs.
Nonetheless, the old man was still dissatisfied with these results and slowly shook his head, “There’s still room for improvement. After this thing hits the enemy, the release of the Purifying Light is a bit slow. If a Feudal Lord reacts quickly and pulls it out before the Purifying Light fully erupts, it may not be very effective. Do you have any good suggestions?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “That’s your field of expertise, I’m just assisting you, what advice can possibly I give?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan knew he would say this and was just asking for the sake of asking, “Alright, this Old Master will come up with something.”
Saying so, he turned around and left.
Yang Kai called out from behind, “Grandmaster, two hands are better than one. Why don’t you have a chat with Grandmaster Dong Guo and the others?”
The old man didn’t say anything, so it was hard to tell whether he was listening or not.
In any case, after this experiment, Yang Kai knew that the Evil Purging Divine Spear had basically been successfully completed! It was just that it was far from meeting the criteria for general use on the battlefield.
In the great war between the two races, the people responsible for changing the course of the war were always the small number of top Masters, such as those in the Eighth-Order Masters or Territory Lords, the Old Ancestors and Royal Lords!
Grandmaster Ma Fan refined the Evil Purging Divine Spear not just to deal with Feudal Lords, but also to deal with the Territory Lords!
The Royal Lords were just too strong, so even if the Purifying Light did work on them, no one could guarantee its effect.
There were also far too many Feudal Lords, so it would not be practical to use the Evil Purging Divine Spears on them. Firstly, most Artifact Refiners could not refine them, and secondly, Yang Kai did not have the time, energy, or resources to seal Purifying Light into so many Evil Purging Divine Spears.
As such, the optimal targets were the Territory Lords.
The best steel should be used to make the sharpest blade.
Currently, the Evil Purging Divine Spear was able to suppress 30% of a Feudal Lord’s strength, but that didn’t mean it could do the same against a Territory Lord. However, even if it was only 10% effective, it would be enough to drastically tilt the outcome of a battle.
It was difficult to replicate Blue Sky Pass’s 100-year plan. Several decades ago, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a huge loss outside Blue Sky Pass, with over 30 Territory Lords being killed and a huge chunk of their territory being occupied. Be that as it may, this plan could not be implemented twice. Furthermore, most of the Universe Cave Heavens outside Blue Sky Pass were either damaged or completely destroyed in the battle between the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, meaning they could no longer be used.
The Human Race urgently needed a new tactic or weapon that could provide them with an edge over the Black Ink Clan, one that was useful not just to Blue Sky Pass, but to all Great Passes. That was the future that the Evil Purging Divine Spear was designed to bring.
If the Purifying Light brought by Yang Kai gave the Human Race the possibility of going on the offence, then the birth of the Evil Purging Divine Spear would turn this possibility into reality. Of course, the prerequisite was that Grandmaster Ma Fan could further improve the spear.
After separating from the old man, Yang Kai returned to Dawn’s station. The last time they had returned from a hunting mission was only two months ago, so there was still a lot of time before they deployed again. Naturally, Yang Kai couldn’t afford to waste any time. He had never slacked off in his cultivation, but the time required to rise from the beginning of the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order was measured in millennia, so there was no time to waste.
Time quickly passed by and several months went by in a flash.
Dawn’s hunting rotation had arrived, so its members exited their retreat and quickly convened. Yang Kai then personally went to the Army Headquarters to report in.
This was a necessary process before executing any mission. The forward base could only coordinate everyone’s efforts if they were in control of the movements of every Squad, so one could not simply leave at will.
Entering Zhong Liang’s office in the Army Headquarters, Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Sir, Dawn requests permission to deploy for a hunting mission.”
Zhong Liang, who was neck-deep in paperwork behind the desk, tossed a jade slip straight to Yang Kai without even raising his head.
Catching the jade slip and reading it, Yang Kai was pretty taken aback and asked, “Sir, isn’t this place a bit too far?”
Recorded in the jade slip was the area that Dawn would be responsible for this time. Every time a Squad came to accept a mission, the Army Headquarters would assign a region of the void to the Squad Leader. After all, every action executed outside the base needed to have a certain order; otherwise, if a bunch of Squads were acting in one area, no one would be responsible for the other areas.
The region Zhong Liang had assigned to the Dawn this time was quite deep into enemy territory, a place Dawn had never been before and one that was quite close to the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
Such a position meant more Military Merits, but it also carried corresponding risks.
Zhong Liang looked up at him and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you afraid?”
Yang Kai immediately became stubborn, “Afraid? My Dawn has earned the greatest amount of Military Merits in the past few decades. We didn’t back down even when we were up against tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen, and even returned in triumph. When have we ever been afraid?”
Zhong Liang snorted, “Since you’re not afraid, why are you being so long-winded?”
Yang Kai stated, smiling, “This Junior just wants to know if there is any deeper meaning behind the Army Headquarters’ deployment; after all, no one has ever been sent to this place before.”
Zhong Liang snickered, “What kind of deeper meaning could there be? What nonsense have you been thinking all day? Just because no one has been to this place before doesn’t mean no one will ever go there. In fact, several Squads are carrying out missions there right now. If your Dawn is late, I’m afraid you won’t even get a sip of soup.”
“Which Squads are so reckless?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Zhong Liang impatiently rebuked, “What does that have to do with you? Are you going or not? If not, I’ll send another Squad.”
“Alright, we’ll go!” Quickly putting away the jade slip, Yang Kai bowed to Zhong Liang and left.
“This brat is as sharp as ever, did he notice something? Other Squad Leaders didn’t even ask any questions.” Someone suddenly walked out from the shadows and muttered; it was none other than the Southern Army Commander, Liang Yu Long.
Zhong Liang didn’t even bat an eye, “What can he notice? It’s nothing more than curiosity.”
Liang Yu Long asked, “Are you really not going to explain the deployment to them?”
Zhong Liang replied, shaking his head, “No need! To deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your allies. There is no need to tell them the truth, it’ll be fine.”
Liang Yu Long couldn’t help but worry, “That might be the case, the ones deployed there are all elite Squads, but if something does happen to them, wouldn’t your overall force suffer as a result?”
Zhong Liang leaned back in his chair and indifferently stated, “What’s the point of mourning for them? Life and death are perfectly normal in this damned place. If you can’t accept it, this place is not suitable for you. Moreover, it’s precisely because they’re all elites that we deployed them; otherwise, how could they possibly succeed?”
Liang Yu Long lightly sighed.
Zhong Liang stood up and continued, “The bait has been cast, it all depends on whether the Black Ink Clan takes it or not. I’m afraid a big battle will break out very soon, and only by winning it will the forward base become completely stable. This is a matter of great importance, so we should make all the preparations we can!”
In the void, Dawning Light sailed forward towards the hunting region.
After half a year of rest, the Squad members were all in high spirits and quite enthusiastic for their next mission.
Dawning Light was extremely fast, but as the region they were deployed to was quite far, it still took them 10 days to arrive after leaving the forward base.
There was no fixed requirement for the mission this time, so the Squads assigned here would just search around and kill any Black Ink Clansmen they ran into. As a result, most of the time, there was nothing much to do.
After several dozen years of ‘hunting’, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a great loss of manpower and no longer dared to easily show their faces. Although they were recently showing signs of rising from the ashes, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was going to be the last counterattack the Black Ink Clan made.
The area where Dawn was deployed for the mission was a place they had never been to before, so there were many enemies here. In fact, they had run into several groups of Black Ink Clansmen in the span of a few days, though their numbers weren’t high. These scattered enemies were completely powerless before Dawn.
Today, while Dawn was searching for more prey, Yang Kai, who was standing on the deck, suddenly turned his head, looking in a certain direction. He carefully sensed for a moment before making a gesture towards that direction.
The Squad member responsible for steering immediately adjusted Dawning Light’s course.
The Squad members also gathered around, performing their respective duties.
Feng Ying stood beside Yang Kai and gazed ahead, “Squad Leader, is something wrong?”
Both might be Seventh-Order Masters and Feng Ying may be just on the verge of breaking through to the Eighth-Order, but when it came to the Divine Senses, she was still lacking compared to Yang Kai. So, while Yang Kai might have discovered something, she might not have been able to detect it.
Yang Kai replied with a slight nod, “Some people should be fighting there.”
Feng Ying understood, “Other Squads?”
“It should be.”
Feng Ying’s expression became somewhat unusual, “Squad Leader, it’s not polite to steal other people’s kills.”
Yang Kai broke into laughter as he gave an excuse, “We’re just going there to watch, we won’t be snatching anything. But, if there’s an opponent they can’t handle, as fellow soldiers of Blue Sky Pass, we should help them, shouldn’t we?”
Feng Ying couldn’t help but sigh.
Not long after, they spotted swirling Black Ink Clouds ahead. A large number of Black Ink Clansmen happened to be fleeing towards them from these Black Ink Clouds in panic, like stray dogs. They looked as if they were being chased by a tide of ferocious beasts. More importantly, several among them were Feudal Lords as well.
Standing on the deck, Shen Ao broke into joyous laughter when he focused his gaze ahead, “Great, there are hundreds of them!”
There were several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, including a few Feudal Lords. It was a force to reckon with and an ordinary Squad might not be able to take them down, making fleeing their only option. But at this moment, this fearsome enemy force was being chased and forced to flee.
It was obvious that the group pursuing them was quite strong. Yang Kai did not need to use his brain to tell that it was one of the Special Operations Squads.
There was more than one Special Operations Squad like Dawn in Blue Sky Pass, in fact, there were a few of them. Of course, based on the time they were established, all these Squads were veterans.
There weren’t many such Squads like this, but each one was capable of carrying out important tasks that other Squads couldn’t.
Before the appearance of the Dawn, these Special Operations Squads were always competing with each other, but in just a few short decades, Dawn’s presence became like a mountain pressing down on their heads, making it hard for them to breathe.
It was not surprising either as Dawn had obtained far more Military Merits than any of their Squads in the two wars fought in the past 100 years.
All of them felt suffocated because of this. During the hunting missions assigned at the forward base, every Squad went all out in order to win this round, so that a newcomer, Dawn, would know that the honour of their Seniors could not be shaken.
“Are we going to steal or not?” Although Ning Qi Zhi was asking Yang Kai, the expression on his face obviously said that he was itching to have a go.
Yang Kai was well aware of the secret rivalry between the Special Operations Squads and Dawn, but he never cared about it. Strictly speaking, Dawn and the other Squads’ Military Merits gained from killing enemies on the battlefield were almost the same. Be that as it may, Dawn had acquired enormous Military Merits from other sources, such as the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors Yang Kai had introduced, and Zhu Feng Territory Lord, whom he and Bai Yi killed together. There were also those kills obtained when Yang Kai took Dawn into the various Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises during the 100-year plan not long ago. These Military Merits still belonged to Dawn, so it appeared that their Military Merits far surpassed the other Special Operations Squads’ after each great battle, allowing them to firmly occupy first place in the Merit Hall.
The Military Merits gained during the current hunting mission weren’t much, basically on par with other Squads, so the rankings in the Merit Hall were constantly fluctuating for the recent period.
The higher-ups were also aware of this rivalry, but they had no intention of stopping them. This kind of contest was not a big deal; in fact, it motivated the soldiers to kill even more enemies.
Stealing other’s prey was a common occurrence in hunting missions, but it was basically always Dawn doing the stealing. The Black Ink Clansmen targeted by Dawn were simply unable to escape from Yang Kai’s Space Principles, giving them a distinct edge.
That was why Ning Qi Zhi asked this question.
Yang Kai immediately replied, “What stealing? My Dawn’s reputation has been ruined by you. Do you know what those other Squads called us? They call us Gadflies, insects that specialise in sucking blood, even the blood of our fellow comrades. How disgraceful!”
Shen Ao silently circulated his strength, reminding, “Squad Leader, although Dawning Light has a Concealment Array around it, it has a distance limit. Any closer and this group of Black Ink Clansmen will likely discover us. Furthermore, you should have already noticed that these Black Ink Clansmen are fleeing in a panic. The Squad behind them wouldn’t be able to catch them even if they wanted to. What’s more, it’s highly likely that it’s the Old Turtles. If we ignore them, these Black Ink Clansmen may very well escape.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai agreed with a nod, “You make a good point. Since that’s the case, we can only take action.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed forward and shouted, “Kill them!”
The Squad members were already prepared, so as soon as Yang Kai gave the order, the Warship began to hum as a series of Spirit Arrays were activated one after another, energizing the ship’s artifacts. The next moment, beams of light shot straight towards the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen, one after another.
Many of the Black Ink Clansmen turned pale with fright. They had never imagined that there would be another Human Warship blocking their way and, in a flash, they suffered heavy casualties.
The salvo of attacks instantly destroyed the Black Ink Clan formation. After launching the initial attacks, Dawning Light charged straight into the centre of the enemy forces like a bolt of lightning before the Seventh-Order Masters leapt out of the ship and unleashed their Divine Abilities.
The Black Ink Clansmen numbered in hundreds, but in front of the Dawn, they were still not enough. Forget Dawn, Yang Kai alone could take care of this many enemies without an issue.
In just a few dozen breaths, all of the Black Ink Clansmen had breathed their last breath, with not a single one escaping.
It was only at this moment that a Warship finally flew over from the direction the Black Ink Clan had fled.
This Warship’s style was quite different from Dawning Light’s. Dawning Light had undergone several major modifications, although most of them were at the expense of Yang Kai’s Military Merits as they were still being managed by Feng Ying. As a woman, she had her own sense of aesthetics, so Dawning Light’s overall appearance was quite sleek and refined while having various performance upgrades.
The Warship that had just arrived was quite different. At first glance, it looked rough and crude. Rather than a Warship, it looked more like a mobile fortress. There were over a dozen miscellaneous artifacts on the deck, all of which were offensive artifacts.
On top of that, there was a thick and solid shielding that looked like a turtle shell on the top of the Warship.
Just as Feng Ying had her own sense of style, the other Special Operations Squads modified their Warships according to their unique tastes. Unlike Dawning Light’s performance upgrades, this Warship focused more on overwhelming offence and defence. The dozen or so artifacts installed on the deck were quite terrifying, and the protective barrier over it provided quite a strong defence.
A Warship like this was much stronger than the Dawning Light in both offence and defence, but due to focusing on these aspects, its speed suffered greatly.
Of all the Special Operations Squads, this one’s Warship was by far the slowest, earning them the moniker ‘Old Turtles’.
Just like how Dawn had gained the moniker ‘Gadflies’, there was also the Breeze Squad, whose Warship’s features were the complete opposite of the Old Turtles’. They had greatly enhanced their speed while sacrificing their offence and defence capabilities. The other Squads often ridiculed them for killing their enemies just like a breeze blowing on one’s face. Basically, the Black Ink Clan simply treated them as nothing more than tickles.
Apart from them, there were also the Wild Boar Squad, who would charge straight like wild boars, without any sense of strategy. They would plunge straight in wherever there were more people, often throwing their own allies into disorder while pushing their enemies to their wits ends.
Finally, there was the Water Snake Squad, which was basically a balanced force, but since everyone else had aliases, they could be no exception. Since their Warship had the character ‘Dragon (龙)’ engraved on it, they were called the Water Snakes by the other Squads.
In the entire Blue Sky Pass, there were only five Special Operations Squads, and they constantly fought each other over Military Merits, openly and secretly. Their sight had even gained quite a bit of notoriety.
The Old Turtles arrived late, with Chai Fang, their Squad Leader, standing on the deck. His heart ached when he saw the Black Ink Clan corpses littered across the void and snapped, “It really is you Gadflies! Look at what you’ve done.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Senior Brother Chai, you sure came quickly! This group of Black Ink Clansmen were running away, and this Junior Brother was afraid that you wouldn’t be able to catch up, so I had to intervene and take care of them on your behalf. No need to thank me!”
Chai Fang gnashed his teeth and glared at him, “Thank you my ass! Why did you come here? Weren’t you still resting?”
Since the Black Ink Clansmen were already dead, there was nothing they could say that could change the situation. What he couldn’t figure out was why the Gadflies had been sent here.
“We’ve finished resting.” Yang Kai stretched out his hand and stroked the side of the ship, his body leaning slightly, “As for why we’re here, it’s naturally at the orders of the Army Commander. Why? Is Senior Brother Chai afraid that my Dawn will wipe out all the Black Ink Clansmen here, and you won’t get any kills? How about we work together then? Dawn will eat the meat, and you can drink the soup.”
Chai Fang immediately spat in disdain, “Forget it, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to get a single sip if I work with you Gadflies.” He cupped his fist and bid goodbye, “Farewell! I hope we never meet again!”
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly thought of something and turned to Yang Kai, “Where are you going?”
A mischievous smile bloomed on Yang Kai’s lips, “We have no fixed direction, we are just roaming around here and there.”
Chai Fang’s jaw clenched as he pointed in a certain direction, “We’re going this way, fuck off as far as you can from us!”
A short while later, the Old Turtles’ Warship flew in the direction Chai Fang had pointed and soon disappeared.
“I heard that one of their members just advanced to the Seventh Order a few years back, I guess the rumours are true. They have 8 Seventh-Order Masters now,” Feng Ying suddenly stated.
Dawn’s roster was quite distinguished compared to ordinary Squads, with a total of 37 members, 6 of whom were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. In fact, there were only 5 of them at first, but later, when Yang Kai brought Bai Yi back, Zhong Liang assigned her to Dawn, increasing the count to 6.
Since even a new Special Operations Squad like Dawn had such a distinguished roster, the other elite Squads would naturally be better; after all, they were established many centuries back. The number of members the other 4 Special Operations Squads had was basically 50. Furthermore, the members of these Squads would often advance, which was why they had so many Seventh-Order Masters.
8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wasn’t even the largest number among the Special Operations Squads. The Water Snakes had 10!
At first, there were more than 10, but even for a Special Operations Squad, having 10 Seventh-Order Masters was already a bit too much. So, whenever another member of their advanced to the Seventh Order, he or she would be assigned to another Squad.
In terms of the number of Seventh-Order Masters, Dawn had the least among the five Special Operations Squads; even so, their Military Merits from hunting missions were not inferior to others. With a combat power like Yang Kai’s added to the mix, which couldn’t be calculated according to normal standards, their kills were naturally no less than other Squads’.
Not to mention Yang Kai, Feng Ying and Bai Yi were both among the top elites of the Seventh-Order Masters. In fact, among all the Seventh-Order Masters in Blue-Sky Pass, aside from Yang Kai, Feng Ying could be said to be the strongest. As for Bai Yi, her proficiency in the Dao of Archery made her unmatched in long-range combat.
Yang Kai smiled and stated, “We should focus on ourselves, our Dawn does not need to compete with others in terms of the number of Seventh-Order Masters. On that note, Senior Sister Feng, you should advance when you are ready. You don’t need to worry about anything. In this damned place, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is much more valuable than a Seventh-Order one.”
Feng Ying had reached the absolute peak of the Seventh Order a long time ago, so her next step would be to break through to the Eighth Order. However, no one could help her in this matter; she could only rely on herself.
Hearing this, she replied with a nod, “I don’t have any worries. Although there is competition between the various Squads, that’s a good thing. As for me, I still need some time to prepare.”
In the matters of cultivation, one’s own state of mind was the most important. Since Feng Ying was so meticulous, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t add anything.
Following this small event, Dawn continued with its hunting mission in their designated area. According to the past rules, such missions would be carried out for half a year.
Two months later, Dawning Light was flying across the void.
Yang Kai was standing on the deck, using his Divine Sense to search for the enemy, when Feng Ying suddenly approached him and reported, “Squad Leader, there’s something wrong.”
“You also felt so?” Yang Kai looked at her.
Feng Ying added, “Obviously, this region has never been explored before and the Black Ink Clan is quite active here. If it was our Dawn as the vanguard, it would be reasonable as we have a higher degree of strength and thus a better chance of surviving, but apart from Dawn, the Old Turtles, Breeze, and Wild Boars are all here. Of the five Special Operations Squads, only the Water Snakes aren’t accounted for. Although we haven’t run into them, it’s very likely that they’re also here. Why would the Army Commander deploy all the Special Operations Squads here?”
Over the past two months, Dawn had been hunting here and there, so they naturally had a few run-ins with the other Squads that were carrying out missions in this region. As Feng Ying had stated, of the five Special Operations Squads of Blue Sky Pass, except for the Water Snakes, they had met all the others.
This was obviously strange.
It wasn’t just Dawn who had noticed this, but the other Squads also had similar doubts.
Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brow. He pondered on it for a moment before replying, “Since the Army Commander made such arrangements, there must be a deeper meaning behind it. Perhaps he could not say why, but it’s also possible that we’re overthinking things. It’s entirely possible that because we’ve never explored this place before, we need Special Operations Squads to act as scouts. Ordinary Squads may not be able to protect themselves here.”
“Even so, it’s still quite strange,” Feng Ying slowly shook her head.
Yang Kai dismissed her worries with a smile, “In any case, the most important thing we have to do is keep carrying out our mission. As for the rest, we’ll cross that bridge when we reach it.”
While they were speaking, a faint aura fluctuation suddenly appeared from the depths of the void. These fluctuations were extremely strange in that they were quite noticeable even though they were so faint.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying immediately looked in the direction of their source.
But these fluctuations disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, vanishing without a trace before the two of them could perceive anything.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying looked at each other and could clearly see the surprise in each other’s eyes. But even after waiting for a long time, nothing eventful happened.
Just as the two settled down, the strange aura fluctuations appeared once more, this time even more obvious than before.
Yang Kai’s expression changed, “Someone is breaking through?”
Feng Ying solemnly nodded her agreement, “It seems so.”
Yang Kai immediately started cursing, “Who is so eager to die? They actually dared to break through here? Don’t they know it’s better to return to the forward base and break through there?”
He might have said so, but he was also aware that if a cultivator really reached the point of breaking through, they might not have the time to find a suitable place to do so. For years, there had been many who had broken through directly on the battlefield. This was not intentional, but rather that it was easier to break through one’s shackles and reach an epiphany when wandering the boundaries between life and death in battle with the Black Ink Clan.
Although one could use the Universe Transference Law to instantly return to the forward base, if they did so, it was highly likely that they would disrupt or even interrupt their moment of enlightenment, which would be detrimental to their breakthrough.
However, advancing in this region was simply too reckless. This place was too deep behind enemy lines and the Black Ink Clan was frequently active in this region. If they were disturbed while they were advancing, the consequences would be deadly.
At the very least, if it was Yang Kai, he would definitely not have chosen to advance here and would have returned to the forward base.
Be that as it may, there were always exceptions to everything. Although he was annoyed, Yang Kai had no choice but to turn Dawning Light around and rush towards the source of the aura.
If they could sense the aura, so could the Black Ink Clan, who were quite active in this region. In other words, this aura was as bright as the lighthouse in the dark night. The Black Ink Clan would definitely not miss this great opportunity which dropped onto their doorstep.
Along the way, the aura fluctuations became more frequent and more obvious; obviously, it had reached a point where it could no longer be suppressed.
Dawn Squad members could also sense the situation more clearly.
On the deck, Yang Kai’s face sank.
Shen Ao was bewildered as he voiced his thoughts, “Judging by the intensity, it doesn’t seem like someone is breaking through to the Seventh Order, but rather…”
He didn’t dare to say the rest, mainly because it was too outrageous. Everyone knew that advancing to the Seventh Order would not produce such strong energy fluctuations, which meant this disturbance had to be caused by someone advancing from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order!
“Who is it?” Yang Kai looked at Feng Ying.
In Dawn, Feng Ying had the highest cultivation and most experience. Furthermore, Yang Kai had only been in Blue Sky Pass for a little over 100 years while the rest of the Seventh-Order Masters were rescued from the Black Ink Clan’s territory by Yang Kai. Only Feng Ying had constantly lived in Blue Sky Pass and thus had a deep understanding of its residents.
Although there were many Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and there were many who were qualified to advance to the Eighth-Order, there were only a few who were truly hovering at the threshold, so Feng Ying should be acquainted with them; after all, she too was counted among their ranks. She should be interacting with these others often.
“This seems to be Martial Uncle Xiang Shan’s aura!” Feng Ying slightly furrowed her brow.
“Xiang Shan?” Yang Kai seemed to have heard his name, “The one who fell from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order because he sacrificed a large part of his Small Universe?”
Feng Ying nodded, “That’s him.”
“How could it be him!?” Yang Kai was confused.
Yang Kai had heard of him from Feng Ying’s mouth during a casual conversation, but that was it.
Before Yang Kai’s arrival at Blue Sky Pass, the corruption of Black Ink Strength was extremely harmful to the Human Race, and this kind of harm was not limited to Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be affected, though this happening was quite rare.
Be that as it may, accidents were bound to happen during the lengthy war against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. Thus, even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
Xiang Shan was one of the few unfortunate ones. He was originally an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but when he was fighting against a Territory Lord, he was ambushed by another nearby Territory Lord and suffered heavy injuries. Although he had relied on his great strength to survive and escape, his Small Universe had been invaded by Black Ink Strength already.
In that intense battle, he had to cut off parts of his Small Universe five times, causing his Order to drop from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order.
In fact, cutting off a part of one’s Small Universe didn’t necessarily mean that one’s Order would fall. Yang Kai had cut off a portion of his Small Universe because of the World Spring, and doing so had caused his strength to fall, but his Order did not regress.
Most people would find themselves in similar situations when only one or two pieces of their Small Universe were cut off, but if they continued to do so, a drop in Order was inevitable.
Regression in Order was very troublesome as even after repairing one’s Small Universe and rebuilding their foundation using a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, the drop in Order could not be reversed. One would need to cultivate again and find a chance to break through.
Although there was no exact data on this process, according to the soldiers’ performance in the past, it was far more difficult for a cultivator to break through to the next Order after they had been forced to cut off pieces of their Small Universe. Only two or three out of ten people could successfully advance once again. If not for this, there wouldn’t have been so many Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Pass, even with a much more abundant supply of Profound Yin Spirit Fruits now than in the past. If those fruits could restore their Order, all of them would have returned to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Xiang Shan’s fall in the Order was nearly 3,000 years ago. Although he had used a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair his damaged Small Universe afterwards, he was still stuck in the Seventh Order.
Three millennia ago, Feng Ying had just arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield. Although she had some understanding of Xiang Shan’s situation, she wasn’t very clear about it, and those in the Pass refrained from speaking about it. So, no one knew exactly what happened back then.
Nevertheless, Xiang Shan was an extremely special existence in Blue Sky Pass because he did not belong to any Squad. Even when he fought against the Black Ink Clan Army, he fought alone.
Although he was currently only in the Seventh-Order, he had the foundation of an Eighth-Order Master, so he was often able to display strength far beyond the Seventh-Order. To a certain extent, he was almost on par with Yang Kai.
“Are you sure it’s him?” Yang Kai asked.
Feng Ying nodded in confirmation, “Martial Uncle Xiang Shan is also from my Blue Sky Paradise. When I first came to the Black Ink Battlefield, I received some guidance from Martial Uncle. Although I have rarely interacted with him over these past few years, I will never forget his aura.”
It wasn’t that Feng Ying didn’t want to interact with him, but rather that Xiang Shan preferred to keep to himself like a lone wolf. He had a strange temperament and always fought alone before going into a secluded retreat. So, it was difficult to meet him, even for Feng Ying.
“In fact, when I came to Blue Sky Pass, the Western Army Commander was Martial Uncle Xiang Shan. After his cultivation fell, Martial Uncle Zhong Liang took over the position,” Feng Ying added.
At this moment, the matter of the Western Army Commander was not on Yang Kai’s mind. He had thought that some Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was advancing to the Seventh-Order, but by the looks of it, it was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master advancing to the Eighth-Order.
[What should we do now?]
No matter what reason Xiang Shan had for staying in this region to advance, this fierce aura could not be concealed and would definitely attract the attention of countless Black Ink Clansmen.
Just like how the Territory Lords were the main force of the Black Ink Clan, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were the backbone of the Human Race. Now that the balance between the number of Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords in the Blue Sky Theatre had already been destroyed, how could the Black Ink Clan just watch another Eighth-Order Human appear?
Even if Yang Kai thought with his feet, he knew that a large number of Black Ink Clansmen would soon be rushing over to interfere. Perhaps even some Territory Lords would make an appearance.
Pondering for a moment, Yang Kai turned around and ordered, “Senior Brother Qi, I’ll have to trouble you to return to the forward base and report this matter to the Army Commanders. Ask them to quickly send reinforcements.”
Qi Tai Chu also understood the gravity of the situation and immediately nodded in response, “Yes!”
In a flash, he appeared outside Dawning Light as he used the Universe Transference Law to return to the forward base.
Yang Kai then turned to the other members and suggested, “A fierce battle is upon us, so all of you should quickly try to recover your strength. You may not have a chance to rest later.”
Everyone readily agreed.
Dawning Light continued to fly forward, but Yang Kai still felt uneasy.
Although he had asked Qi Tai Chu to return to the forward base to report and ask for reinforcements, only Qi Tai Chu could use Dawning Light’s Universe Array to immediately return. Other soldiers could not do the same; thus, even if an Eighth-Order Master was deployed, it would take at least 10 days for them to arrive.
All kinds of things could happen during these 10 days. Yang Kai couldn’t help but be a little resentful. [This Xiang Shan is such an insensible bastard. If you are about to break through to the Eighth Order, why did you come to a place like this? Aren’t you just looking for trouble?]
In any case, since things had already reached this point, there was no point in complaining. As Dawn happened to be at the right place at the right time, they would naturally fight to the death to protect Xiang Shan. No matter what, they could not allow the Black Ink Clan to interfere with Xiang Shan’s advancement; after all, this matter would decide whether Blue Sky Pass would have another Eighth-Order Master or not!
Dawning Light’s speed was pushed to the limit, but even so, it still took them over a day to reach the place where Xiang Shan was breaking through.
It was a deathly silent asteroid and there were many Black Ink Clan corpses floating around it, evidence of a huge battle having been fought here.
When Dawn arrived, they spotted a Warship flashing through the void in the distance. The entire Warship was surrounded by arcs of lightning and flickering with a dark blue glow. From the deck, Secret Techniques and artifacts were being cast, shooting at the several figures surrounding the Warship.
Although this Warship was quite agile, its efficiency in killing enemies was not very high. At the very least, it was not comparable to Dawn.
Fortunately, not too many Black Ink Clansmen were attacking the Warship, nor were they too strong. By the time Dawn arrived, more than half of these Black Ink Clansmen had already breathed their last. After Dawn joined the battlefield, the remaining survivors were swiftly wiped out.
The two Warships converged in the void as a figure flew over and landed in front of Yang Kai.
“Junior Brother Yang, you’re also here.”
Yang Kai nodded in response, “Senior Brother Wan.”
The newcomer was Wan Zheng Xin, the Squad Leader of the Breeze Squad. Yang Kai had many dealings with him, so they could be considered friends.
“What’s the current situation?” Looking at the asteroid below, Yang Kai could vaguely see a figure sitting cross-legged. He was the source of the fluctuating aura.
Wan Zheng Xin replied, furrowing his brow, “We arrived just half an hour earlier than you, so I’ve no idea either.”
Of the five Special Operations Squads, Breeze’s Warship was the fastest, so it was only natural that they would be the first to arrive. However, when they got here, they happened to run into a detachment of Black Ink Clansmen who were trying to interfere with Xiang Shan’s advancement.
“Junior Brother Yang, do you know who the guy below is? Why is he alone and why can’t I see any of his Squad members?” Wan Zheng Xin asked.
Yang Kai replied with a sigh, “If I’m not mistaken, the one advancing is Senior Xiang Shan. Has Senior Brother Wan heard of him?”
Wan Zheng Xin was extremely taken aback, “It’s actually him!?”
Judging by his expression, he had obviously heard of Xiang Shan, but since the latter was a reclusive person, his face wasn’t well known. Even Feng Ying rarely got to see him, so although Wan Zheng Xin had heard of Xiang Shan, he had never seen him and thus didn’t recognize him.
It wasn’t difficult to understand why he was here alone. Rumour had it that after he fell from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order, his temper had become extremely strange, and very few could cooperate with him. Considering his original Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm status, there had been several Squads that had tried to recruit him, but none of them had succeeded. In the end, the Army Commander could only let him move about solo.
“This is going to be a bit troublesome,” Wan Zheng Xin furrowed his brow.
He originally wanted to persuade the person advancing to return to the forward base and break through there, but since it was Xiang Shan, he couldn’t interfere at all.
Since his Order had already fallen, it would be much more difficult for him to break through than an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Now that Xiang Shan finally managed to grasp an opportunity to break through, he would naturally go all out and could not be disturbed in the slightest.
It was probably for this reason that Xiang Shan immediately chose to go through with it when he sensed the opportunity to break through. Otherwise, he would have used the Universe Transference Law to return to the forward base camp.
“The Old Turtles and Water Snakes are also in this area, they will be arriving to support us soon. It looks like we need to protect him well.”
Yang Kai glanced at him, “The Wild Boars are also in this area.”
Wan Zheng Xin was surprised, “All five Special Operations Squads are here?”
Yang Kai earnestly nodded.
“Five Special Operations Squads just happened to be hunting in this area while there are no signs of any other Squads active here, and now there is someone breaking through to the Eighth Order. Do you think the Army Commander knows something?” Wan Zheng Xin asked thoughtfully.
Yang Kai lowered his head, looking below, “Whether the Army Commander knows something or not is beside the point, now that things have reached this point, we must stand guard here and wait for reinforcements. I’ve already sent someone to report back to the forward base. Since the Senior is here, we should pay him a visit. At the very least, we should let him know that someone is guarding him so he can safely advance.”
“But of course,” Wan Zheng Xin nodded.
The two of them immediately flew down together, but didn’t get too close. Xiang Shan’s aura was fluctuating more and more rapidly, so if they got too close, they might disturb him. As such, the two stopped after reaching a certain distance from the asteroid.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and introduced in a loud and clear voice, “The members of Dawn and Breeze Squad are here. Senior, please focus on your breakthrough, there is no need to worry about external factors.”
There was no response from below, but Yang Kai didn’t expect one; after all, at this juncture, Xiang Shan wouldn’t be distracted by answering them.
After making the announcement, the two returned to Dawning Light.
“Senior Brother Wan, is there anyone in Breeze who is proficient in Spirit Arrays? We can arrange some around the asteroid just in case!”
Although true Array Masters were not allowed to enter the battlefield, every cultivator had a hobby or two which they practised in their free time. Owing to this, every cultivator had developed various abilities over the course of their long lives.
For instance, Yang Kai had mastered a little bit of both the Alchemic Dao and the Dao of Artifact Refining.
Although none of the members of the two Squads majored in the Array Dao, there were still a few who were a little proficient in arranging Spirit Arrays.
Wan Zheng Xin agreed, nodding, “There is, but his attainments aren’t high. Furthermore, if he is asked to set up an Array in a hurry, its power won’t be very high.”
Yang Kai replied, “It’s still better than nothing.”
“That’s true, but setting up a Spirit Array requires resources, and we don’t have any.”
In a special environment like the Black Ink Battlefield, where the cultivators were not sure whether they would be able to make it back alive or not, everyone would not bring anything other than essential healing and restorative items; after all, if they were to die outside, the resources they brought with them would be wasted.
Therefore, even if they wanted to set up a Spirit Array, they had no resources to do it with. Even the cleverest housewife couldn’t cook a meal without rice.
Yang Kai stated as a smile appeared on his lips, “I have some on me, I can provide whatever he needs.”
The Black Ink Battlefield had an unspoken rule that didn’t allow anyone to carry any extra resources, but Yang Kai never followed it, nor had anyone asked him to do so. As such, all of his possessions were stored in his Small Universe and Space Ring.
Since he had resources, there was nothing else to say.
The two of them immediately gathered all those capable from their respective Squads and began setting up Arrays around the asteroid. None of them had high attainments in the Array Dao, so their work was completely worthless compared to a true Array Grandmaster. None of them could say for sure how effective this arrangement would be, so the main force protecting the asteroid was still them.
While they were bustling about, a figure walked out from Dawning Light’s cabin.
It was none other than Qi Tai Chu, who had been sent back by Yang Kai to report this matter.
Seeing him return, Yang Kai quickly asked, “What did the forward base camp say?”
Qi Tai Chu reported, “The Army Commander told us to stand guard and wait for reinforcements. Division Commanders have been dispatched, but as this place is quite far from the forward base, even an Eighth-Order Master will need at least 10 days to arrive.”
Yang Kai let out a sigh. This was within his expectations. In the end, their position was simply too deep into enemy territory.
Many Black Ink Clansmen in the vicinity had been alerted to this disturbance and were already swarming around, hiding in clusters of Black Ink Clouds and shattered asteroids, watching from afar. Fortunately, due to the deterrence of the two Human Race Warships, none of them dared to approach, but this situation would not last long. Once the Black Ink Clan had gathered a certain amount of force, they would definitely launch an attack.
Their current situation was like sharks swarming over from all around after smelling blood.
During the tortuous wait, many simple and crude Spirit Arrays were set up around the asteroid. They were not proficient enough to lay profound Spirit Arrays down, so they could only make do with these.
After another three days, more Black Ink Clansmen had gathered. Some were even daring enough to test the limits of Yang Kai and the others’ endurance, constantly provoking them from a distance.
Wan Zheng Xin couldn’t help but send a voice transmission to Yang Kai, “Junior Brother Yang, you guard this place while I lead some people to kill these bastards.”
Yang Kai persuaded, “That’s not appropriate. My Dawn only has 37 members. If you leave, we may not be able to protect the entire area by ourselves. If any of them managed to slip through the net and made their way to Senior Xiang and interrupted his breakthrough, everything would be for nought.”
Wan Zheng Xin suggested, “Then why not take your Dawn Squad to kill them, while we guard this place.”
“It’s the same principle, we should just wait and see.”
Wan Zheng Xin speechlessly stated, “Even if we don’t take any action, do you think the Black Ink Clan won’t? The longer we wait, the more Black Ink Clansmen will gather. By then, the situation will be very hard to control. We might as well take advantage of this opportunity to kill some of them and reduce the pressure we will face later.”
Yang Kai stated with a smile, “The Black Ink Clan has reinforcements, but we don’t?”
Wan Zheng Xin was stunned for a moment before asking thoughtfully, “You mean…”
“It’s been a few days since we arrived here, but we haven’t seen any trace of the other Squads. Since they’re all in this area, they should have been here by now, no matter how far away they were. Since they haven’t appeared yet, it means they’re hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to act. We should wait for now, and when the time is right, I’m sure they’ll appear and take the Black Ink Clan by surprise. There’s no need for us to act. Since they have not made their moves yet, it’s only because there’s too little meat to eat.”
Wan Zheng Xin thought about it for a moment before cursing, “Damn it, we came too early and lost the opportunity to get more kills. If I had known that things would take such a turn, I would have come later and then would have been able to kill to my heart’s content.”
Yang Kai burst into laughter, joking, “Among all the Squads, your Breeze Squad is the fastest. Who else could have arrived earlier than you?”
Wan Zheng Xin was slightly depressed, “I guess, you’re right.”
While they were speaking, a powerful energy fluctuation came from a certain place, followed by deafening bangs as a series of Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities suddenly lit up the void, hitting the asteroids and dispersing the Black Ink Clouds. The next moment, a wild laughter reverberated through the void as a raucous shout rang out, “Hahaha, there are so many fish here! Brothers, let’s run wild!”
Hearing this voice, Wan Zheng Xin felt a headache coming on, “That pig is here!”
Yang Kai’s face also twitched. The Wild Boars’ way of doing things was as unrestrained as ever. They could have acted stealthily, but no, they had to make a huge scene, like they were afraid that the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t know of their arrival.
It was the Wild Boars’ signature style to always rush forward without a second thought. Under the leadership of their Squad Leader, Zhu Yu Ming, the entire Squad had taken this as their way of life.
From another side, someone immediately started cursing, “You freaking pigs, can’t you think a bit before you act!? Why would you purposely alert the enemy!? Arghhh… you drive this Old Master crazy!”
Another cold snort came from another side, “If these pigs knew how to think, they wouldn’t be pigs!”
Immediately, chortles of laughter and people cursing in disdain rang out across the void. To the Black Ink Clansmen’s shock, who were lingering in the vicinity, three Human Warships started attacking from three different directions. Fearsome artifacts and Secret Techniques blasted out from each of these three ships, raining down on the Black Ink Clansmen.
The Black Ink Clansmen were dumbstruck for a moment. Without their knowledge, they had been surrounded. Originally, all of their attention had been focused on the Human breaking through on the asteroid, and the two Human Squads guarding him. The sudden appearance of the other three Squads had thrown their thoughts into chaos.
Although they put up a brave fight under the coordination of some of the Feudal Lords, these suddenly appearing Human Squads were clearly different from the ordinary. Not only were they much bigger, but the proportion of Seventh-Order Masters in them was also extremely terrifying. Furthermore, the power each Warship could display was far more fearsome than what average Human Warships could.
These were the Special Operations Squads of the Human Race!
Having fought with the Humans for so many years, the Black Ink Clan naturally had some understanding of the Special Operations Squads. They knew that there weren’t many Special Operations Squads on the Human Race’s side, just 5 in the Blue Sky Theatre, but each one was capable of defeating a Feudal Lord Army.
The Black Ink Clan came to the conclusion that if they wanted to take care of such a Squad, they would need the Territory Lord to personally act, or at least 20 Feudal Lords.
This was for one Squad, and right now, there were 5 such Squads here. Although there were many Black Ink Clansmen, they were mostly weaker Low-Rank and High-Rank Clansmen. They were simply unable to contend with these Special Operations Squads.
Under the leadership of their respective Squad Leaders, the three Squads rampaged through the void, with the Wild Boars acting the fiercest.
In just a short time, all the Black Ink Clansmen present in the vicinity had been slaughtered, leaving mangled corpses floating about everywhere.
The outcome was decided.
Wan Zheng Xin heaved a sigh, “Junior Brother Yang’s foresight was on point, the Old Turtles and Water Snakes were indeed hiding nearby, but unfortunately, all their plans were destroyed by that pig.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “You can’t say that. Those two Squads probably wanted to wait for the Black Ink Clan to gather more troops before starting the bloodbath, but although Senior Brother Zhu acted a bit rashly, this isn’t a bad outcome either.”
Wan Zheng Xin nodded, lamenting a little, “When will the Wild Boars change their style?”
Yang Kai and Wan Zheng Xin had no intention of taking part in such a one-sided battle as right now, the most important thing was to protect Xiang Shan, not fight for Military Merits.
What’s more, this was only the beginning, things would surely become grimmer with time. Whether it was Yang Kai or Wan Zheng Xin, after being Squad Leaders for so many years, they both understood the principle of conserving their strength before the battle.
Just as the three elite Human Squads made their appearance, far away, the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords were gathering in a hall on a giant asteroid in the depths of the void.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered heavy losses in the last large-scale war, especially in regard to Territory Lords, of whom several dozen had been killed. It could be said that they had lost an arm and a leg, infuriating the Royal Lord.
Immediately after, the Human Race Army stormed out of the Great Pass to launch a crusade. With morale at a record low, the Black Ink Clan lost vast swaths of territory to the Human Expeditionary Force, only halting their advance three Territory Lord territories away from the Royal City.
This was something that had never happened before. The Human Race and Black Ink Clan had been fighting on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, but the Black Ink Clan had never suffered such a great loss before. It had always been the Black Ink Clan who attacked the Human Race Great Passes, whereas the Human Race were always passive. The Humans might launch a raid every now and then, but this time, it was completely different.
What was even more frustrating to the Black Ink Clan was that the Human Race had actually built a forward base camp at the very front of the territory they had conquered. By the looks of it, they were planning to completely settle in there.
How could the Black Ink Clan tolerate this?
If the Human Race succeeded, the entire Black Ink Clan of the Blue Sky Theater would lose all face. In the future, they wouldn’t be able to hold their heads up high in front of their fellow clansmen in other Theatres.
Over the past few decades, the Black Ink Clan had also mounted counterattacks, but their efforts had been fruitless. With so many of their Territory Lords dead, it was difficult for them to suppress the Eighth-Order Humans. Although the Black Ink Clan held the advantage in terms of overall numbers, that was only among the weaker Realms, while their top Masters were now completely outnumbered. The majority of the Black Ink Clansmen were far too weak. If the troops they sent out were too small in number, any Human Squad would be able to wipe them out, and if they deployed a bigger Army, they would be met by a fierce assault from the Human Race’s forward base.
Thus, the Black Ink Clan was caught in a dilemma.
The lack of action by the higher-ups caused the lower-ranked Black Ink Clansmen to bitterly grieve and spontaneously gather their forces to fight against the Human Race. On the other hand, the Humans had been hunting down these scattered groups over the past few decades. How could the Black Ink Clan not try hunting them down in return? This kind of scattered battle had basically become a kind of tacit agreement between the Masters on both sides. No one knew how long this situation would last, and no one knew what kind of variables would appear in the future.
The Human Race forward base had many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered, forcing the Territory Lords to form a coalition in order to prevent the Human Army from continuing their conquest or simply picking them off one by one.
This asteroid was originally a Feudal Lord’s Fief, and was only a few million kilometres away from the Human Race’s forward base. In the vastness of the void, such distance was quite short, almost within fighting distance. If one stood at the edge of this asteroid, they could even vaguely see the Human outpost.
Because it was quite close to the Human Race’s forward base, this place had become the frontline for the Black Ink Clan’s resistance.
At this moment, many Territory Lords were gathered here, not to discuss some battle plan or anything, but to wait for that variable that would change the situation, hoping to break the stalemate.
The Territory Lords had already been waiting here for several decades, but that was nothing more than a snap of the fingers to them.
Suddenly, a Feudal Lord rushed out from the Fief’s Low-Grade Black Ink Nest and hurried into the main hall. He put his fist before his chest and respectfully reported, “Sir, I bear an urgent report!”
One of the Territory Lords opened his eyes and asked, “Is there any movement at the Human’s forward base?”
The Feudal Lord quickly replied, “It’s not about the forward base, it’s in the depths of the void, near Sir Gu Song’s Territory.”
Gu Song’s Territory was the territory of a Territory Lord, and it wasn’t very close to this place, but it happened to be a space where the two races were fighting.
“What’s going on over there?” The Territory Lord asked.
The Feudal Lord replied, “There’s news that a Human is breaking through to the Eighth Order there!”
As soon as he reported this, the other Territory Lords, who had remained silent all the while, opened their eyes as one of them leaned slightly forward, “Someone is advancing to the Eighth Order over there? Is the news accurate?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “It’s absolutely accurate. A Feudal Lord observed the situation at close range. There are indeed signs of a Human breaking through from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order.”
The reason why this news had reached this place so quickly was naturally because of the Black Ink Nest’s network ability; otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to arrive so quickly.
“Damn it, is the Human Race going to gain another Eighth-Order Master?” One of the Territory Lords indignantly cursed. After the last war, the balance between the number of Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters had been broken. If the Humans gained another Eighth-Order Master, it would put even more pressure on the remaining Territory Lords.
One of the Territory Lords coldly snorted, “The Humans are taking us more and more lightly, actually trying to advance to the Eighth Order at that position. They’ve gone too far!”
“The advancement of the Human Race depends heavily on opportunities. When an opportunity is before them, they won’t be able to suppress it even if they want to. Forcefully suppressing it will only lead to terrible consequences. Since that Human chose to advance in that location, they must have had no other choice.”
“Is there any point in discussing this? Are we just going to sit back and watch the Humans gain another Eighth-Order Master?”
“What else can we do? Don’t tell me you want to go and stop him? Not to mention the distance, even if we can make it in time, who can guarantee that this isn’t some Human plot? Didn’t we suffer enough last time?”
The group of Territory Lords fell silent. Even the Territory Lord who had just spoken didn’t say anything. The insidious and cunning schemes of the Humans were too deeply ingrained into the Black Ink Clan’s hearts. They had suffered heavy casualties because of the Humans’ schemes in the last war.
It was an extremely important matter for a Human to advance to the Eighth Order. If they wanted to break through, they would have made careful arrangements beforehand, so how could they have advanced so far off in the void? Thus, when the Territory Lords heard about this matter, their first reaction was that the Human Race was plotting something, possibly having set up a trap to lure them out and kill them.
But if they didn’t do anything about it, it would be quite frustrating; after all, this was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If they could kill him before he broke through, they would be able to deal a big blow to the Human forces.
At this moment, the Feudal Lord who had come in to report the situation spoke again, “There is one more thing I must inform Sirs about.”
“What is it?”
“According to the Feudal Lord who relayed the news, the one who is breaking through might be Xiang Shan!”
As soon as he reported this, all the Territory Lords were shocked.
A Territory Lord with a braid behind his head asked darkly, “Are you sure it’s that Xiang Shan?”
Three millennia ago, the name Xiang Shan had a great deterrence on the Black Ink Clan. It was not surprising either, as when he was the Army Commander of the Western Army, he had killed 7 Territory Lords relying on his deep heritage and fearsome strength.
This was an almost insurmountable achievement.
It had to be said that neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan would lose Eighth-Order Masters or Territory Lords in a battle very frequently. Even in large-scale wars, having more than 2 or 3 such Masters fall would be considered unusual. It would be considered a great achievement if any Eighth-Order Master was able to kill 1 Territory Lord in 1,000 years, but during his tenure as Western Army Commander, Xiang Shan had killed 7!
That was an astonishing feat.
Moreover, his style of doing things was extremely unyielding and had caused the Black Ink Clan Army to suffer great losses many times. His name was a taboo in the Black Ink Clan in this era and many of the Territory Lords present had once lived under his shadow.
There was also one thing that made the Black Ink Clan unable to eat or sleep in peace, and that was Xiang Shan’s aptitude.
According to various Black Ink Disciples’ reports, Xiang Shan’s aptitude was extremely high, and when he broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, he advanced straight to the Seventh Order! In other words, the Eighth Order was not his limit, he had a chance of reaching the Ninth Order and becoming an Old Ancestor.
An Eighth-Order Xiang Shan was already so difficult to deal with, so if he were to break through to the Ninth Order, what would happen?
Because of these considerations, the Black Ink Clan in the Blue Sky Theatre only had one goal 3,000 years ago, which was to destroy Xiang Shan.
During one battle, the Royal Lord severely wounded Xiang Shan even at the expense of taking a fierce blow from the Human Old Ancestor. After that, the Territory Lords swarmed him, wanting to cut weeds and pull out roots, but the Eighth-Order Humans all came to his aid one after another and a chaotic battle ensued.
Although Xiang Shan had luckily escaped death in that battle, his cultivation had fallen from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order, and he slowly faded from the eyes of the Black Ink Clan. The Royal Lord’s attack might have failed to kill Xiang Shan, but they had achieved their goal, albeit barely.
The Royal Lord was severely wounded by the Old Ancestor in that battle and had to recuperate for 300 years to return to his peak.
Additionally, in that battle, more than 10 Territory Lords had died under the wrath of the Human Old Ancestor!
The battle that had taken place 3,000 years ago was still fresh in their minds as most of the Territory Lords had personally experienced it. How could they forget such a tragic war?
Originally, they thought that the threat of Xiang Shan had been eliminated. They never dreamed that they would once again hear news of him breaking through after 3,000 years.
Had any other Seventh-Order Human been breaking through to the Eighth-Order, they wouldn’t have been too bothered. There had been many new Eighth-Order Humans over the years, and many who had lost their lives in the war. Overall, the number of Eighth-Order Humans had maintained a kind of balance, so one more wouldn’t really affect the overall situation.
But if it was Xiang Shan, they had no choice but to take it seriously!
Counting the time, after 3,000 years of silence, even if Xiang Shan had regressed to a lower Order, it was indeed possible for him to cultivate back up again. Thinking back to the dark times 3,000 years ago, which Territory Lord was willing to experience that again?
Therefore, when the Feudal Lord first reported that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was breaking through to the Eighth-Order, most Territory Lords didn’t take it seriously, but after hearing the name Xiang Shan, they couldn’t remain calm.
“Are you sure it’s Xiang Shan?”
The Feudal Lord confirmed, “I’m absolutely certain. The Feudal Lord who reported this news had also seen Xiang Shan’s terror from afar in the past and clearly remembered his aura.”
Since the person reporting had said so, there could be no mistake. The Territory Lords looked at each other, and they could clearly see the seriousness in each other’s eyes.
After a long silence, a Territory Lord asked, “Are there any movements at the Human’s forward base?”
“I don’t know, but I can ask,” another Territory Lord replied. Saying so, he sent a message with his Divine Sense.
A moment later, the Territory Lord reported, “Just half a day ago, 2 Eighth-Order Masters emerged from the forward base, making a beeline towards Gu Song’s Territory!”
“It seems that news of Xiang Shan’s breakthrough has been reported back to them. Those Division Commanders must be heading there to guard him.”
“In other words, Xiang Shan’s breakthrough should have been an accident; otherwise, the Humans wouldn’t be scrambling to make arrangements now.”
“It’s still hard to say if this is another of those Humans’ schemes.”
“Whether it’s a scheme or not, we can’t ignore Xiang Shan’s advancement. If he returns to the Eighth Order, he will be the most difficult enemy we have to deal with; none of the Territory Lords can resist him.”
“Yes, we must stop Xiang Shan from breaking through, no matter what!”
“Even if the Humans are plotting something, they won’t be able to do anything with Xiang Shan’s position being so far away. In fact, we might as well beat them at their own game.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wu Jiang, Mao Chi, Zhong Ning, and Hong Hu are not here; send a message to any two of them to intercept those two Eighth-Order Humans and stop them from assisting Xiang Shan. Then send a message to the other two to investigate Xiang Shan’s advancement. If the Humans have not planned any ambushes, they can take action, and everything will be solved. If there is an ambush waiting for them, they should still be able to escape if they work together.”
As soon as he suggested this, the Territory Lords pondered for a moment before one of them nodded in agreement, “Good, we’ll go with that!”
One of the Territory Lords also questioned, “Although that’s the case, we still don’t know where all the Eighth-Order Humans are. If they are all lying in ambush near Xiang Shan, wouldn’t we be walking right into a trap if we send fewer people? The Territory Lords suffered heavy casualties in the last war, so we can’t afford to lose any more.”
The Territory Lord who had made the proposal first suggested once more, “That’s why we should launch an attack on their forward base! We don’t need to achieve anything decisive, just cause a big enough disturbance to figure out the situation at their base. If we can determine the number of Eighth-Order Masters there, we can basically determine the situation on Xiang Shan’s side. At that time, we can inform Wu Jiang and the others, so that they can act appropriately.”
“Attack the forward base?” One of the Territory Lords furrowed his brow, “If a war breaks out, it won’t be so easy to quell, and we will have to pay a certain price. If we win, it’s fine, but if we lose, the Black Ink Clan will completely lose the territory occupied by the Humans. We won’t have enough troops to continue fighting.”
“Compared to Xiang Shan’s breakthrough, it is worth it, no matter what the price is.”
“Since we have different opinions, we might as well vote. Those who agree to attack the forward base, please rise.”
After a moment, more than a dozen Territory Lords stood up. Basically, all of the Territory Lords who were standing had lived during Xiang Shan’s era, and most of the sitting Territory Lords had just recently advanced. From this, it was obvious that the old Territory Lords were all extremely wary of Xiang Shan. They were willing to pay any price in order to kill him. Compared to these Territory Lords, the new Territory Lords of the last 3 millennia didn’t fear Xiang Shan so much. They were satisfied with their current state and didn’t think that a large-scale war with the Human Race was a good idea at this point.
However, most of the Territory Lords had already agreed to fight, so they couldn’t influence the overall situation.
A storm was brewing, and war was about to break out!
Over the past few years, the Black Ink Clan’s various reinforcements had gathered around this Feudal Lord’s Fief, forming a stalemate with the forward base. The Black Ink Clan didn’t dare act rashly, and the Human soldiers in the forward base didn’t have any intention of getting themselves into a large-scale battle; but today, because of a single person’s breakthrough, this stalemate was about to be broken.
The Black Ink Clan began to mobilize their troops and advance towards the forward base.
Although their actions were extremely well-hidden, how could such a large deployment possibly be hidden from the vigilant Humans?
Inside the temporary Army Headquarters of the forward base, a group of Eighth-Order Masters was waiting with Zhong Liang and Liang Yu Long in the lead.
Suddenly, a Seventh-Order Master entered, cupped his fist, and reported, “The Black Ink Clan has started moving.”
Zhong Liang’s eyes flickered with a sharp gleam, “They took the bait!”
The group of Eighth-Order Masters were all excited. They had been worried that the Black Ink Clan would not act, and only once they did, it would mean that their plan could be implemented. This wasn’t surprising though, as the bait they had thrown out was no small matter to the Black Ink Clan.
Be that as it may, no one was certain what the Black Ink Clan’s choice would be without a concrete report, so they had been waiting here on tenterhooks.
A worried look appeared on Liang Yu Long’s face, “I wonder if Senior Brother Xiang’s situation is going well.”
Zhong Liang said, “Since Senior Brother Xiang has agreed to this plan, he must have made some preparations. There’s no need to worry about him, we just need to do our own thing. Send a message to Blue Sky Pass and tell Ding Yao that they can start.”
“Good!” Someone immediately complied.
Two figures shot through the void, both of them in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. They were flying quite fast, making a beeline towards a certain direction.
While flying, one of them sent a voice transmission, “Brother Zhang, do you think the Black Ink Clan will take the bait this time?”
Hearing this, the Eighth-Order Master surnamed Zhang smiled, “We’ll know if there is any obstruction along the way; however, I’m sure that the Black Ink Clan will not be able to resist. After all, this concerns Senior Brother Xiang. If I were a Territory Lord, I would definitely not allow him to advance peacefully. They finally made him fall to the Seventh Order, so how could they allow him to advance back to the Eighth Order?”
The other Eighth Order asked curiously, “Does Senior Brother Xiang hold such a great deterrence to the Black Ink Clan?”
The Eighth-Order surname Zhang answered, “Brother Sun, you haven’t been on the Black Ink Battlefield for long, so you haven’t seen Senior Brother Xiang’s power with your own eyes. When he was commanding the Western Army, he tossed around the Territory Lords like they were chickens. It could even be said that their faces would be filled with dread at the mere mention of his name.”
The cultivator surnamed Sun sighed, “Alas, I didn’t get to see Senior Brother Xiang’s divine might. I hope his breakthrough this time goes smoothly.”
Zhang Xian added, “Although it will be much more difficult to break through after a drop in one’s Order, it shouldn’t be a problem for Senior Brother Xiang with his aptitude. All we need to do is wait for good news. It just so happens that Blue Sky Pass needs someone to play the opening act, and Senior Brother Xiang was about to break through. After learning of the plan, I volunteered for this duty.”
After chatting for a while, the two of them stopped talking and continued on their way.
Two days later, the two Masters who were speeding forward suddenly came to a stop at the sight of two Black Ink Clouds approaching from the opposite side. The next moment, two huge figures appeared from the Black Ink Clouds, attacking them without saying a word.
The two Eighth-Order Masters naturally wouldn’t just sit back and wait for their deaths. Each cast their own Divine Abilities to fend off the attackers descending from the darkness.
Shortly after, the four figures separated and faced off against one another.
The Eighth-Order surnamed Zhang coldly glanced over and snorted, “Mao Chi, Zhong Yan!”
Having fought with each other for so many years, this man surnamed Zhang naturally recognized who these two Territory Lords were.
After exchanging a glance with the cultivator surnamed Sun, both of them calmed down. As these two fellows had suddenly appeared and blocked their path, it was apparent that the Black Ink Clan had taken the bait; otherwise, there was no reason for these two to come here and stop them.
Everything was going according to the plan!
It was laughable that the two Territory Lords didn’t even notice. Mao Chi was even more valiant and spirited as he coldly shouted with a look of disdain on his face, “This road is blocked!”
The Eighth-Order Master surnamed Zhang sneered, “Shamelessly boasting!”
Without wasting another moment, he summoned his sword with a wave of his hand, sending out a flurry of sword lights towards Mao Chi. On the other side, the cultivator surnamed Sun and Zhong Ning engaged in a one-on-one battle. Neither side held a decisive advantage.
Be that as it may, as far as the two Territory Lords were concerned, so long as they could stop these two Eighth-Order Masters here, that was enough. They really did not care if they could do anything to them or not.
The two of them had also learned the seriousness of the situation from the message sent via the Black Ink Nests. If not for this, they wouldn’t have been lying in ambush here waiting to intercept the Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
The two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were intercepted by Mao Chi and Zhong Yan along the way and were now locked in a fierce battle.
On the other side, the battle near the vicinity of the asteroid where Xiang Shan was breaking through was also raging.
The Wild Boars, Water Snakes, and Old Turtles, these three Special Operations Squads, were rampaging through the void, killing the Black Ink Clan to the point that they were unable to fight back.
It had been several decades since the establishment of the forward base and every Human Squad had been carrying out hunting missions over this period, but none of them had ever been able to kill to their heart’s content like this.
The Black Ink Clan’s harassment and support kept coming unabated, seemingly never-ending. The scattered Black Ink Clansmen emerged from all directions and kept charging towards the asteroid where Xiang Shan was, obviously trying to disrupt his breakthrough at all costs.
Most of the Black Ink Clan forces had been intercepted by the three Special Operations Squads, and even if some of them managed to slip through their net, they were unable to break through Dawn and Breeze’s defences.
At first, not many Black Ink Clansmen were attracted by Xiang Shan’s breakthrough, so the five Special Operations Squads were able to handle everything easily by working together.
But more and more Black Ink Clansmen were drawn in over time. Yang Kai and the others gradually started to feel the pressure, but they still held on.
In order to avoid wasting too much energy, Yang Kai had a brief discussion with the other four Squad Leaders before coming to a decision of guarding Xiang Shan in turns.
No matter what, the five Squads ensured that two would remain at the periphery of the asteroid, preventing the Black Ink Clan from approaching while the other three fought further out at full force.
No one knew how long this situation would last. Perhaps it would be over very soon, or perhaps it would be a drawn-out battle. Everything depended on Xiang Shan’s progress; nonetheless, no one had any thoughts of retreating. Xiang Shan was advancing without any protectors, so if they retreated, he would definitely be doomed.
Although this battle was fierce, compared to the clash between the two Armies at the forward base, it was just a small skirmish.
Over the past few decades, the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army had been confronting each other across several million kilometres. The Humans had no intention of advancing, and the Black Ink Clan didn’t dare provoke them. The two races had only sent out small teams to harass each other from a distance.
This balance lasted for several decades, with both sides bearing some casualties.
But today, the balance was broken due to the sudden, undeclared war by the Black Ink Clan Army.
The empty space between the forward base and the Black Ink Clan’s temporary camp was instantly filled with the soldiers of the two races, and soon both Armies were locked in a fierce battle. At every moment, someone’s aura would vanish from existence as severed limbs and mangled corpses started piling up everywhere in the void.
Human Warships shuttled back and forth, protected by their respective Seventh-Order Squad members, fighting bravely to cut down the enemy.
On the other hand, the Eighth-Order Masters were locked in combat with the Territory Lords on a separate battlefield.
The forward base was not like Blue Sky Pass, which was a massive Mobile Palace Artifact that had been slowly expanded and enhanced over countless years by the Human soldiers. Relying on the power of Blue Sky Pass and its various offensive and defensive Arrays, the Human Race’s defences were at least twice as effective.
This was also one of the foundations that the Human Race’s entire resistance was based on.
The forward base didn’t have such advantages. Although Blue Sky Pass’ soldiers had installed a number of Arrays at the forward base over the past few decades, none of them were comparable to the ones at the headquarters.
It would be difficult to resist the attacks of the Black Ink Clan Army under normal circumstances.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clan had suffered heavy casualties in the war a few decades back, and the Humans had not stopped hunting down the Black Ink Clan in recent years. The Black Ink Clan’s casualties were so large now that they were difficult to calculate. As a result, it was not that difficult to deal with the Black Ink Clan forces attacking the forward base.
The Black Ink Clan Army of several hundred thousand might have appeared quite big, but the proportion of their elites couldn’t even be compared to before. Not to mention that the number of Territory Lords was less than half, even the proportion of Feudal Lords was much smaller than in the past. Most of the Black Ink Clan present were only Low and High-Rank Clansmen.
As such, when the soldiers of the forward base were facing the Black Ink Clan Army, not only did they not suffer any disadvantages, they even gained the upper hand.
After several decades, the Human Race had accumulated enough Purifying Black Ink Pills to support a large-scale battle; furthermore, they had even more Artifact Refiners than before, so whenever the damaged Warships returned, the prepared Grandmasters would immediately start repairing them at full speed. If they couldn’t repair them, they would simply provide a new Warship.
With the lessons learned from the previous crusade, the forward base’s logistics support had grown exponentially.
Amassing Purifying Black Ink Pills and building additional Warships was of paramount importance.
Blue Sky Pass had decided to refine a large number of Squad Rank Warships, with the goal being to have at least one spare Warship for each Squad so as to enhance the staying power of the Armies and prevent any more incidents like the ones during the last crusade from happening. In the last war, many Warships became too damaged and lost all combat effectiveness, requiring them to be scrapped and for the Squads using them to withdraw from the frontlines.
200 years ago, Blue Sky Pass did not have the capacity to carry out such a plan.
The refining of each Warship required a massive amount of resources, and in the past, Blue Sky Pass didn’t have the necessary foundation to make spares, but now it was different. Resources could no longer impede Blue Sky Pass’ development. Not to mention that Blue Sky Pass had accumulated a massive amount of resources using the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, if they were to win this most recent war, they would be able to completely occupy a large portion of the Black Ink Clan’s former territory. At that time, it would be an easy task to mine all the resources they needed. There were so many dead universe worlds in the void that the resources could essentially be considered endless.
Any war between two large Armies would take time, and victory and defeat could not be determined in a short period. It would be a long while before a conclusion was reached.
A few days later, two Warships stood side by side in the periphery of the asteroid where Xiang Shan was breaking through, with more than 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realms scattered around, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
Everyone, whether it was the scattered Seventh-Order Masters or the Fifth and Sixth-Order Humans aboard the Warships, was taking advantage of this short respite to swallow Spirit Pills and recover some strength.
After several days of fierce fighting, the several hundred members of the five elite Squads had all consumed a great deal of energy. In the face of Black Ink Clan’s continuous assault, they had to use every opportunity they received to recover.
Yang Kai was among these people.
Dawn had already finished their third combat rotation, so this time, they had returned along with the Water Snake Squad for guard duty.
While adjusting his breathing, the Water Snake Squad Leader, Dongfang Wen Bing, suddenly asked via voice Divine Sense, “Brother Yang, did you notice?”
Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “The Black Ink Clan’s attack seems to be employing some sort of strategy.”
“So Brother Yang has noticed too.”
“Indeed. Initially, the Black Ink Clan was attacking in a disorderly manner, but for the last two days, something changed. Although the difference is subtle, it is still obvious when everything is taken into account.”
“That’s right, there seems to be a Master guiding them from behind,” Dongfang Wen Bing grinned.
“How strong a Master do you suspect?”
“Someone as high as a Territory Lord?”
“Great minds think alike!” Yang Kai lightly nodded his acknowledgement. In fact, he had been searching for this Black Ink Clan Master hiding behind the scenes this whole time. Unfortunately, he failed to pinpoint their location. If there really was a Territory Lord hiding nearby, it would be difficult for him to discover them amid the raging battle in the void as the chaotic energy fluctuations propagating everywhere could completely obscure a concealed aura. On top of that, he was only a Seventh-Order Master, so trying to find a hidden Territory Lord was naturally not easy.
Dongfang Wen Bing’s smile cramped, “I was just speaking randomly. Could it be that there really is a Territory Lord here?”
“En,” Yang Kai solemnly stated, “It’s quite possible.”
Dongfang Wen Bing went slacked-jaw at this revelation, “Brother Yang, don’t try to scare me. You have mastered the Dao of Space, so you can escape from a Territory Lord if one appears, but we can’t. Besides, if there really is a Territory Lord, why would he hide in the shadows and not show up? Why would he just keep sending these trash to their deaths?”
“Perhaps… they think we have laid some kind of ambush here? I think they are sending cannon fodder to probe us. There’s a saying that the older one grows, the more timid they become. These Territory Lords have suffered quite a bit at the hands of the Eighth-Order Masters recently, so they’ve become overcautious and indecisive.”
“What ambush could we have laid here!?” Dongfang Wen Bing’s head hurt as he listened to Yang Kai’s speculation. He then looked around, as if afraid that a Territory Lord would emerge out of thin air all of a sudden.
“We know that, but the Territory Lords don’t, so they are probing us.”
Dongfang Wen Bing grimly asked, “Brother Yang, are you serious?”
Yang Kai didn’t justify it with an answer and simply continued, “Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know after seeing the changes in the situation. It won’t be long.”
Dongfang Wen Bing couldn’t help but cluck his tongue, “Why is Senior Xiang’s advancement not progressing? The sooner he breaks through, the sooner we’ll be able to escape this abyss of suffering.”
As Dongfang Wen Bing mentioned, Xiang Shan’s advancement had not made much progress. Although his aura was circulating methodically and showing no signs of collapsing, there were no signs of progressing either. It was not as troublesome for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to reach the Eighth-Order as it was for a Sixth-Order Master to reach the Seventh-Order as advancing from the Sixth-Order to the Seventh-Order was a watershed moment. Under normal circumstances, this kind of advancement would take from a few months to a few years or even more than a decade. The time one would take would depend on various conditions.
This was also why Zhong Liang and the others were so shocked when Yang Kai broke through to the Seventh Order in a matter of days.
However, Yang Kai was an exception as his Small Universe had already fully materialised when he was in the Sixth Order, so he did not need to go through this transformation.
Advancing from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order was only an increase in Order and not a transformation of the Small Universe. Although the increase in strength was enormous, it was not a fundamental change.
If everything went smoothly, Xiang Shan should have succeeded in a short time.
The time Xiang Shan had spent wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either, and judging by the current situation, it seemed that he required even more time.
Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that his Order had once regressed. For an Open Heaven Realm Master, it would be even more difficult to progress once their Order had fallen once. However, at the end of the day, Xiang Shan had already walked this path once, so he had more experience than an ordinary Seventh-Order Master. As long as he could find an opportunity, everything should be simple.
Therefore, it was quite possible for Xiang Shan to advance to the Eighth Order in the next instant, but it was also possible that it could take him ten days, half a month, several months, or even half a year…
No one could say for sure.
While the two were recuperating and chatting, they also killed the scattered Black Ink Clansmen who had slipped through the outer perimeter. Meanwhile, on a Feudal Lord’s territory, not far from this place, two Territory Lords were observing the situation.
These two were Wu Jiang and Hong Hu. Like Mao Chi and Zhong Yan, who were responsible for intercepting the two Eighth-Order Division Commanders, they had immediately rushed over to oversee things here after receiving the news.
Although the distance between them wasn’t far, it was not close either. Even with their eyesight, the two Territory Lords couldn’t clearly see what was happening around the asteroid.
Be that as it may, the casualties and incompetence of the lower Black Ink Clansmen were not hidden from them, making them greatly dissatisfied with the Black Ink Clan’s performance.
“Those wastes! A few Human Squads actually managed to stop them, how useless,” Wu Jiang cursed angrily.
Hong Hu shook his head, “Those Squads seem to be the Humans’ Special Operations Squads. They’re much stronger than ordinary Squads.”
Wu Jiang coldly snorted, “So what if their Special Operations Squads!? There’s only so many of them. Even if they have to pay with their lives, our troops should be able to flatten them!”
Hong Hu sighed in response, “I’m afraid it won’t work. Even if we continue sending more and more people over, it won’t help, they’ll just be defeated one by one. They have a total of five Squads, and at any given time, two seem to be resting while the other three are defending. It’s impossible to break through their blockade without overwhelming strength.”
“What do you think we should do?”
Hong Hu pondered for a moment before suggesting, “Amass our power and crush them in one fell swoop!”
Wu Jiang impatiently asked, “There’s no need to go through so much trouble. If you and I fight, how can they be our opponents?”
“No!” Hong Hu quickly stopped him, “Have you forgotten what happened to Wu Ying and the others a few dozen years ago? Over 200,000 of our troops were ambushed by the Humans and defeated in one fell swoop, causing our Black Ink Clan to suffer a great loss in the next battle due to a lack of manpower. Before we are sure that the Humans have not set some elaborate trap here, it’s best if we don’t act rashly.”
Wu Jiang’s expression changed. He naturally remembered what happened to Wu Ying and the other Territory Lords back then. It might have happened a few decades ago, but to the Territory Lords who lived long lives, it was like it happened just yesterday. Although he was angry, he knew that Hong Hu’s worries weren’t unfounded. Xiang Shan was breaking through in this damned place and five elite Human Squads had just happened to be around to guard him. No matter how he looked at it, something was amiss.
Although they had yet to sense the auras of any Eighth-Order Masters, who could guarantee that those sinister and devious Humans were not lurking nearby?
The Human Race’s Spirit Arrays were extremely exquisite, and even a simple one could easily conceal one’s aura.
The reason why they had been waiting here was because, on one hand, they wanted to use their subordinates to attack and probe the situation, and on the other hand, they were also waiting for news from the front lines.
Once they confirmed that there was no trap here, they would definitely make a move.
Xiang Shan’s prestige was quite dreadful, but that was when he was in the Eighth Order. As for the current Xiang Shan, any random Territory Lord could easily deal with him. If they took down Xiang Shan, they would deal a heavy blow to the Human Race and also restore some of their lost prestige.
There was still no definite news from the front line, so it was likely that their companions were still assessing the situation. Wu Jiang and Hong Hu could not remain idle while waiting for the news, though, as they had their own matters to attend to.
After a brief discussion, the two Territory Lords gave orders to the attacking Black Ink Clansmen to retreat and urged the nearby Black Ink Clansmen to rush over to assist.
At the periphery of the asteroid where Xiang Shan was advancing, the Black Ink Clan suddenly retreated like a tide, leaving a mess in their wake.
Under Zhu Yu Ming’s leadership, the Wild Boar Squad relentlessly pursued them, like they were hell-bent on exterminating the entire Black Ink Clan. Fortunately, Chai Fang quickly stopped him, “Don’t chase after a cornered enemy. Our mission here is our priority.”
Zhu Yu Ming cursed a few times. Although he was still somewhat unwilling, he knew the gravity of the situation and quickly led his Squad back.
After a fierce battle, each Squad had consumed a great deal of energy, so they seized this rare idle time to recover.
“The Black Ink Clan has retreated,” Dongfang Wen Bing’s eyes lit up.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, focusing his gaze to observe before slowly shaking his head, “It’s just a temporary withdrawal.”
Although they couldn’t see clearly, it was obvious that the retreating Black Ink Clansmen hadn’t really left. Instead, they were gathering in the distance, seemingly waiting for something.
Things were not looking good. Apparently, his and Dongfang Wen Bing’s previous speculations had come true. There was indeed a Master behind these Black Ink Clansmen. If not, it would have been impossible to explain the current situation.
Dongfang Wen Bing also realized this and a solemn expression filled his face.
Yang Kai consoled, “The reinforcements from the forward base should be arriving soon, we just need to hold on for another three to five days.”
Dongfang Wen Bing added in a grim voice, “That may be the case, but judging from the Black Ink Clan’s movements, it’s obvious they’ve made some arrangements. I’m afraid the reinforcements from the forward base will be intercepted halfway.”
No one who cultivated to the Seventh Order could be a fool. Dongfang Wen Bing’s worries were not unfounded, and Yang Kai was also aware of this, but right now, they could only place their hopes on the reinforcements from the forward base or Xiang Shan’s quick promotion.
What the two of them didn’t know was that their worries had long since become reality. The two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters surnamed Zhang and Sun, who had set out from the forward base, had already been intercepted by two Territory Lords midway and were still fighting fiercely with them.
Time slowly went by as every single member of the five elite Human Squads felt like the passage of each day was as lengthy as a year. The calm and silent void was filled with lingering murderous intent, keeping all of them on edge.
Just outside the nearby Feudal Lord’s territory, the number of Black Ink Clansmen continued to increase, rising from 10,000 to 20,000, then reaching 50,000…
Wu Jiang and Hong Hu stared at these tens of thousands of unappealing goods with great dissatisfaction.
Although they had urgently summoned the nearby Black Ink Clan forces to this place, the number of troops they could muster was still extremely small. This couldn’t be helped though as most of the Black Ink Clan forces had been transferred to the front lines to confront the forward base over the past few decades.
Currently, the Black Ink Clan forces remaining behind were extremely few in number. Furthermore, 80 to 90% of the Black Ink Clansmen they had gathered here were nothing more than cannon fodder. Many of them weren’t even Low-Rank Clansmen yet.
It was quite an awkward situation. It wasn’t that the two Territory Lords were incompetent, but rather that even a clever housewife couldn’t cook without rice. There weren’t any powerful forces nearby for them to deploy, so their hands were tied.
If the quality wasn’t good enough, then they could only make up for it with quantity. They didn’t hold out any hope that these Black Ink Clansmen would be able to accomplish anything, but they could still be used for attacking and probing.
Two days later, they barely managed to gather 80,000 troops, which seemed to be the upper limit. They couldn’t mobilize any more. Under the orders of the two Territory Lords, the 80,000-strong Army marched towards the asteroid.
From a distance, the Human Squads promptly discovered the approaching threat. The number of enemies was like a tidal wave, making their scalps tingle.
The Wild Boar Squad Leader, Zhu Yu Ming, let out a long roar, whereupon all the Human soldiers who were still recovering started moving.
Three Warships lined up in a straight line, their Spirit Arrays humming slightly. Immediately, various lights began to flicker and fluctuate on the hulls of the Warships.
Yang Kai and Dongfang Wen Bing remained motionless. Their two Squads were responsible for guarding Xiang Shan in this rotation, so they would not make any move unless the situation reached a critical point.
As the enemy Army drew closer and closer, the sight of 80,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers attacking them made the Humans feel like they were facing a tidal wave, giving them great psychological pressure.
At that moment, Zhu Yu Ming’s roar reverberated through the void, “Kill!”
With a loud bang, the three Warships shook violently as dazzling beams of light shot out from various weapon ports, bombarding the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Black Ink Clan Army was thrown into disarray as countless Black Ink Clansmen were reduced to dust by the beams of light. A few beams even cut right through the approaching Black Ink Clan Army.
Thousands of Black Ink Clansmen had fallen from just the opening salvo of attack.
Everyone was stunned at the sight of this, but they quickly understood. Although there were many Black Ink Clansmen attacking, they were not invincible. Most of them were weak cannon fodder; otherwise, so many of them would not have died just like that.
The soldiers in charge of controlling the Warship’s artifacts didn’t need to be told what to do. They once again channelled their World Force into their artifacts and launched another barrage of attacks, further increasing the casualties suffered by the Black Ink Clan.
After three rounds of bombardment, the Black Ink Clan Army was already upon them. Immediately, the Seventh-Order Masters leapt off their Warships, holding their own artifacts and circulating their World Force as they lined up and started attacking the oncoming enemies. The next instant, black blood and pieces of flesh flew here and there as the Black Ink Clansmen’s auras began to wane.
The vicinity of the three Warships was densely packed with Black Ink Clan forces. It was almost impossible to spot the figures of the three Warships and the Seventh-Order Masters protecting them; only the energy fluctuations constantly spreading into the void gave the assurance that they were still alive.
The entire picture looked like black ants swarming towards three candies fallen on the ground, wrapping them up entirely.
A large number of Black Ink Clansmen suddenly bypassed the three entangled Warships and rushed towards the asteroid.
Dawn and the Water Snakes had already made their preparations. The Warships immediately opened fire, unleashing all of their might as the Seventh-Order Masters circulated their World Force madly to unleash their strongest Divine Abilities towards the places where the most Black Ink Clansmen were gathered.
Yang Kai had pushed his Space Principles to the limit. All the Black Ink Clansmen who tried to approach the asteroid immediately felt as if they had fallen into a swamp. Their movements became sluggish, giving the two Squads a chance to kill them at a distance.
All thanks to his Space Principles, just two Squads were somehow able to stop the enemy’s thrust.
Most of the Black Ink Clansmen were nothing more than Serfs, so their strength wasn’t even worth mentioning. Any of the Humans present here could easily kill a large number of them, but there were simply too many of them. Xiang Shan could not be disturbed while he was breaking through, so if any Black Ink Clansman broke through the defensive line, no matter how weak they were, it could cause a huge disaster.
For the time being, the battle was still under control, but it was hard to say how long the Human Squads could keep things that way.
No one would be able to endure such a high-intensity battle forever.
One hour, two hours…
Half a day later, the five Squads had all consumed a great deal of energy, which was reflected most obviously in their greatly decreased rate of killing. Although Yang Kai was still able to hold on and use his Space Principles to delay the attacks of the Black Ink Clansmen, Dawn and the Water Snakes were unable to keep up.
There were more Black Ink Clansmen on the periphery of the asteroid, so it wouldn’t be long before even Yang Kai was unable to stop them all.
[It’s time!]
Thinking so, Yang Kai shouted, “Senior Brother Chai!”
Somewhere in the void in front of them, Chai Fang’s voice rang out from a Warship surrounded by countless Black Ink Clans, “Hahahaha, it’s really pleasant to hear. What’s wrong, Brother Yang, are you unable to hold on?”
Dongfang Wen Bing smiled and scolded, “Old Chai, hurry up! Don’t waste time!”
“Coming, coming!” Chai Fang replied. As soon as his voice fell, a seemingly solid halo suddenly erupted. This halo didn’t cause much damage, but it had an extremely strong repelling force. In an instant, countless Black Ink Clansmen surrounding the Old Turtle’s Warship were all pushed away.
The next moment, the vicinity of Old Turtle Squad’s Warship was all cleared up.
The Black Ink Clansmen who pushed away had not suffered any casualties and resumed their offence on the Old Turtle Squad once more after a brief pause, but why would the Old Turtle Squad take them seriously?
The giant Warship turned around and rushed towards the asteroid, smashing all of the Black Ink Clansmen who tried to stop it to pieces.
In the blink of an eye, the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship flew past Dawn and the Water Snakes and stopped near the asteroid.
Standing at the bow of the ship, the burly Chai Fang formed various hand seals with a solemn look on his face, his World Force surging madly.
All 50 members of the Old Turtle Squad were acting in concert with him. They took their respective positions and performed their respective tasks; their hand seals constantly changing.
“Eight Profound Gates, open!”
“Boundless Heavens, open!”
“Immovable as Mountains, Yin-Yang Perception, open!”
Along with Chai Fang’s shouts, the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship shone with a dazzling radiance. Every time it glowed, the halo of light assumed a tangible shape, not only enveloping the Warship, but the entire asteroid beneath it as well.
At the top of the Old Turtle’s Warship, the tortoise shell-like object suddenly ballooned, transforming into a massive barrier that surrounded the entire asteroid.
In the blink of an eye, the Old Turtle Squad created an impenetrable barrier around the asteroid.
Every Warship of Blue Sky Pass’ five Special Operations Squads possessed its own specialities. The Old Turtles’ Warship had the strongest defence, and not only could its defences cover itself, but it could even form a large defensive region by sacrificing its mobility.
Over the years, many Human Squads had managed to escape death with the protection of the Old Turtle Squad. Besides Dawn, the Old Turtle Squad was the most popular Squad in Blue Sky Pass because fighting alongside them provided an extra layer of safety and security.
At this moment, the Old Turtle Squad had displayed their full defensive capabilities. For this reason, the entire Warship had completely sacrificed its mobility and offensive abilities. In other words, the Old Turtle Squad was now nothing more than an immobile target!
Nonetheless, it was more than enough. The defensive state of the Old Turtle Squad was Yang Kai’s greatest reliance when it came to protecting Xiang Shan. Furthermore, the protection of the Old Turtle Squad was far stronger than the combined strength of Dawn and the Water Snakes.
From the beginning, Yang Kai and the others had planned for the Old Turtle Squad to only be responsible for defending, but Chai Fang refused. It was a rare opportunity to rack up some kills, so who would be willing to watch from the back? That was why they had been rotating to guard this place.
But now that the situation had developed to this point, Dawn and the Water Snakes could no longer guarantee Xiang Shan’s safety, so they had no choice but to rely on the turtle shell of the Old Turtle Squad.
They would let the Black Ink Clan take a bite at it, but even the best teeth would crack on this turtle shell.
On another side, seeing that the Old Turtle Squad put up their defences, Dawn and the Water Snakes’ Warships no longer had any worries and started a bloodbath. First, they exterminated the Black Ink Clan forces surrounding the asteroid, and then they rushed towards the void, leaving a bloody trail behind them.
In terms of defence, the Old Turtle Squad was second to none; even the other four elite Squads couldn’t come close. But in terms of killing, the Old Turtle Squad was undoubtedly the slowest.
Now that they had switched between defence and offence, Dawn and the Water Snakes did not have to worry about guarding Xiang Shan, so their killing speed increased dramatically.
Most of the 80,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers were cannon fodder, and more than half had already fallen in the battle. Now that Dawn and the Water Snakes had joined the battle, the Black Ink Clan was losing troops even more quickly.
In the distance, a gloomy expression appeared on the faces of Wu Jiang and Hong Hu.
Even though they knew that this ragtag bunch could do nothing to the Special Operations Squads of the Human Race, how quickly the situation developed still took them by surprise. The performance of these five Special Operations Squads was simply too amazing.
The two Territory Lords also secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, there were only five Special Operations Squads in Blue Sky Pass. If every Human Squad was so difficult to deal with, there would be no room for the ordinary Black Ink Clansmen to survive.
Although they hadn’t achieved their goal, the two Territory Lords were able to determine something from the current situation.
There really weren’t any Eighth-Order Masters lying in ambush here, or else they would not have sat still when things got serious. After all, there had been several times when the Humans’ situation had gotten quite dangerous. They might have resolved it in time, but that was mostly due to luck.
Although the two Territory Lords had made their own conclusion, they still patiently waited for news from the front lines. Only when they got confirmation would they act.
[It should be about time.]
As expected, after another half a day, just when the Black Ink Clan Army they had gathered was about to be completely wiped out, a Feudal Lord rushed to them and reported, “The Eighth-Order Humans stationed at the enemy forward base have all appeared, none of them is missing!”
Wu Jiang raised his brow, “Good!”
After decades of confrontation, it wasn’t as if the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords hadn’t fought each other before. They might not have fought many times, but they were already well aware of each other’s ins and outs. The Eighth-Order Humans were divided into two groups. One group was stationed at their new forward base, occupying about 80% of their numbers, while the other group was still nowhere to be seen. The Black Ink Clan speculated that these remaining Eighth-Order Masters should be guarding Blue Sky Pass.
After all, the Humans attached great importance to Blue Sky Pass, so it was impossible for there to be no Masters guarding it.
Blue Sky Pass was situated too far from here, so as long as they could determine the location of the Eighth-Order Masters they knew to be stationed at the forward base, they could determine if there was any ambush here or not.
Now that it had been verified that the Eighth-Order Masters of the forward base were all fighting on the front lines, they no longer had any concerns.
Hong Hu was obviously more on the cautious side though and asked, “What about their Old Ancestor?”
The Feudal Lord reported, “I don’t know, but there’s no news from the Royal City. I guess that the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor are still locked in a confrontation.”
Several decades ago, when the Humans began their crusade, the Old Ancestor left Blue Sky Pass and entered the heart of the Black Ink Clan territory. He didn’t do anything, he just stared down the Royal Lord, preventing him from doing anything rash.
The Black Ink Clan also had no idea where the Old Ancestor was hiding; the Royal Lord surely knew, but he never informed his subordinates. It was likely that he also knew that if the Territory Lords were to rashly participate in the battle of this level, they would only be courting death.
The attitude of the Old Ancestor was very clear. So long as the Royal Lord did not make a move, he would not be making a move. Everything was left to their subordinates. The Old Ancestor’s actions had undoubtedly provided a huge buffer for the forward base to strengthen their hold; otherwise, if the Royal Lord had taken action, the forward base wouldn’t have been able to survive.
“Let’s begin, I can’t wait any longer!” Wu Jiang impatiently urged.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already appeared at the forward base, and their Old Ancestor was held back by the Royal Lord. In light of this, there was only Xiang Shan and five Human Squads here, so there was nothing to hesitate about. In this situation, if the two Territory Lords couldn’t take care of Xiang Shan, they should simply commit suicide.
Although Hong Hu felt somewhat uneasy, he knew that there was no reason for them not to make a move now. After a moment of silence, he agreed with a nod, “Then let’s move.”
Wu Jiang’s figure flickered as he rushed towards the asteroid.
Hong Hu followed closely behind, intentionally or unintentionally distancing himself from Wu Jiang. It wasn’t that he was scheming anything, it was just his nature.
He knew that the reason why Wu Jiang was so anxious was because he had suffered a great loss at Xiang Shan’s hands three millennia ago. Wu Jiang nearly died at Xiang Shan’s hands in a battle 3,000 years prior, and although he ultimately managed to survive, it had taken him a long time to recover. Since then, Wu Jiang had been constantly thinking about taking Xiang Shan’s life to wash himself of this shame.
However, Xiang Shan’s Order fell and he disappeared from the Territory Lords’ sight after a few years.
Xiang Shan naturally participated whenever the two races fought, but when a battle of such a large scale was joined, the Territory Lords’ responsibility was to keep an eye on the Eighth-Order Masters. Who would be in the mood to search for a lone Seventh-Order Human on such a large battlefield?
If it weren’t for the news of Xiang Shan’s advancement, no one would have thought that the former Western Army Commander, who had made the Territory Lords all tremble in fear, would still be alive.
The hatred that had been brewing for three millennia, once it started boiling, instantly filled Wu Jiang’s mind. His momentum shot through the sky as he charged straight towards the asteroid from millions of kilometres away.
In the midst of this chaotic battle, Yang Kai suddenly felt a sense of crisis completely enveloping him. He promptly looked up and saw an enormous Black Ink Cloud shooting over from the distance. The aura of the Territory Lord inside the Black Ink Cloud was like a bright light in the night, making it extremely obvious.
“A Territory Lord is attacking!” Dongfang Wen Bing suddenly roared, realizing what was happening.
The main reason Wu Jiang was charging so aggressively and had no intention of hiding was probably because he wanted to sow chaos.
“Formation!” Zhu Yu Ming shouted. This time, he didn’t dare to recklessly charge forward. The gap between a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Territory Lord was too great. Without a Formation’s support, no one here could defend against the might of the Territory Lord.
In an instant, the Open Heaven Realm Masters of the four Squads released their auras and connected with one another, instantly assuming a Formation!
Because there were many Secret Arts and Techniques in the Open Heaven Realm with no common origin, it was difficult to create a Formation without extensive practice and deep knowledge gained over a long period of time. Be that as it may, a hastily created Formation was still better than fighting alone.
Fortunately, there were also simple Formations that could largely ignore the effects of one’s origin and cultivation.
Almost every Open Heaven Realm Master on the Black Ink Battlefield was required to practice this kind of formation.
Ten Facets Formation!
The biggest feature of this Formation was that it was quite easy to set up and had a high degree of tolerance for error. To activate this Formation, one needed at least three members, while at most there could be ten. In other words, as long as there were three people, they could arrange this Formation, and so could four, five, six, up to ten.
Depending on the number of people participating, the Formation formed had different names.
Three people linked together to form the Three Fortunes Formation, four people formed a Four Symbols Formation, five people formed a Five Elements Formation… and finally, ten people formed a Ten Facets Formation.
Although it didn’t have the power of a profound Formation that was specially cultivated from youth using matching Secret Arts and Techniques, it was extremely suitable for a place like the Black Ink Battlefield. Many times, in the great battle, Warships would be destroyed and the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were stranded outside would find themselves without protection. In times like these, all it took was three of these Open Heaven Realm Masters to rally together and they could make a Formation, greatly increasing their chances of survival.
Before now, Yang Kai and the others didn’t have any intention of forming a Formation because none of their opponents were individually very strong, despite being vast in number. Their efficiency in fighting alone was much higher when in forming a Formation which concentrated their strength.
However, now that a Territory Lord was attacking, the difference in strength was too great and only by making a Formation could they protect themselves.
Dawn had six Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they quickly formed a Six Paths Formation, while the Wild Boar Squad, Breeze Squad, and Water Snake Squad, which had even more Seventh-Order Masters, formed Seven Stars Formation, Eight Desolations Formation, and even the Ten Facets Formation.
Territory Lord Wu Jiang arrived in an imposing manner. The first thing he encountered was the Ten Facets Formation formed by the ten Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Water Snake Squad. The destructive energy radiating from the billowing Black Ink Clouds was enough to destroy all obstacles in its way.
“Scram!” Wu Jiang was completely focused on killing Xiang Shan and was in no mood to pay attention to others. He wanted to break through the blockade of the Human Squads right away, and as such, in the face of the incoming Water Snake Squad, he promptly channelled his power into his palm and ruthlessly smacked it down.
The moment the Water Snake Squad came in contact with Wu Jiang’s attack, the ten Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Water Snake Squad jolted and their faces went pale as an overwhelming power swept over them. Two or three of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with the weakest foundation even spat out mouthfuls of blood and could see stars circling before their eyes.
Fortunately, everyone had taken a Purifying Black Ink Pill in advance; otherwise, they would have been easily invaded by Black Ink Strength as their Small Universes were in turmoil right now. Once they had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they would have been in big trouble.
But with this exchange, the Water Snake Squad immediately realized the huge gap between them and their opponent.
Not every Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master got to fight Territory Lords multiple times in a short span of 100 years like Yang Kai, who even had the unique experience of killing Territory Lords. In their long lengthy career of fighting on the Black Ink Battlefield, their opponents had basically been the Feudal Lords under the Territory Lords. Very few people had the chance and experience of fighting against the Territory Lords.
Their lack of experience had caused them to suffer quite a bit.
Fortunately, there were more than one Squad.
Right behind them were the Wild Boars, who were best at charging in and running amuck, and the agile Breeze Squad. More than a dozen Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the two Squads assumed two Battle Formations. When the Water Snake Squad was repelled, the others attacked Wu Jiang from the left and right with the leaders of both Squads taking point. All the Seventh-Order Masters gathered their entire strength and unleashed their strongest Divine Abilities. Immediately after, their fearsome energy left dazzling trails as they slashed towards Wu Jiang from either side like a giant pair of scissors.
Wu Jiang was enraged. The Black Ink Clouds started billowing as the might of the Territory Lord was fully displayed. The moment his Divine Ability erupted, the two Squads flanking from both sides momentarily paused before they were pushed away.
The next moment, Wu Jiang’s cold snort came from within the Black Ink Cloud, “Know your place!”
The moment he finished speaking, Dawn Squad flew straight towards the Black Ink Cloud with Yang Kai leading the way under the cover of the other two Squads. In the Six Paths Formation, Yang Kai held the Core position, and his aura was closely linked with Feng Ying’s and the others’. Owing to the Battle Formation, part of the strength of the rest of his Squad members was added to his.
The next moment, Yang Kai felt his strength break through its limits. He already had the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand, which he thrust straight towards the Black Ink Cloud.
Immediately after, a crisp sound of metal clashing rang out, accompanied by a muffled grunt. But before Yang Kai could make another attack, a large hand reached out from the Black Ink Cloud, smashing straight down at him.
Yang Kai’s pupils contracted as he urged Space Principles, teleporting the entire Six Paths Formation back by a great distance, causing the giant hand to hit nothing.
Right then, the Water Snake Squad, which was the first to be repelled, had recovered and made another charge. The Wild Boar Squad and Breeze Squad also attacked from the left and right. Noticing this, Yang Kai led Feng Ying and the others to press the attack. The long spear in his hand left shadows covering the entire sky, enveloping the Black Ink Cloud.
The universe trembled and the Void collapsed.
The Seventh-Order Masters from the four Special Operations Squads joined together in Battle Formation to fend off the Territory Lord, halting Wu Jiang’s aggressive charge.
The Squad Leaders were not surprised by this result.
After all, they were not ordinary Squads, but the elite Special Operations Squads of Blue Sky Pass. Each Squad had at least six Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so with four such Squads cooperating, they had enough to gather more than 30 Seventh-Order Masters!
Such a force could easily stop an ordinary Territory Lord even without assuming any Battle Formation, let alone now when they had formed four.
Under the combined power of these Battle Formations, the strength each Squad could display surpassed that of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Although they still had not crossed the line of the Eighth-Order, they could be considered quasi-Eighth-Order Masters in terms of raw strength.
In other words, the power displayed by these four Special Operations Squad Formations was almost equivalent to four quasi-Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters attacking Wu Jiang.
If such strength couldn’t stop Wu Jiang, then they wouldn’t deserve to be called Special Operations Squads.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai and the others’ actions were accompanied by a great deal of risk, and the slightest mistake could lead to a tragic end. As such, all the members of the four Squads were on edge and didn’t dare to relax.
The four Warships could no longer take part in this battle. All the Seventh-Order Masters had gone out to meet the enemy, leaving only the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters behind. If they rashly interfered in a battle of this level, they would only be adding chaos to the battlefield and might even disrupt the rhythm of their Seventh-Order leaders.
What’s more, the Warships weren’t as agile, so if they really joined the battlefield, and if the Territory Lord was not able to do anything to Yang Kai and the others, he would surely target them in frustration.
As such, the four Warships immediately retreated from the battlefield. Fortunately, they had plenty of other things to do. Many of the Black Ink Clan troops had managed to slip through the net and were now desperately attacking the asteroid in an attempt to break the turtle shell of the Old Turtle Squad.
The Old Turtle’s defences were able to fend off their attacks for a time, but it wouldn’t last forever. The arrival of the four Warships had provided timely assistance. When the power of Secret Techniques and offensive Arrays poured out from the Warships, the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodders were instantly wiped out.
On the other side, Wu Jiang furiously roared as he unleashed his Territory Lord strength to its utmost limit. Nonetheless, he was unable to break through the four Squads’ defences no matter how furious he was, which made him even angrier as he felt he had lost all face.
He had come to find trouble with Xiang Shan, so how could he be in the mood to waste time with these four Squads? But by the looks of it, if he failed to break through the four Squads’ blockade, he could forget about reaching Xiang Shan.
[Humans… are truly hateful. Their individual strength isn’t anything special, but together, they can still unleash much greater power. Fortunately, I didn’t come alone, there is still Hong Hu! As long as I keep these four Squads preoccupied here, Hong Hu will easily succeed.]
Although he felt somewhat regretful that he couldn’t personally deal with Xiang Shan, as things had come to this, he was left with no other choice.
In this fierce battle, Wu Jiang was facing the four Special Operations Squads’ Battle Formation all alone, but not only was he not at a disadvantage, he even appeared to have the upper hand, a testament to his great strength.
In fact, in Blue Sky Theatre, Wu Jiang’s strength was among the top five among all the Territory Lords. Even ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be able to gain the upper hand in a one-on-one fight against him. His powerful strength had made him arrogant, which was why he had never forgotten the defeat he had tasted at Xiang Shan’s hands three millennia ago, and he had marked Xiang Shan as his lifelong enemy.
But what annoyed him the most was that Hong Hu had shown no signs of attacking even after so long.
[That cowardly trash!] Wu Jiang cursed in his heart. He knew that Hong Hu had always been skittish. Since he hadn’t taken action until now, he was obviously hiding in the shadows and observing.
[If I knew he would act like this, I would have let him fight these Humans instead!] Wu Jiang secretly regretted rushing out in the heat of the moment and not taking these Human Squads seriously, which ultimately put him in this awkward position.
After waiting for a while, Wu Jiang couldn’t bear it any longer and angrily roared, “Hong Hu, what are you waiting for!?”
Yang Kai and the others, who were attacking Wu Jiang, all went pale when they heard this. Their worst fears had come true; there was not just one Territory Lord here, but two!
[Where is he?] In the midst of the fierce battle, Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense to investigate, but it was to no avail. If a Territory Lord wanted to hide himself, it would indeed be difficult for Yang Kai to find him in this chaos.
Fortunately, he did not need to investigate for long. After Wu Jiang’s roar, a faint sigh came from somewhere and a figure soon appeared.
It was none other than Hong Hu Territory Lord, who had been hiding in the shadows.
Hong Hu felt a headache coming on! Among all the Territory Lords, he hated working with Wu Jiang the most because his companion’s recklessness would often lead him into trouble. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice this time, because he and Wu Jiang were the only ones nearby, so he had no choice but to move with him.
Originally, he had wanted to observe for a while longer, preferably until Wu Jiang had defeated the four Squads. He would check for other variables before deciding whether to show himself or not, but after Wu Jiang’s shout, no matter how he tried to hide, it would be meaningless. He had no other choice but to show himself.
He might have been feeling a little frustrated, but it didn’t affect the overall situation.
[Of the five elite Human Squads, one is responsible for guarding Xiang Shan while the other four are keeping Wu Jiang occupied. Even now, there are no Eighth-Order Masters in sight. I guess there really isn’t an ambush here.]
[Not to mention, the Eighth-Orders Humans of the forward base had already appeared there.]
Nonetheless, he was still curious as to why Xiang Shan would choose to advance in such a place. An old veteran who had lived for countless years could not have lost his sense of vigilance.
The place where Hong Hu appeared was not far away from the Breeze Warship. The sudden appearance of a Territory Lord startled the Humans aboard the swift Warship, and the members in charge of controlling it hurriedly activated the various Spirit Arrays to open some distance.
Be that as it may, it was too late already. Hong Hu took out a round hammer and swung it down on the Breeze Squad’s Warship.
The shadow of a giant hammer almost covered the entire Warship, and immediately after, it struck, instantly breaking through its various defences and smashing the hull to pieces. The attack’s massive force sent the Warship flying out tens of thousands of kilometres. It was unclear how many people aboard lost their lives!
Although the defences of the Breeze Squad’s Warship were stronger than those of an ordinary Warship, it was still the worst among the five Special Operations Squads. Their prime focus was speed, so it was naturally difficult for them to block a blow from a Territory Lord.
This sight completely shook up the Breeze Squad Leader, Wan Zhen Xin, and his eyes cracked wide open in dismay.
He did not care about the Warship one bit as it could be repaired with some Military Merits, but if any of the Warship’s crew was killed, that was a permanent loss.
Wan Zheng Xin’s heart bled at the very thought.
Be that as it may, he could do nothing regardless of how much he wanted to rescue them. The combined effort of four Special Operations Squads Battle Formations could barely stop Wu Jiang’s advance, so if even one retreated, the remaining three would be no match for the enemy. Once Wu Jiang broke through their blockade, the resulting casualties would be even worse.
There existed an order of priorities, and people had to make difficult choices when faced with a crisis. Wan Zheng Xin perfectly understood this point and his fury and worries turned into boundless rage. He mobilized his World Force madly, unleashing Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at Wu Jiang recklessly.
At the same time, Yang Kai roared, “Feng Ying, Formation change!”
Under the Six Paths Formation, the six Seventh-Order members of Dawn had their auras and even thoughts linked, so as soon as Yang Kai yelled, Feng Ying understood what he was planning to do.
Without any hesitation, when Yang Kai teleported out, she promptly assumed the Core position. The other four simultaneously changed their positions as well. As such, the Six Paths Formation rapidly changed into a Five Elements Formation, where Yang Kai’s position was replaced by Feng Ying.
“Be careful!” Feng Ying’s voice rang in Yang Kai’s ears as he appeared next to Hong Hu out of nowhere. A Golden Crow cried out and a Great Sun rose from the spear’s tip as Yang Kai thrust his weapon out at Hong Hu.
Yang Kai could not ignore Hong Hu because, after sending Breeze Squad’s Warship flying, he would smash the hammer in his hand down on the Wild Boar Squad’s Warship next.
Although the defences of the Wild Boar Squad’s Warship were better than the Breeze Squad Warship’s, they were still limited. Against the strength Hong Hu had just displayed, the Wild Boar’s Warship would simply be unable to resist.
It was easy to imagine that if no one was there to intercept Hong Hu, the Wild Boar’s Warship would surely meet the same end as Breeze Squad’s, followed by Dawn, and then the Water Snakes.
Although Yang Kai couldn’t understand why Hong Hu didn’t directly disturb Xiang Shan’s breakthrough and instead attacked the Warships, he couldn’t just sit back and watch.
Due to various reasons, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm members of the other Squads were unable to help, so Yang Kai had no choice but to step in. Furthermore, he had experience in fighting Territory Lords, and his strength was far greater than an ordinary Seventh-Order Master’s. He was also proficient in the Dao of Space, so even if he was not an opponent of the Territory Lord, he would not fall so quickly.
The other Seventh-Order Masters could not do this and only death awaited them if they tried. If an entire group came over, Wu Jiang would no longer be suppressed and would surely start a bloodbath.
Yang Kai’s sudden appearance took Hong Hu by surprise. In fact, he was just testing the waters when he attacked Breeze Squad’s Warship; after all, there had been no casualties on the Human Race’s side up until now. Things might not be looking good for the Humans at this moment; but in reality, everything was still in their control. If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master was lying in wait nearby, he or she may have decided to not provide help.
Attacking a Warship was the best way to test the waters. If an Eighth-Order Master was really hiding in the shadows, he or she would definitely try to stop him once casualties and deaths on the Human side became inevitable.
Much to his satisfaction, no Eighth-Order Masters stepped in, just a lone Seventh-Order Human.
Hong Hu didn’t take the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters seriously, even when the one attacking him displayed an extremely powerful Divine Ability.
Hong Hu casually swung the hammer in his hand, hitting the tip of the spear, and annihilating the Great Sun. The spear in Yang Kai’s hand almost flew out from the recoil and the violent force which was transmitted to him sent him tumbling far away in the blink of an eye.
After swatting away the annoying ant, Hong Hu gazed down at the asteroid. His gaze pierced through the thick protection surrounding the asteroid, whereupon he saw a familiar figure sitting cross-legged on the ground.
[Xiang Shan! It’s been ages since we last met, but unfortunately for you, this place will be your grave!]
Since he was certain that there was no ambush here, Hong Hu didn’t hesitate any longer. He raised his hammer high as the power of his Black Ink Strength surged around him to the point that it seemed solid. The next moment, he brought his hammer down hard under the furious gazes of Chai Fang and the others.
When the hammer fell, it was as if two Universe Worlds had collided. The surrounding million kilometres radius trembled as the violent blast of energy materialized into a shockwave that rapidly propagated. Even the Warships that were far away from the hammer’s point of impact instantly bobbed up and down like they were caught up in a storm.
*Kacha…*
With the hammer as the centre, an enormous crack appeared on the defensive barrier of the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship before it began spreading out like a spider web.
Hong Hu was a little surprised at this sight and commented, “It’s quite sturdy!”
Even with his fearsome Territory Lord strength, his full-powered blow was unable to break through this barrier. The defensive power of this strange Warship was surprisingly good.
Nonetheless, no matter how strong its defences were, it couldn’t withstand such fierce attacks for long. With just one strike, Hong Hu came to the conclusion that he only needed three strikes to completely break this barrier.
*Hong …*
With another blow, the cracks became wider. Even the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship flickered and cracking sounds came from its hull as it was unable to bear the attack.
“Hold fast! Channel all your power into the defences!” Chai Fang furiously roared as he ground his teeth. With him as the leader, the entire 50 members of the Old Turtle Squad pushed their strength madly.
Nonetheless, whether it was Chai Fang or his Squad members, they all knew that when the Territory Lord’s next attack landed, their shields would be broken. The gap in strength between the two sides was not something they could make up for with their efforts.
Hong Hu raised his hammer once more as a giant shadow appeared. Just when it was about to fall though, Hong Hu turned his head and looked back.
In the distant void, a Great Sun was slowly rising, followed by a Full Moon. Under the combined brilliance of this Sun and Moon, a strange power started surging.
This power was hard to describe and difficult to understand, seemingly containing various kinds of mysteries. Hong Hu had never felt this kind of power before, but a sense of unease gripped his heart once he did. This strange power actually posed a certain threat to him.
As the Sun and Moon intertwined with each other, this mysterious power became more and more sublime.
At first, it was still quite some distance away, but in the next instant, it was somehow right in front of him. Behind this swirl of light was the Seventh-Order Human he had sent flying not too long ago, wearing a stoic look on his face.
In the end, Hong Hu’s third strike never happened. He had always been cautious, so when facing this unknown threat, his choice was always to take care of it first!
Black Ink Strength rapidly surged as a large Black Ink Cloud emerged, enveloping Hong Hu and allowing him to disappear from everyone’s sight.
The Sun and Moon Divine Wheel struck the Black Ink Clouds, and in that instant, Space-Time Strength spread out into the surroundings. For that moment, everyone had the illusion that time was frozen and space had solidified.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, but it felt like hundreds of thousands of years had passed.
A sigh escaped Yang Kai’s lips as a desolate look appeared on his face.
The Sun Moon Divine Wheel was the strongest move in his arsenal, but even it failed to do anything to the Territory Lord. It simply lacked the strength to kill its target while the latter was on guard.
On the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship, Chai Fang and the others were staring in Hong Hu’s direction with widened eyes, but when the solid Black Ink Cloud dispersed, they didn’t see the scene they were expecting.
Much to their surprise, there was an enormous black shell inside the Black Ink Cloud, like a cocoon that had been enlarged countless times.
The cocoon was congealed from extremely dense Black Ink Strength. Suddenly, cracks began to appear on its surface one after another before it shattered into pieces, revealing Hong Hu’s figure.
He glanced at Yang Kai and exclaimed, “Such an extraordinary move!”
In fact, if he hadn’t promptly circulated his strength to condense the black cocoon, encasing himself and devoting his full attention to his defence, he would have been seriously injured by the last attack.
A mere Seventh-Order Human actually had the ability to injure him. If this was a moment ago, he would never have believed it possible, but having experienced it personally, he could not deny it.
Fortunately for him, he had responded in a timely and appropriate fashion. Although he had consumed a lot of energy, he was not injured.
[This Seventh-Order Human is probably another elite not inferior to Xiang Shan!] Hong Hu’s spirits were immediately lifted. Not only could he kill Xiang Shan today, but he could also destroy another promising seedling of the Human Race.
While he was in a great mood, Yang Kai’s heart sank into the abyss.
Even his strongest attack failed to do anything to Hong Hu; so right now, apart from defending the Old Turtle Squad with his life, he could do nothing else.
The reinforcements from the forward base were nowhere in sight, most likely intercepted by the Black Ink Clan.
Furthermore, in the absence of his powerful combat strength, things were not looking good for Feng Ying and the other Seventh-Order Masters. When Yang Kai was there, the four Squads in Battle Formations were able to put up a good fight against Wu Jiang. Even if they were at a disadvantage, they would not have been defeated in short order.
But as soon as he left, although the Masters from the four Squads were still in Formation, Dawn’s overall strength had decreased sharply, increasing Wu Jiang’s advantage. By the looks of it, the four Formations would be defeated by Wu Jiang in less than an hour, at which point they would suffer heavy casualties.
Yang Kai couldn’t see any hope. Although he still had a trump card he had yet to use, it was hard to say how effective it would be.
Nonetheless, he couldn’t back down even in this situation.
Raising his hand, Yang Kai summoned the Azure Dragon Spear as he threw a Spirit Pill into his mouth. Yang Kai pointed his weapon towards Hong Hu and mobilized his Space Principles, instantly disappearing from sight.
The next time he appeared, he was standing right before Hong Hu, the Azure Dragon Spear rapidly expanding in Hong Hu’s eyes.
“Impudence!” Hong Hu coldly snorted as he brought his hammer down to meet the Azure Dragon Spear.
Yang Kai staggered from the impact, but before he could even regain his footing, a mass of Black Ink Strength flew towards his face, enveloping his head and disturbing his five senses. It became impossible for him to see or hear anything, even his Divine Sense was greatly suppressed.
He instinctively blocked an incoming attack with his spear, but he was sent flying as a result of his hasty defence, his chest caved in and several of his ribs broke.
Hong Hu exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t held back in his last attack. Under normal circumstances, a Seventh-Order Human would have not been able to block such a blow and would have lost his life on the spot, but much to his surprise, the Human before his eyes survived, albeit with heavy injuries.
[As expected of an elite seedling, such a person cannot be allowed to grow!]
Hong Hu became even more determined to kill Yang Kai. Nonetheless, he didn’t immediately chase after him, he wanted to finish off Xiang Shan first.
In comparison, he was more wary of Xiang Shan.
The hammer in his hand fell once more and the already cracked barrier finally couldn’t bear the brunt and shattered into pieces. Even the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship suffered great damage. Many of the members who had been linked to the Warship to provide it with power spurted a mouthful of blood as their auras weakened.
With the protective barrier broken, there was nothing stopping Hong Hu, who now coldly stared at Xiang Shan before he raised his hammer high and swung it down hard.
Chai Fang and the others helplessly stared at the oncoming attack in horror. At this moment, none of them had the strength to stop this blow. Not only would Xiang Shan die, but even the asteroid below would probably be blown to pieces.
This did not escape the eyes of the Masters near Wu Jiang. All of them wanted to help, but they were unable to interfere! Before, they were the ones who had been pestering Wu Jiang, but now Wu Jiang was the one who was tying them down.
Just as despair filled everyone’s face, a beam of light came shooting out from below.
This attack was extremely sudden and came without any warning. Hong Hu only noticed it when it was practically on top of him, causing him to jump in fright and hastily defend himself.
Even a Territory Lord like him was forced back by this blow.
Looking down, he noticed that Xiang Shan, who had been sitting cross-legged on the asteroid, happened to have opened his eyes at some point and was staring at him with a smile.
Hong Hu was terrified!
[This is a trap, this is definitely a trap!]
Although Hong Hu didn’t notice any traces of any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, when he met Xiang Shan’s mocking gaze, he knew that his worries had come true!
The Human Race had once again set up a sinister trap here to lure him and Wu Jiang out. It was laughable that even with all his caution, he had failed to see through this.
Although he might not have an idea of what the Human Race’s goal was or where the trap was, Hong Hu was a decisive person. After realizing that things were not good, he immediately tried to escape.
But it was already too late.
Before Hong Hu could make any move, Xiang Shan was already flying towards him like a bolt of lightning. When Xiang Shan moved, it appeared as if he had summoned something, and while he was charging, his aura steadily rose. In just three breaths of time, his cultivation had risen from the Seventh Order to the Eighth.
As the two clashed in the void, their Black Ink Strength and World Force clashed to form a violent storm.
On the Old Turtle Squad’s broken Warship, Squad Leader Chai Fang and his Squad members were all dumbfounded. It never occurred to them that something like this would happen at this desperate moment and came as a pleasant surprise to them.
After giving it another thought though, Chai Fang came to realize that the reason Xiang Shan was able to advance to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm at just the right moment could not be a coincidence; rather, it had to be intentional.
In other words, Senior Xiang Shan had always been able to break through at any moment, but he had been holding his advancement back for some purpose.
Naturally, it was impossible for an ordinary Seventh-Order Master to break through to the Eighth-Order like this, but it was different for Xiang Shan. He was originally an Eighth-Order Master, and the reason his Order had dropped was only because he had cut off too much of his Small Universe in the past. He had the base of an Eighth-Order Master from the start, and after painstakingly cultivating for three millennia, he had already regained and strengthened his incomplete foundation. After three millennia, as far as he was concerned, it was just a matter of course to return to Eight-Order so long as the opportunity appeared.
Chai Fang even suspected that Xiang Shan had advanced to the Eighth Order already, but for some reason, had been acting like he was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. As for what this reason was, he was temporarily unable to guess.
“Squad Leader, is that… a Purifying Black Ink Battleship?” A pale-faced Squad member suddenly asked.
The Old Turtle Squad’s defensive barrier had been destroyed by Hong Hu’s three hammer strikes, and the entire Squad had suffered varying degrees of injuries while even their Warship had been damaged. Nonetheless, when compared to having been killed by Hong Hu, this result was still acceptable.
After hearing this Squad member’s question, Chai Fang turned his gaze towards the asteroid and indeed, he saw a Warship there. This Warship was far more magnificent than an ordinary Squad Rank Warships or even a Battalion Rank Warship.
In the entire Blue Sky Pass, a Warship of this scale could only be a Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
[Why is a Purifying Black Ink Battleship here?]
He vaguely remembered that when Xiang Shan moved just now, he seemed to have summoned something and tossed it out. Apparently, what he had summoned was this Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Although the Warship was large, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could still easily store it in his or her Small Universe.
In a flash, Chai Fang understood the various arrangements of the higher-ups and was shocked at the revelation!
At a certain moment before Xiang Shan summoned the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, seven or eight Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, led by Ding Yao, had gathered together in Blue Sky Pass. Their hands were rapidly forming different seals one after another, but strangely, no matter what seals these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters made, nothing happened.
Furthermore, it had already been two days since they had begun doing this.
Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would find it quite tiring to repeat such a boring task for a long time.
Lu An couldn’t help but grumble, “Has Senior Brother Xiang not made his move yet?”
An Eighth-Order Master asked with a smile, “Brother Lu, are you getting frustrated from all the waiting?”
Lu An corrected, “I’m just worried that those brats won’t be able to hold on. I don’t know how many Territory Lords Senior Brother Xiang managed to lure out, but if the number is too large, it might lead to casualties.”
The Eighth-Order Master stated, “Senior Brother Xiang is a meticulous person. Since he hasn’t made a move yet, it means that the situation is still under control. We should keep waiting until Senior Brother Xiang has made his move, in any case…”
Before the Eighth-Order Master could finish his sentence, the light of the Universe Array appeared beneath his feet after he finished a set of hand seals.
Ding Yao raised his brow and shouted, “It’s time!”
Everyone held their breaths and focused as the speed at which they formed hand seals sharply increased. In an instant, the light Universe Arrays appeared beneath their respective feet.
After a few breaths, the light faded as the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered here vanished.
The next moment, all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters stepped out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship on an asteroid billion of kilometers away, with Ding Yao in the lead.
After looking around, Ding Yao immediately understood the situation and shouted, “Act according to the plan!”
As soon as he relayed the order, five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters flew towards Xiang Shan while the remaining three rushed towards Wu Jiang.
At this moment, Hong Hu’s face was filled with indignation. Ever since he had received the message from the Territory Lords on the front lines, asking him and Wu Jiang to come here to kill Xiang Shan, he had suspected that this was a scheme set up by the Humans.
What kind of character was Xiang Shan? If he really wanted to advance to the Eighth Order, how could he not have anyone guarding him? Why would he choose this damned place to advance?
After multiple probes, and a sacrifice of close to 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen, as well as a careful investigation of the surrounding region, when they found nothing suspicious, nor any ambush, Hong Hu’s fear of Xiang Shan breaking through forced him to take action.
But just as he was about to deal with Xiang Shan, something unexpected happened.
Xiang Shan actually returned to the Eighth Order in an extremely short time, making it impossible for Hong Hu to easily kill him.
This sudden turn of events made Hong Hu realize that this was definitely a trap! The only thing he failed to understand was what Xiang Shan could do to him even if he had returned to the Eighth Order.
Had it been three millennia ago, when Xiang Shan was at his peak, Hong Hu would definitely not have been his opponent. If he had been down on his luck, he might have even been killed by Xiang Shan.
However, things were different now. Xiang Shan had just returned to the Eighth Order, and after exchanging a few blows with him, Hong Hu discovered that the former’s current strength was only on par with his, perhaps even slightly inferior.
In his current state, he couldn’t kill Xiang Shan, nor could Xiang Shan kill him, so what was the purpose of this trap?
Just as he was feeling puzzled, powerful auras suddenly emerged from the nearby asteroid out of nowhere.
Naturally, they were the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! Eight of them!
The moment he noticed these auras, Hong Hu noticed five figures rushing in his direction from the asteroid from the corner of his eye.
Hong Hu was filled with grief and unwillingness. No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure out where these Eighth-Order Masters popped out from and why he failed to notice them until now.
He couldn’t figure it out, but he knew that if he didn’t escape now, he would never be able to. Xiang Shan alone might not be able to do anything to him, but if five more Eighth-Order Humans were added to the mix, it would be another matter. He was no match for those kinds of odds.
But how could Xiang Shan allow him to escape? Immediately, all kinds of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were shot out, but they were not intended to injure the enemy, but rather just to obstruct Hong Hu’s escape. This was why Xiang Shan had specially summoned a net-like artifact. This artifact instantly fell over Hong Hu’s head and transformed into an invisible binding force, preventing him from escaping.
Although Hong Hu had quickly destroyed this artifact, the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already arrived.
“Ding Yao!” Hong Hu was shocked at the sight of the person leading the team.
Naturally, he was well aware of the Army Commander of Blue Sky Pass’ Eastern Army. Not just Ding Yao, all Army Commanders were the strongest of the Eighth-Order Humans. Every Territory Lord knew them well.
[But… shouldn’t Ding Yao be guarding Blue Sky Pass? What’s he doing here? Also, the other Eighth-Order Masters here have never appeared at the forward base before. They should all be guarding Blue Sky Pass!]
While he was reeling from shock, the five Eighth-Order Masters stood in a pentagonal position around him under Ding Yao’s lead. Each of them stood tens of thousands of metres apart, but their auras were closely linked together, forming a Battle Formation.
Five Elements Formation!
Different from the Five Elements Formation formed by the five Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn, this one was powered by five Eighth-Order Masters.
The World Force of the connected Eighth-Order Masters instantly filled the entire void, turning it into a quagmire that could swallow all things.
Trapped in this Battle Formation, Hong Hu’s strength was instantly suppressed by 30%. He felt as if every inch of his body had grown heavier, as if a mountain was pressing down on him.
He wanted to escape, but no matter how he moved, Ding Yao and the others followed him like shadows, maintaining a distance of a few tens of thousands of meters between them and trapping him between them.
Hong Hu’s face was filled with despair!
By the time the Five Elements Formation was complete, Xiang Shan had already withdrawn as there was no need for him here.
He didn’t remain idle though and headed straight towards Wu Jiang.
Just a moment ago, the three Eighth-Order Masters led by Lu An had arrived at Wu Jiang and the four Special Operations Squads’ location.
In fact, when the auras of these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters appeared, not only did Hong Hu and Wu Jiang sense them, but their appearance was also noticed by the Seventh-Order Masters of the four Squads.
Similar to Hong Hu, Wu Jiang immediately realized that things were not looking good for them and he tried to shake off these Squads to escape. He was no match for so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. As for whether Hong Hu could escape or not, he couldn’t care less about it at this point.
However, the four Special Operations Squads knew that their reinforcements had arrived, so how could they let the enemy escape so easily?
A single Squad couldn’t stop Wu Jiang, and even if all four of them joined forces, it would still be difficult, but at least they were able to delay him.
“Brats, move aside!” A shout came before three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with Lu An in the lead arrived and took over the fight with Wu Jiang.
The four Special Operations Squads all felt relieved and quickly retreated.
With three against one, Wu Jiang instantly fell into a disadvantageous position, but this was not the end of his misery as Xiang Shan also arrived shortly after.
Wu Jiang furiously roared and struggled for his life, causing Black Ink Clouds to billow around him, but against four enemies of equal strength, his defeat was only a matter of time.
When Yang Kai hurriedly returned from the distance, what he saw next left him dumbfounded.
Hong Hu’s hammer strike caused his vitality and World Force to be thrown into turmoil and sent him flying tens of thousands of kilometers away. Even with his powerful Dragon Vein, he was seriously injured.
After stabilizing himself, he immediately rushed back, but he had never expected to see the scene before him.
Led by Ding Yao, five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had formed a strange Formation around Hong Hu, trapping him. No matter how Hong Hu struggled, he was unable to break free. Ding Yao and the others were sticking to him like maggots on rotting bones, constantly maintaining a certain distance from him.
On the other side, Wu Jiang was also being besieged by four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The battle here was far more intense than Hong Hu’s, causing space to split apart and the void to tremble.
Yang Kai even saw Xiang Shan in the mix, but at this moment, he was already an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Less than 10 breaths had passed since Yang Kai was sent flying and his return, but the situation had changed drastically. Fortunately, this change was extremely beneficial to Yang Kai’s side, allowing him to finally let his racing heart rest.
Turning his head to look, he instantly teleported to the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship and stood next to Chai Fang.
The Old Turtle Squad’s Warship was in a very bad state. The entire Warship was in tatters with practically all of its Spirit Arrays having exploded. Even the great turtle shell artifact on top of the Warship was covered in deep cracks. After returning, the Warship would have to undergo an extensive repair before it could return to the battlefield.
Also, Chai Fang and the others’ auras were somewhat weak; obviously, they had suffered varying degrees of injuries.
“Is this the arrangement of the Seniors?” Yang Kai asked with a frown.
Although he didn’t know why things had suddenly changed so drastically, Yang Kai had some guesses judging by the current situation.
“That should be the case,” Chai Fang nodded and resentfully complained, “But they kept us in the dark.”
“How did they get here?” Yang Kai asked again.
Chai Fang silently pointed down.
Yang Kai gazed down and instantly understood, seeing the Purifying Black Ink Battleship left on the asteroid.
[They thought to use a Purifying Black Ink Battleship like this? The way the Eighth-Order Commanders think is truly unrestrained and creative.]
Although he didn’t know who came up with this idea, it was pretty obvious that this Purifying Black Ink Battleship had been stored in Xiang Shan’s Small Universe. At the critical moment, when they were finally summoned, Ding Yao and the others who had been back in Blue Sky Pass were able to use the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Universe Array to instantly arrive here to assist.
Although this place was far from Blue Sky Pass, Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were strong enough to withstand the pressures of transferring across such distance through the Void.
It would not have worked if Seventh-Order Masters tried to teleport here from Blue Sky Pass as they would have been crushed during the transit.
Of the two battlefields, one was five on one, while the other was four against one. Regardless of which one it was, the Humans had the absolute advantage. It was quite obvious that Hong Hu and Wu Jiang Territory Lord would not survive this encounter.
But when Yang Kai saw how Ding Yao and the others were moving, it didn’t seem like they were trying to kill Hong Hu. On the other hand, Lu An and the others attacking Wu Jiang were using all kinds of lethal moves, overwhelming Wu Jiang and reducing him to a sorry state.
Judging by the Battle Formation used by Ding Yao and the others and their behaviour, it seemed apparent they wanted to capture Hong Hu alive.
Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately recalled the Feudal Lord imprisoned in the basement of the forward base as Grandmaster Ma Fan’s image involuntarily flashed in his mind.
He immediately understood what was going on.
Capturing a Feudal Lord alive was not difficult as any Eighth-Order Master could do so; however, Yang Kai had never heard of a Territory Lord being captured alive. After all, only an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could fight against a Territory Lord.
Just because there was no precedent didn’t mean the Human Race couldn’t do it, but Blue Sky Pass didn’t meet the conditions in the past to accomplish this. A Territory Lord’s Black Ink Strength was extremely rich and powerful, so even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be at a risk of being corroded by it. Also, what would the point of capturing a Territory Lord alive be? It would be a waste of time and effort only to produce a prisoner that would have to constantly be guarded by powerful Masters.
Relatively speaking, defeating a Territory Lord in battle was easy, killing them was hard, and capturing them alive was all but impossible.
Nonetheless, the current situation was different. The Human Race already had a way to deal with the corruption of Black Ink Strength. On top of that, the research on the Evil Purging Divine Spear had made great strides with Grandmaster Ma Fan’s efforts. Obviously, experimenting on Feudal Lords was no longer able to satisfy Grandmaster Ma Fan’s needs; he needed a Territory Lord to perform more comprehensive experiments to improve the Evil Purging Divine Spear further.
Having been encircled by Ding Yao and the others, Hong Hu seemed to be the target of this operation. As for Wu Jiang, he could only be killed. Territory Lords were tenacious, so one was more than enough to experiment on; there was no need to bring two back.
The members of the Special Operations Squads returned one after another, even their respective Warships flew over. The Breeze Squad even brought back their heavily damaged Warships.
The Breeze Squad’s Warship had been sent flying by Hong Hu and suffered extensive damage not long ago. It was unclear how many were dead and how many were injured, so Breeze’s Squad Leader Wan Zheng Xin was extremely worried. However, at that time, he was still preoccupied with Wu Jiang and had no time to check up on his Squad members.
Until now.
After a quick count, the Breeze Squad had suffered fatalities while all the others had been injured, with more than ten having suffered serious wounds. Even the Warship was severely damaged and in a much worse state than the Old Turtle’s Warship.
Although three of his Squad members had fallen and a dozen or so were heavily injured, it was still an acceptable result. They were already extremely fortunate that they had only suffered such a small loss after taking the full powered sneak attack of a Territory Lord; any ordinary Squad would have been completely wiped out from such a blow.
No one tried to comfort him, as on the Black Ink Battlefield, who hadn’t experienced a few life and death battles? Those who had died had returned to dust, and those who had survived continued moving forward. Everyone had only two choices, either they sacrifice their life to the Black Ink Battlefield, or win this war that had lasted for countless millennia and return home in glory.
Everyone was silently adjusting their breathing as they observed the battle between the two groups of great experts.
Wu Jiang’s situation became worse and worse; his entire body was covered in wounds as black blood covered his body. He was unable to escape and was powerless to resist the siege of the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so only death awaited him.
On the other side, the range where Hong Hu could move was further suppressed. Ding Yao and the others were originally tens of thousands of meters away from him, but now they were only a few thousand meters away. It was obvious that once the distance between them shrank to a certain extent, he would lose all ability to resist.
Hong Hu obviously knew this as well and had been desperately struggling, but it was clear he was on his last leg.
There weren’t many opportunities to witness a battle between Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords without any other worries, so all the members of the various elite Squads were watching intently, hoping to gain some insights.
An hour later, a blade of light cut into Wu Jiang’s body as a roar of unwillingness escaped his lips and his eyes bulged in fury. A small crack soon appeared on his forehead as Xiang Shan’s figure brushed past him before his body split in twain.
An invisible wave of aura silently spread out into the depths of the void from the fall of a Territory Lord.
Lu An, Xiang Shan, and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters all let out a sigh of relief. Fighting a Territory Lord who knew he was going to die was really exhausting. After Wu Jiang realized that he had no hope of escaping alive today, he had desperately lashed out in an attempt to drag at least one of them down with him, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have a chance to succeed. Any negligence on the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ part during the battle would give him that very chance.
Fortunately, the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were all extremely cautious and didn’t give Wu Jiang any chance to take one of them down with him. As such, the price they paid was marginal.
The moment Wu Jiang died, Mao Chi and Zhong Yan, who were fighting with the two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, surnamed Zhang and Sun in the depths of the void far away from this place, felt something and exchanged a look of surprise.
They couldn’t understand how Wu Jiang had perished.
[Hong Hu and Wu Jiang should be together. Wu Jiang had fallen, so where is Hong Hu? Those two went to kill Xiang Shan, so did they fail? Did the Humans ambush them?]
Mao Chi and Zhong Yan had no idea what was happening on the other side, but their task was only to tie down these two Eighth-Order Division Commanders and prevent them from assisting Xiang Shan.
Now that Wu Jiang had fallen and Hong Hu’s situation remained unclear, there was no need for them to continue fighting with these two Eighth-Order Humans.
Without any need for discussion, the two Territory Lords made a feint before breaking away from the Eighth-Order Humans. They then promptly summoned Black Ink Clouds and quickly disappeared.
The two Eighth-Order Masters surnamed Zhang and Sun didn’t have any intention of giving chase. Although they had the upper hand in this battle, it was impossible for them to kill their opponents. Even without a full force deployment, it was easy to determine victory or defeat when both sides’ numbers were equal, but it was difficult to kill their foes.
The Eighth-Order Master surnamed Zhang turned his head in a certain direction and thoughtfully made a guess, “They should have succeeded.”
The Eighth-Order Master surnamed Sun nodded in agreement, “The shockwave from the death of a Territory Lord was very weak, almost undetectable, but it was definitely there.”
“Let’s head back.”
The two of them had originally been bait and had not intended to assist Xiang Shan from the start. They had simply come out from the forward base to draw the attention of the Territory Lords; otherwise, it would really be unreasonable for the forward base to show no response at all when Xiang Shan was breaking through.
Now that Xiang Shan’s side had succeeded and the Territory Lords fighting them had also escaped, there was no need for them to remain any longer. A battle should still be raging at the frontlines, so if they rushed back now, they might be able to end things there.
The two left dazzling streaks of light as they flew towards the forward base.
Elsewhere, in the Royal City, the dormant Royal Lord’s aura suddenly awakened as a majestic Will spread into the void for millions of kilometers in the blink of an eye with the Royal City as its center.
But the next moment, another majestic Will spread out from a certain place in the void. This invisible Will transformed into a tangible force as it ruthlessly clashed with the previous Will.
The violent burst of energy only lasted for a moment before everything returned to calm. Only a certain part of the void suddenly became fragmented and chaotic. It was the spot where the two Wills clashed.
“Sooner or later, I will exterminate your Human Race!” The Will of the Royal Lord in the Royal City flared with thick malicious intent.
The Old Ancestor remained in a lotus position in the void and indifferently responded, “Try it!”
The Royal Lord’s Will no longer responded and slowly fell dormant while the Old Ancestor also closed his eyes and his Will was withdrawn.
Wu Jiang’s death was a huge blow to Hong Hu, which led to him losing focus while still under the combined assault of the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
How could Ding Yao and the others miss this opportunity? Their figures flickered as they instantly closed the distance between Hong Hu and them.
The distance between both sides had shortened to only a few hundred metres. They were now so close that it was almost as if they were face to face.
The connected auras of the five Eighth-Order Masters formed a Battle Formation which acted to suppress the enemy in the centre. The closer the five of them got, the stronger this suppression became.
With the Formation shrunk to this extent, Hong Hu found it difficult to even move. His Black Ink Strength was not flowing smoothly, and his strength had decreased by nearly 50%. When the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters closed the Battle Formation even further, Hong Hu was completely rooted to the spot. Although he struggled with all his might, trying to escape, his movements were countless times slower now. At this moment, let alone five Eighth-Order Masters, even a Seventh-Order Human could easily kill him.
Knowing that he could not escape this disaster, Hong Hu laughed in anguish before completely giving up struggling. He stared at Ding Yao, and asked, “What do you want to do?”
Ding Yao simply ignored him altogether and took out a strange box from his Space Ring. The box was a perfect cube and made of some unidentifiable material.
The moment this box appeared, not just Ding Yao, but even the other four Eighth-Order Masters looked cautious and solemn with a slight trace of fear visible on their faces. Obviously, the contents of this box were something extraordinary and could even pose a threat to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them.
In fact, that was indeed the case; after all, it was meant to be used to deal with Territory Lords. Something that posed no threat to Eighth-Order Masters would naturally be useless against a Territory Lord.
Their attitude made Hong Hu feel even more uneasy. Under nervous gazes, Ding Yao formed a hand seal and opened the box before gathering World Energy in his mouth and gently blowing into it.
Immediately after, a white mist-like object flew out from the box and enveloped Hong Hu.
The next moment, Hong Hu’s entire body was covered in frost, which quickly spread outward and enveloped him, turning him into a giant block of ice.
The block of ice was crystal clear. Even looking from afar, Yang Kai and the others found the frozen Hong Hu looked alive. He still maintained the state before he was frozen, even the fear in his eyes was clearly visible.
But this wasn’t the end. Ding Yao raised his hand and took out something resembling a coffin; however, it was massive and obviously not something made for humans, but rather was specially made for the Black Ink Clan.
Ding Yao formed hand seals and the frozen Hong Hu was sent into the giant coffin under his guidance before the lid closed. Ding Yao then formed another set of hand seals as dazzling streaks of light shot straight towards the coffin.
Soon, the coffin’s lid was spotted with faintly glowing runes. The runes formed a chain, wrapping around the giant coffin before slowly disappearing.
Success!
Ding Yao and the others glanced at each other before slightly nodding.
It was the first time the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters attempted to capture a Territory Lord alive; fortunately, everything went smoothly and there were no major mistakes.
With a Territory Lord in their hands, the weapon to deal with the Black Ink Clan would be developed even faster.
“Good job.”
Just as Yang Kai and the others were watching everything with rapt attention, a voice suddenly rang in their ears.
Everyone turned their heads and saw Xiang Shan wearing a green robe, calmly floating over. Everyone might have been exhausted after the battle, but the fact that Xiang Shan was able to approach them without anyone noticing was still a great testament to his strength.
“Greetings, Senior Xiang!” Everyone respectfully bowed and cupped their fists.
Xiang Shan waved his hand as Yang Kai and the others involuntarily straightened up.
“Hong Hu isn’t the strongest amongst all the Territory Lords, only somewhere around the middle of the ranks, but in terms of caution, he is second to none. Your efforts lowered his guard and successfully lured him out. Although I could have advanced to the Eighth Order at any time, the timing of my initial attack had to be perfect. If I acted too early, it would only alert the enemy, and if he sensed that something wasn’t right, he would have immediately fled. So, when I made my move, I had to ensure that I could pin him down.”
Breeze Squad Leader Wan Zheng Xin pursed his lips and nodded, “Junior understands!”
He knew that the reason why Xiang Shan had come and explained himself to them, Seventh-Order Masters, was because when the Breeze Squad’s Warship had been attacked by Hong Hu, Xiang Shan had not taken action to save it. If Xiang Shan had taken action at that time, their Warship would definitely have remained safe, and they wouldn’t have more than a dozen seriously injured and three dead.
But that was not the best time for Xiang Shan to act.
There was no need for him to explain himself in the first place. Wan Zheng Xin was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master and a Squad Leader, he understood that the situation called for Xiang Shan to not make any move. Nonetheless, Xiang Shan still explained it to them.
“When my Junior Brothers stepped onto this Black Ink Battlefield, they all resolved to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Human Race if need be. It is our greatest honour to lay down our lives on the battlefield.”
Xiang Shan slightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Now that this matter has been settled, you can accompany me here and rest for a while.”
“Yes!” Everyone nodded their agreement.
It was true that they needed to recuperate. The five Special Operations Squads had consumed a great deal of strength in this battle, and every Squad had suffered injuries of varying degrees. The Warships of Old Turtle and Breeze Squads were also severely damaged.
Xiang Shan also needed to rest after just recovering his Eighth-Order cultivation. Although there was no problem with his cultivation, he still needed some time to consolidate it. What’s more, the five Special Operations Squads here needed someone to look after them as they recuperated, and Xiang Shan was the best candidate.
While they were talking, Ding Yao and the others had already finished making arrangements.
After a brief communication, the five Eighth-Order Masters surrounding Hong Hu each activated the Universe Transference Law and returned to Blue Sky Pass. Meanwhile, the other three Eighth-Order Masters led by Lu An were responsible for escorting the giant coffin to the forward base and quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight.
Xiang Shan and the five Special Operations Squads were left behind to rest.
The Special Operations Squads flew towards the asteroid to find a place to recuperate, while the Purifying Black Ink Battleship that had been summoned was retrieved by Xiang Shan.
In fact, when they had planned to use this Purifying Black Ink Battleship, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already been mentally prepared for it to be destroyed by the Territory Lords, but Hong Hu was too skittish, so after discovering that Xiang Shan had returned to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he immediately made a run for it, completely ignoring the giant Warship.
Of course, even if he really did attack the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan would not let him succeed so easily.
After putting away the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan headed straight towards the place where Dawn was recuperating.
Seeing him arrive, Yang Kai swiftly got up, but was just as quickly made to sit back down by Xiang Shan.
Xiang Shan sat cross-legged across from him, looking at him with a smile, “I heard that the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was built by you?”
Yang Kai blushed with shame and stated, “Junior simply provided the idea. The one who really refined it was someone else.”
He found it a bit strange. It had been over a century since he had arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, and a lot of time had passed since the Purifying Black Ink Battleships entered service, so why was Xiang Shan acting like he didn’t know about it?
As if he could see through what was going on in Yang Kai’s mind, Xiang Shan explained, “I’ve been in a retreat for the last three centuries. When I came out, everything had changed quite a bit.”
Yang Kai understood. Since Xiang Shan had been in seclusion for three hundred years, it was natural for him to be unaware of the existence of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships. How could ordinary people have the privilege to be in a retreat for so long? Only someone like Xiang Shan, who had once been an Eighth-Order Master, would be permitted to enter seclusion for several hundred years.
“It’s good to have some changes. I’d be more concerned if nothing had changed during that time,” Xiang Shan stared into the depths of the void, his gaze deep and profound, “Too much time has passed, yet we Humans haven’t made any progress on the Black Ink Battlefield. Generation after generation of sacrifices have only brought about a temporary peace, but how long can this status quo last? So, Humans need to change. Some of the new things you’ve brought with you will be of great advantage to us.”
Changing the topic, Xiang Shan asked, “Judging by your previous fight with Hong Hu, it seems you still have some trump cards you haven’t used?”
Yang Kai agreed, nodding, “Indeed, but their strength is limited. Even if I used them, it may not have made much difference.”
Attacking with his Dragon Bead and the Purifying Light were Yang Kai’s last two trump cards, but if he were to really use his Dragon Bead, it might crack again. In the worst-case scenario, it might even be destroyed. Then, it would take him uncountable years to recover.
As for Purifying Light, it was definitely a powerful weapon against the Black Ink Clan, but if Yang Kai used it, at most he would be able to catch Hong Hu off guard and injure him, but it wouldn’t be able to achieve a decisive effect.
At that time, the secret of the Purifying Light would also be exposed. Aside from the fact that he might attract the attention of the Black Ink Clan, even Grandmaster Ma Fan’s research would be threatened.
As such, Yang Kai had been holding himself back from using these two trump cards. Fortunately, Xiang Shan had taken action at the right time, so there was no need to play those cards.
“Among the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, I’ve seen many elites and geniuses, but you are the only one I know of who dares to challenge Territory Lords alone and yet is able to escape unscathed.”
Yang Kai stated, embarrassed, “Junior is seriously injured and my entire body is in excruciating pain.”
Xiang Shan smiled, “At the very least, you’re still alive. Surviving is the most important. If you survive, you can break through to the Eighth Order. And when you’ve become stronger, you’ll be able to suppress those Territory Lords!”
Just like when he was the invincible Western Army Commander, no one was his match!
Xiang Shan had seen too many elites fall on the Black Ink Battlefield in his life. All of them would have become pillars for the Human Race in the future. Even he himself had almost died in the great battle back then, but now, most of these pillars had fallen, with few surviving till today.
Therefore, no matter what, only by surviving could one have hope.
“Senior, was this a plan to capture a Territory Lord alive?” Yang Kai asked.
Xiang Shan replied, shaking his head, “The plan here is just a smokescreen, the real plan is being carried out at the forward base.”
“The forward base?” Yang Kai asked in surprise, “Has a fight broken out?”
The two races had been confronting each other on the front lines for decades now, engaging in small skirmishes over a wide range, but there had been no major battles. When Dawn left the forward base, there were no signs of a war breaking out, but judging from Xiang Shan’s words, something was happening there now.
Xiang Shan coldly snorted, “The Black Ink Clan wanted to stop me from breaking through to the Eighth Order, so they couldn’t allow the forward base to send reinforcements. The best way to do so was to start a war and restrain the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters there. So, a large-scale conflict should have broken out over there.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded after hearing this.
Just to prevent one man from advancing to the Eighth Order, the Black Ink Clan was willing to break the status quo that had been maintained for decades. It would undoubtedly have been arrogant if anyone else had said this, but since it was Xiang Shan, it was not far-fetched.
Yang Kai turned in the direction of the forward base, wondering how the battle was going, but with the current state of Dawn, it was impossible for them to participate right now.
Xiang Shan reassured with a smile, “Rest for now. If we hurry back in a few days, we might be able to finish the job.”
The void became calm and peaceful.
After a few days, everyone’s condition had significantly improved. Every Squad Leader gathered their men and put away their respective Warships before activating the Universe Transference Law under Xiang Shan’s leadership and returning to the forward base.
By now, the battle at the frontlines had come to an end, and as before, the Black Ink Clan had once again suffered a great loss.
Although the Black Ink Clan had the absolute advantage in numbers, the Human Masters had long been accustomed to facing enemies that outnumbered them.
Be that as it may, the reason why this battle had ended so quickly was because the Black Ink Clan no longer wanted to continue fighting. In fact, when the Territory Lords sensed the death of Wu Jiang, they knew that their plan had failed. Although they didn’t know what had happened to Wu Jiang and Hong Hu, they had clearly fallen into the Human Race’s trap once more, which resulted in the demise of yet another Territory Lord.
The reason they quickly pushed this war was to occupy the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters so that Wu Jiang and Hong Hu could succeed in their task. Now that they had failed, there was no point in continuing to fight.
Without knowing what other tricks the Humans were hiding up their sleeves, the Territory Lords didn’t want to take any more risks; as such, they decisively retreated over 10 million kilometres!
The soldiers of the forward base chased for a while and managed to eliminate quite a lot of Black Ink Clansmen, but under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ command, the Human Army did not go too far and returned after just a couple of days.
By the time Yang Kai and the others returned, they were facing a situation where they didn’t have a chance to participate.
According to postwar statistics, some 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen were killed in this war, several hundred of whom were Feudal Lords, but no additional Territory Lords had been eliminated.
It wasn’t a particularly good result, but considering that the Humans were fighting the Black Ink Clan at the forward base and not the Great Pass, it was still acceptable.
After this battle, the situation calmed down. The Black Ink Clan had completely given up over half of their territory. In fact, if the Humans were to travel between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base, they would no longer see any traces of the Black Ink Clan, nor would they see the Black Ink Clansmen and Humans ‘hunting’ each other anymore.
Blue Sky Pass had achieved great success in their campaign against the Black Ink Clan. When the news spread to other Passes, it immediately caused morale and envy to soar.
Nonetheless, everyone knew that Blue Sky Pass’ success could not be repeated.
The basis for this victory was the battle outside Blue Sky Pass fought a few decades ago. In that battle, Blue Sky Pass had used a century-long plan to kill over 30 Territory Lords at once, dealing a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan.
Blue Sky Pass had Yang Kai find and open portals to the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens, where these traps were set up, but other Passes had no such person with similar skills.
On top of that, the crusade and establishing a functional forward base in the Black Ink Clan’s territory required two Universe Arrays to act as transit points, allowing the Humans to rapidly attack the Black Ink Clan as well as retreat to Blue Sky Pass. If the Expeditionary Force advanced deeper without these transit points, the Black Ink Clan would eventually exhaust their strength, resulting in mass casualties.
Right now, Yang Kai was the only one who could arrange Universe Arrays.
Blue Sky Pass’ victory was closely tied to Yang Kai’s existence, and there was only one of him, so the other passes could not reenact the same feat.
Furthermore, the Black Ink Clan forces in the other Theatres had become much more vigilant after this news spread. Now, the Black Ink Clan was extremely cautious when they were besieging the Great Passes. They were afraid that they would repeat the same mistake they had made at Blue Sky Pass and fall into the traps and schemes of the Humans.
But no matter how the Black Ink Clan at other Great Passes investigated, they failed to find any similar traps outside the Great Passes, which put them at ease.
From the moment the Human cultivators stepped into the Black Ink Battlefield, they would have to undergo a great battle every 100 years or so. Furthermore, they were unable to relax even after the battle as they had to collect resources, recover their strength, and make preparations for the next war.
The special environment of the Black Ink Battlefield also trapped the Human Race at the Great Passes, making them unable to move forward or retreat. Even if they went looking for cultivation resources, they were unable to venture too far or risk being ambushed.
However, this situation at Blue Sky Pass had changed a little.
The loss of the latest battle had caused the Black Ink Clan to completely give up on the idea of reclaiming their lost territory. Now, whenever the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass went out, as long as they didn’t venture beyond the forward base and into Black Ink Clan territory, they basically didn’t encounter any enemy forces. The vast void had become Blue Sky Pass’ backyard where the Humans could roam freely.
In this peaceful situation, the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass could focus on cultivating to increase their strength.
This peaceful cultivation period lasted for two centuries!
No one could quite get accustomed to the quiet atmosphere and everyone was feeling extremely uneasy.
No battle had broken out for the last 200 years, which was simply unbelievable in a special environment like the Black Ink Battlefield, but this was the result of the many great victories in the Blue Sky Theatre.
Furthermore, judging by the Black Ink Clan’s attitude, this peace might last even longer.
The Black Ink Clan could not recover from the massive casualties they had suffered in only two centuries.
Most of the Human Race soldiers rarely had a moment of peace, but now that they had plenty of resources and time, they worked hard to cultivate and their strength increased rapidly. In the last two centuries, the number of Seventh-Order Masters had increased by almost 300.
But not everyone was able to relax.
Compared to the leisure most ordinary soldiers enjoyed, the busiest people of Blue Sky Pass were undoubtedly the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners.
The crusade carried out by Blue Sky Pass was just a test, and after it concluded, the higher-ups discovered many issues.
The first problem they faced was the supply of Purifying Black Pills. These pills were critical to ensuring that their soldiers would not be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Although there was still the Purifying Light to rely on, only Yang Kai could replenish it, and the total supply was limited.
As such, once a large-scale crusade began, Purifying Black Ink Pills would be the best weapon to deal with Black Ink Strength. These pills were needed in massive quantities, enough so that each soldier had at least a few dozen of them.
Therefore, over the past 200 years, Blue Sky Pass’ Alchemists had been refining Purifying Black Ink Pills day and night. Not only was Blue Sky Pass acting like this, but so were the other Passes.
Besides the Purifying Black Ink Pills, there was also the problem of Warships.
During the crusade, many Warships suffered serious damage and could not be repaired promptly. The Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be exposed to danger without the protection of the Warships; as such, the Artifact Refiners were also working hard to refine more.
The goal was to at least ensure that every Squad had a backup Warship, so that when the first was inevitably disabled or destroyed, they would have a spare.
The entire Blue Sky Pass had nearly 40,000 soldiers, and each Squad had 12 to 15 members or so. The Artifact Refiners thus had to refine some 3,000 extra Warships to meet the requirements.
This was a huge project; compared to the Alchemists, the Artifact Refiners had to work even harder.
Be that as it may, all this effort was worth it as in the near future, all of this hard work would pay dividends.
Yang Kai had been cultivating all the while.
Two centuries of accumulation was enough to raise his strength by another step. Although he was still far from reaching the Eighth Order, he had made great progress compared to 200 years ago; after all, other cultivators could only rely on refining the Open Heaven Pills and various cultivation materials, but his Small Universe was special. Even if he didn’t refine any resources, his foundation would still continue to grow.
The accumulation over time made his rate of growth extremely impressive.
Coupled with the World Tree Clone in his Small Universe, Yang Kai’s refining speed was much faster than an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and his World Force was both purer and denser than ordinary.
He was not in retreat all the time. In fact, no one could cultivate in retreat for a long time in a place like the Black Ink Battlefield.
Every decade or two, he would take Dawn out on patrol. Although the Black Ink Clan had completely abandoned a large part of their territory and no one would run into any Black Ink Clansmen while patrolling the rear, they still had to maintain vigilance and could not lower their guard just because of that.
Every Squad had to take turns patrolling, so Dawn was no exception.
In addition to patrolling, they still had to mine resources in turns. A large number of resources had been discovered in the territory currently occupied by the Humans in the Blue Sky Theatre. Naturally, these resources needed to be harvested. Fortunately, the soldiers could move these Universe Worlds to the nearby forward base or Blue Sky Pass with the help of the Void Yin Yang Mirrors, which saved them a lot of time.
Occasionally, after cultivating in retreat for too long, Yang Kai would exit to relax on his own, either going to the Pill Hall to help refine Purifying Black Ink Pills or the Refining Hall to help refine the Warships.
He had some level of attainment in both Alchemy and Artifact Refining, but compared to those Great Grandmasters, he was naturally far too lacking. Although he couldn’t preside over a project, he could offer some help.
He even took some time to visit Myriad Demons Pass.
After spending a massive amount of Military Merits, Yang Kai was able to obtain private tutelage from Myriad Demons Heaven’s Old Ancestor on the mysteries of the Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Purgatory Eye!
After his last battle with Hong Hu, Yang Kai realized that he still had too few trump cards. Although he was strong and could easily crush a Feudal Lord, facing a Territory Lord was a bit difficult.
The Sun and Moon Divine Wheel’s power was extraordinary, but Territory Lords had methods to deal with it. He could not summon his Dragon Bead right off the bat either, while Purifying Light was related to too many secret projects so he could not use it whenever he wished. After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai still felt that he should put more effort into the Myriad Demons Cave Heaven’s two Eye Secret Techniques.
The various opportunities he had obtained from these two Eye Secret Techniques had not been a result of his own cultivation. Although he had received some guidance from an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from Myriad Demons Heaven before coming to the Black Ink Battlefield, he had made minimal progress. He could not tap into the full power of these two Eye Secret Techniques.
Under such circumstances, the guidance of the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Heaven was extremely valuable to him. Although it cost a lot of Military Merits, Yang Kai didn’t regret it.
Yang Kai spent an entire month at the Myriad Demons Pass, where he learned all kinds of profound knowledge from the Myriad Demons Heaven Old Ancestor, making it a fruitful trip.
On top of that, the total amount of Military Merits he had didn’t decrease much as before Yang Kai left, Myriad Demons Heaven’s Old Ancestor asked him to find and open the portals of the hidden Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens around the Pass.
Obviously, the Old Ancestor had heard about how Blue Sky Pass wiped out the Black Ink Clan Army and killed some 30 Territory Lords in the process. He was eager to follow suit.
Be that as it may, the success of this plan would depend on how vigilant the Black Ink Clan was.
Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t refuse such a request. Although it took him over a year, as long it helped the Humans kill more enemies, he considered it time well spent.
In general, Yang Kai’s cultivation was much easier than others’. He could spend less time on it, but still achieve far more than anyone else. This was his greatest advantage.
Yang Kai’s cultivation was most frequently interrupted to assist Grandmaster Ma Fan in further refining the Evil Purging Divine Spear and performing some experiments on the captured Territory Lord.
Hong Hu, who had previously been captured by Ding Yao and the others, was now imprisoned in a secret underground room at the forward base. This secret room was filled with all kinds of Arrays and restrictions, so even a Territory Lord like Hong Hu couldn’t break out.
The Territory Lord was not experimented upon as frequently as the Feudal Lords who came before him, but tests were still run every three to five years.
Yang Kai was not required to do much, just pour Purifying Light into the Evil Purging Divine Spear refined by the Grandmaster Ma Fan. As for the rest, he didn’t need to worry about it.
Naturally, Grandmaster Ma Fan and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters would conduct the actual experiments.
The research of the Evil Purging Divine Spear took Grandmaster Ma Fan a great deal of effort and time, and the progress was slow. Over the past two centuries, the general shape of the Evil Purging Divine Spear remained almost unchanged, but Yang Kai could feel that each time Grandmaster Ma Fan refined the Evil Purging Divine Spear, it would be different from before.
The results of these experiments were sometimes good, sometimes bad.
The reason why they had to run tests once every three to five years was not because of some problem on the Human Race side, but rather because of Hong Hu.
Every time they experimented on him, the Evil Purging Divine Spear would be stabbed into him and the Purifying Light would be instantly released, injuring him. Even though he was a Territory Lord, it would still take him three to five years to recover.
Only after he had fully recovered would they be able to conduct the next experiment.
This was a test of patience. Fortunately, whether it was Grandmaster Ma Fan or the other Eighth-Order Masters, none of them lacked patience.
As for Hong Hu, who had been captured alive, he had spent two centuries of imprisonment in this hellish torture.
Compared to Wu Jiang, who had fallen in the last battle, Hong Hu once felt that his luck was quite good. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not want to kill him and instead focused on capturing him alive from the very beginning. Otherwise, the one who had died that day would not have been Wu Jiang, but him.
He believed that the Eighth-Order Humans didn’t have a specific goal, but randomly chose one between Wu Jiang and him.
For any sentient being, survival was a basic instinct; only if one was alive could there be hope. However, after two centuries of imprisonment and torture, Hong Hu finally realized that sometimes, it was better to be dead than alive.
A life worse than death was the best description of his current situation.
As a Territory Lord, his strength and willpower were naturally second to none, but every time an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master stabbed that damnable spear into his body and that dazzling white light erupted, Hong Hu felt like he was being boiled alive.
He didn’t know what kind of Secret Technique this light was, but he knew that it contained a kind of power that perfectly countered Black Ink Strength. His Black Ink Strength rapidly melted under this power.
This was simply the nemesis of Black Ink Strength, the natural enemy of the entire Black Ink Clan.
The fact that the Human Race had actually mastered this kind of Secret Technique caused Hong Hu to greatly panic.
In fact, when he first saw this dazzling white light, Hong Hu remembered a certain event.
Three centuries prior, when the Black Ink Clan Army attacked Blue Sky Pass, there was a moment when a similar dazzling light erupted at a certain spot on the battlefield.
At that time, Hong Hu was quite far away from that location, so he was not able to see it clearly and only caught a glimpse of that pure light before it faded away. It was not long after that the aura of a Territory Lord was extinguished.
At that time, the Territory Lord had been fighting Zhong Liang, so Hong Hu subconsciously thought that Zhong Liang had used some kind of Secret Technique. Although he didn’t see it clearly, the white light gave him a very dangerous feeling.
After that, Hong Hu paid close attention to the battlefield, but he never sensed any signs of that Secret Technique being used again. After discussing it with the other Territory Lords, all of those who had sensed the white light felt the same sense of unease.
The Territory Lords secretly paid attention to this and tried to find out the mysteries of this white light to no avail.
Furthermore, that white light never appeared again after that incident. So, the Black Ink Clan gradually forgot about it.
Only after Hong Hu was captured did he personally witness how this white light came into being and he finally understood that this Secret Technique had always been in the hands of the Humans. It was only that after the first time, it had never been used on the battlefield again.
It was a power that could suppress Black Ink Strength, but the Human Race had not used it. What this meant was already self-evident, and coupled with the hellish experiments the Humans had been conducting on him over the years, how could Hong Hu not understand the intentions of the Humans?
This Secret Technique had great limitations. Probably, only very few Humans could Master it, so it was impossible to disseminate it broadly. That was why the Humans wanted to refine this spear, so they could distribute this Secret Technique in the form of an artifact.
Once the Humans succeeded, the defenceless Black Ink Clan would face a huge disaster, and the first to bear the brunt of this crisis would undoubtedly be the Territory Lords. Because the Humans were experimenting on a Territory Lord like him, they were definitely targeting the Territory Lords.
Once too many Territory Lords died, the foundation of the Black Ink Clan would be shaken and the entire race would be in danger.
Hong Hu wanted to spread this news, but how could he do that? Right now, all he could do was endure the torment and torture.
Since even someone from the Black Ink Clan could realize this, how could Yang Kai fail to notice it?
The Evil Purging Divine Spear affected a lot of things, so before it was distributed everywhere and to everyone, the secret of the Purifying Light must not be exposed; otherwise, it would make the Black Ink Clan vigilant, making it difficult to get achieve the maximum effect.
That was why Yang Kai held himself back from using Purifying Light when he was facing Hong Hu that day.
Three centuries ago, when he, Feng Ying, and the others returned to Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai had used Purifying Light amidst the Black Ink Clan Army. It could even be said that it was an accident. Although this event had made the Black Ink Clan somewhat vigilant, they did not take it too seriously. Every once in a while, they would encounter some methods of the Human Race that they did not know about, but if it was essentially a one-off, it wouldn’t arouse much suspicion. However, if Purifying Light appeared again and again, the Black Ink Clan would definitely take precautions.
After two centuries and dozens of experiments and improvements, the development of the Evil Purging Divine Spear finally reached its final stage.
Today, Yang Kai was awakened from his cultivation and followed Zhong Liang and Grandmaster Ma Fan into the underground chamber.
Hearing footsteps, Hong Hu, who had been resting in the secret room, opened his eyes. When he saw the three of them arrive, a trace of pain and helplessness flashed across his eyes.
For the past two centuries, every time these three came together, they would torment him to the point where he was unable to resist.
After having gone through these Hellish experiments a couple dozen times already, Hong Hu had become a little numb to the whole ordeal. So, when he saw these three arrive again, he understood what he would be going through once more.
Under his cold gaze, Grandmaster Ma Fan took out the reforged Evil Purging Divine Spear from his Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai reached out and took it. He carefully examined it before raising his brow, “It’s a finger length shorter than last time, and it seems the materials are also different.”
Grandmaster Ma Fans explained with a nod, “I have made some changes. In the past, the refinement of the Evil Purging Divine Spear required quite a lot of skill and rare materials. This time, the skill required to refine it has been lowered and the materials used have also been reduced.”
This was going to be mass-produced, so the requirements for Artifact Refining skills and materials had to be reduced as much as possible. For example, the previous Evil Purging Divine Spear that had been refined by Grandmaster Ma Fan was powerful and sufficient for battle, but only Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters could refine it, which hindered its production on a large scale.
Things that couldn’t be supplied in large quantities couldn’t play much role in a war waged by millions upon millions of people. At most, they could only be used by elite soldiers in individual duels.
On top of that, they also had to consider the consumption of materials. In short, the easier and cheaper to refine, the better.
Currently, the Evil Purging Divine Spear’s research was no longer conducted by Grandmaster Ma Fan alone, but rather led by him and included Dong Guo An Ping and another Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster. The Evil Purging Divine Spear was the result of their brainstorming.
The three Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters were extremely concerned about it and spent basically all of their time, when they were not refining Warships, on it.
Now was the time to verify the results.
Yang Kai cast Purifying Light and enveloped the Evil Purging Divine Spear in his grip. Under the effect of the arrays engraved in the artifact, the Purifying Light flowed into the spear like water and was quickly sealed inside.
Yang Kai took a look at the Evil Purging Divine Spear in his hand before turning to Zhong Liang, “Shall we start?”
Zhong Liang nodded his agreement, “En, let’s begin.”
Saying so, Zhong Liang quickly formed a set of hand seals as the faint buzzing of Spirit Arrays echoed across the room.
The next moment, Hong Hu, who was imprisoned and unable to move, regained his freedom and quickly retreated several dozen meters, glaring at Yang Kai with a look of rage on his face.
He knew that the thing in this Human kid’s hand was about to attack him. If he couldn’t avoid it, another round of torture would follow. Even if he managed to avoid it, it would keep coming at him until he couldn’t avoid it. Nonetheless, he still struggled.
He had never thought about escaping from this place. Facing two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, one of them being Zhong Liang, he was obviously outmatched. Furthermore, there were all kinds of Spirit Arrays surrounding this place. Unless he broke these Spirit Arrays, he would never be able to escape from here.
Just as Hong Hu was preparing himself, Yang Kai poured World Force into the Evil Purging Divine Spear. Which instantly started vibrating lightly before shooting straight towards Hong Hu, leaving a streak of light in its wake.
The reason why Yang Kai was the one doing the experiment was because his cultivation was just right. If Zhong Liang had personally taken action in this sealed environment, Hong Hu wouldn’t have been able to avoid this attack no matter what and there would have been no point in experimenting. On the battlefield, one had to consider the unexpected situation where a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would run into a Territory Lord. The results of this experiment would determine whether or not the Evil Purging Divine Spear could guarantee the lives of the Seventh-Order Masters under such dire circumstances.
When he used the Evil Purging Divine Spear, Yang Kai felt that its speed was slightly faster than before. This was clearly because of a change in Artifact Refining process.
The Evil Purging Divine Spear was fast, but Hong Hu was faster. By the time the streak of light shot towards him, Hong Hu was already prepared to react appropriately. His figure flickered about the room, dodging the oncoming streak of light.
Yang Kai didn’t care about his attack missing its target for this had happened dozens of times in the past two centuries. Having fought several dozen times with each other, they were already familiar with each other’s tricks and techniques.
With a surge of Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, the streak of light seemed to have been given life as it nimbly chased after Hong Hu like a shadow.
If they were in the vast void and Hong Hu was already on guard, Yang Kai might not be able to do anything to him; after all, the difference in their strength was still quite large. But they were in a secret underground room at the forward base, and although it was quite spacious, it still had boundaries.
In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Hong Hu, who had been dodging the streak of light all this time, was forced into a corner where he was unable to dodge in any way. Seeing the streak of light rapidly approaching him, a trace of ruthlessness flashed on his face as he unleashed a punch.
Even before his punch reached its target, dense Black Ink Strength emerged from his fist and instantly enveloped the Evil Purging Divine Spear.
Right then, pure white light bloomed from the tip of the spear, mostly dispersing the Black Ink Strength, but the streak of light didn’t slow down, not in the least, and shot straight into Hong Hu’s chest.
Even someone as strong as a Territory Lord had his skin and flesh torn apart by the streaking light as the Evil Purging Divine Spear pierced him. In the next instant, Hong Hu’s body went stiff before it started violently quivering as he let out a deafening cry, like a wounded beast.
The Purifying Light sealed in the Evil Purging Divine Spear had erupted!
Generally speaking, even though the Evil Purging Divine Spear had a certain degree of lethality, its ability to actually kill a Territory Lord was quite minimal. Nonetheless, its main focus was not to kill, but to inject Purifying Light into its target, which was the best weapon against the Black Ink Clan.
With a furious roar, Hong Hu grabbed the Evil Purging Divine Spear in his abdomen and fiercely removed it, drawing a fountain of blood with it. But Zhong Liang, who had been waiting all this time, rushed straight at him without giving Hong Hu any chance to breathe.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them became locked in a fierce battle, causing the surrounding barriers to wildly flash.
Yang Kai and Grandmaster Ma Fan quickly retreated until they were standing at the edge of the barrier.
The layers of shields in the underground room were enough to withstand the fight between Zhong Liang and Hong Hu for a while without being destroyed; of course, they would not be able to withstand the shockwaves from the battle between an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Territory Lord forever, but it was already good enough.
Zhong Liang attacked with all kinds of lethal moves as a fearsome murderous intent radiated from him, forcing Hong Hu to focus on dealing with him. Under normal circumstances, even if a Territory Lord like Hong Hu couldn’t defeat Zhong Liang, he wouldn’t be defeated in a short time.
But this time, Zhong Liang only took an incense stick worth of time to beat Hong Hu to the point that his entire body was riddled with wounds and his aura was extremely weak. He did not have even a little bit of strength to fight back.
After a short while, Zhong Liang returned with a refreshed look on his face. Hong Hu’s enormous body lay limp on the ground like a corpse, his aura extremely feeble.
“20%!” Zhong Liang looked towards Grandmaster Ma Fan with an excited look on his face, “This is the result when Yang Boy used the Evil Purging Divine Spear and the Purifying Light had to be released before the spear hit its target. If an Eighth-Order Master like us were to use it, we should be able to bring out the full power of the Evil Purging Divine Spear. It should be somewhere between 20% and 30% effective in the field.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan let out a long sigh of relief, “Finally!”
Although this experiment could be already considered a success judging by the results, nothing was certain before they had obtained Zhong Liang’s evaluation.
After dozens of experiments and countless days of brainstorming and improvements over the past two centuries, the current Evil Purging Divine Spear was finally ready to be put into use on the battlefield.
A 20% suppressive ability was the criterion set by the higher-ups, because according to the Eighth-Order Master’s estimations, if the Evil Purging Divine Spear could reduce the strength of a Territory Lord by 20%, they could easily kill them.
If it was any less than 20%, it would greatly lower the chances of a kill. In that kind of situation, if the Territory Lord felt that things were not looking good for them, they would be able to escape. And once they had their guards up against the Evil Purging Divine Spear, the next time they used it, they would have lost the element of surprise and it would not be as effective.
20% might not seem much, but it was actually quite substantial. For instance, if Hong Hu’s strength had not been reduced by 20%, with the usual gap between Zhong Liang and Hong Hu’s strength, it would have taken the two at least half a day to determine a victor. But now, Zhong Liang only took an incense stick to beat Hong Hu up so badly that the latter couldn’t even fight back. If he wanted to, he could even have taken Hong Hu’s life.
Comparing the two situations, the Evil Purging Divine Spear played a decisive role.
“Grandmaster, many thanks for your hard work. After two centuries, the dark clouds have finally been dispelled and we can see the face of the Sun!” Zhong Liang gave a deep bow, “If we annihilate the entire Black Ink Clan someday, Grandmaster will have made the greatest contribution!”
Ma Fan waved his hand casually and humbly stated, “Humans and Black Ink Clan cannot coexist. This old man only did what he was supposed to do. This old man doesn’t care if it’s meritorious or not, just don’t forget what you promised me.”
Zhong Liang solemnly assured, “Of course not!”
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of agreement Zhong Liang had with Grandmaster Ma Fan, but since it related to someone’s privacy, he wouldn’t rashly ask about it. The successful development of the Evil Purging Divine Spear had lifted his spirits. With this artifact, the Human Race’s crusade was just a matter of time, although much preparation would still need to be done.
Furthermore, if Yang Kai’s guess was correct, he would have his hands full in the near future.
As expected, Zhong Liang turned to look at Yang Kai and ordered, “The matter of the Evil Purging Divine Spear will need you to cooperate. The refining method of this artifact will soon be sent to all the Great Passes, so it won’t be long before a stockpile of Evil Purging Divine Spear will be sent to Blue Sky Pass. At that time, you will need to seal Purifying Light into all of them.”
The corners of Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he accepted his fate, “Junior understands.”
Once the refining method of the Evil Purging Divine Spear was made public, the other Passes would start mass-producing them. Any Artifact Refining Grandmaster could refine one, but only Yang Kai could seal Purifying Light in them.
Yang Kai could vaguely see painful days ahead of him.
The trio left the underground room after everything was settled. As for Hong Hu who was lying on the ground, no one paid him any attention.
Humans had spent a great deal of time and effort to capture him, even using Xiang Shan as bait to draw Hong Hu out and capture him alive so that Grandmaster Ma Fan could experiment on him.
The Humans kept him alive because he was the test subject for the Evil Purging Divine Spear, so he was useful. But now that the Evil Purging Divine Spear had been developed, there was naturally no need to keep him alive.
Furthermore, it was quite dangerous to imprison a Territory Lord in this place. Hong Hu was definitely doomed.
Yang Kai once again went into a retreat to cultivate. Since he knew that he wouldn’t have much free time in the future, he naturally treasured this opportunity all the more. Furthermore, both the forward base and Blue Sky Pass had been peaceful for a long time now, so there was nothing else he could do other than enter retreat.
Last time, when he visited Myriad Demons Pass, Yang Kai had received personal guidance from the Myriad Demons Heaven’s Old Ancestor, which greatly advanced his comprehension of the two Eye Techniques. Be that as it may, the cultivation of his Eye Secret Techniques required time. Before he left, the Myriad Demons Cave Heaven’s Old Ancestor gave him a jade slip which recorded his insights on these two Eye Techniques. This was a good opportunity for Yang Kai to carefully study them; in addition, cultivating the Eye Techniques would not interfere with refining cultivation materials and increasing his Small Universe’s heritage; he could do all of this simultaneously.
In the blink of an eye, five years went by.
Yang Kai was roused from his secluded cultivation. He exited the secret room and found a man waiting outside.
“Senior Brother Wang!” Yang Kai cupped his fist in greeting. Senior Brother Wang was Zhong Liang’s adjutant, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Usually, whenever Zhong Liang had any orders, he would be the one to pass them on.
Since Senior Brother Wang had personally come to find him, it must be at the behest of Zhong Liang.
Sure enough, Senior Brother Wang reported, “Sir Army Commander has summoned you, Junior Brother. Please follow me.”
Yang Kai nodded and followed Senior Brother Wang to the Army Headquarters of the forward base. Zhong Liang was waiting for him, and when he saw Yang Kai arrive, he didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point, “It’s time. Return to Blue Sky Pass.”
Yang Kai immediately understood what was going on after hearing this and accepted the order right away, “Yes!”
Yang Kai did not leave immediately after accepting the order though; instead, he stood in his spot for a moment before suddenly waving his hand. The next moment, two figures appeared in front of him, a man and a woman, both of them at the peak of the Emperor Realm.
Zhong Liang’s eyes lit up at the sight of the two, “Another batch of good seedlings?”
The reason he said this was because Zhong Liang had seen this happen multiple times already. There were no Emperor Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield. Everyone who arrived here was at least a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Only Yang Kai’s Small Universe had Emperor Realm cultivators.
It had already been more than two centuries since Miao Fei Ping was brought to the Black Ink Battlefield by Yang Kai. Before that, Yang Kai had established the Void Dao Temple in his Small Universe to select outstanding geniuses. The flow of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was four times faster than the outside world, so while only two centuries had passed outside, 800 years had gone by in his Small Universe.
Over the past 800 years, the mortals of his Small Universe had already given birth to dozens of generations. The World Tree Clone had been very effective in nurturing these people and there were now many cultivators with outstanding aptitudes in Yang Kai’s Small Universe. Currently, there were thousands of disciples in the Void Dao Temple, all of whom could be said to be dragons amongst men, the best of the best.
It had to be known that the Void Dao Temple’s selection criteria were extremely harsh. Ordinary geniuses could not enter the Void Dao Temple, only geniuses among geniuses were qualified.
Those cultivating in the Void Dao Temple didn’t have to worry about food or clothing, nor did they lack cultivation resources, so their rate of growth was extremely fast. When they reached the peak of the Emperor Realm, the Void Dao Temple Master would explain to them the mysteries of the Open Heaven Realm and the outside world. If they wanted to improve further, Yang Kai would bring them out and allow them to advance to the Open Heaven Realm on the Black Ink Battlefield, becoming a part of Blue Sky Pass.
Over the past two centuries, over 100 cultivators had left Yang Kai’s Small Universe. On average, one would appear every two or three years. Each of them would advance straight to Sixth-Order. There had been two who had even broken through directly to the Seventh Order!
Directly to the Seventh Order! In other words, these two had a chance of reaching the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future! Who wouldn’t be jealous of such talent?
In comparison, although those that directly advanced to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm would only be capable of reaching the Eighth-Order, these kinds of geniuses would still be Core Disciples in the various Cave Heavens and Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds. Every single one of them would enjoy the same kind of treatment as Qu Hua Shang and Gu Pan. Basically, geniuses like them would only appear once every century, but they actually appeared in batches from Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
The World Tree Clone’s feedback was extremely potent! And this situation was when it was Yang Kai’s Small Universe, which had a very low population. It was difficult to imagine what kind of grand effect it would have in the Star Boundary which had a far larger one.
Of course, his Small Universe’s population might not be as huge as that of the Star Boundary, but because of the difference in time flow, he also had his own advantages. The Star Boundary could not compare with his Small Universe in this regard. All in all, Yang Kai’s Small Universe and the Star Boundary had their own unique strong points.
At first, Yang Kai would carefully look after the disciples who had come out of the Void Dao Temple, and guide them one by one. Before they had ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai had carefully prepared everything for them and even personally guarded them when they were breaking through.
However, as the number of people increased, Yang Kai found that it was too time-consuming and exhausting to do this by himself. On average, one person would leave his Small Universe every two or three years. It took months or even half a year to prepare everything for them and ensure that their breakthroughs would be smooth and successful.
Once or twice would be nothing, but doing it a few dozen times or even 100 times was not something Yang Kai could take anymore.
So, Yang Kai had left this matter to Blue Sky Pass a long time ago.
The disciples, who came out of the Void Dao Temple, were handed over to the higher-ups of Blue Sky Pass, leaving the rest to them. This was mainly due to his own indolence, but much to Yang Kai’s surprise, it was welcomed by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
It was not surprising when he thought about it though, because the aptitude of these disciples was quite outstanding. Any one of them would have a chance of advancing to the Eighth Order in the future. Every Cave Heaven and Paradise would be ready to snatch up such geniuses.
Unknowingly, these disciples from the Void Dao Temple had attracted the attention of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The reason they had fought over these disciples wasn’t because they wanted to take them in as Legacy Disciples. They were on the Black Ink Battlefield where they could lose their lives at any moment, so taking them in as Disciples didn’t hold much meaning because no one knew how long they could live or how long their Disciples would live.
The reason why they were fighting over it was mainly because they had gotten bored over these past few years. Most of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already cultivated to the utmost peak of their Martial Dao, and could not advance any further. Yang Kai still needed to cultivate in retreat to improve his own foundation, but they did not have to.
It could be said that in a situation where there was no battle, most of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were idle. At times like these, anything could spark their interest, such as these newcomers who had just come from the Void Dao Temple.
Particularly when all these newcomers had outstanding aptitudes and were only in the Emperor Realm. They had extremely high potential, and as a result, every single one of the cultivators who had come from Yang Kai’s Small Universe was extremely popular in Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai was quite happy to see this. There were over 60 Eighth-Order Masters gathered in Blue Sky Pass, so no matter what field these disciples liked or what talents they had, they would be able to find a suitable Master. So now, when any disciple wanted to leave the Small Universe, Yang Kai would leave them to Zhong Liang.
At this moment, the two Emperor Realm Masters, one male and one female, were slightly taken aback by Yang Kai’s appearance. They quickly bowed to Yang Kai, “Greetings, Dao Lord!”
Yang Kai had basically not appeared in his Small Universe for the past few hundred years, so no one had seen his true appearance in that time. The ordinary disciples of the Dao Temple didn’t know about the mysteries of the Void World, but for those who wanted to leave and improve their Martial Dao, the presiding Temple Master would explain everything to them. He would tell them that the first person they meet after leaving this world would be the Dao Lord of the entire Void World, its true Master.
At the same time, he would inform them about the situation they would face after leaving the Dao Temple and advancing to the Open Heaven Realm. If these disciples still decided to go ahead, Yang Kai would bring them out. And if they were afraid of the dangers of the outside world and wanted to protect themselves, Yang Kai would not force them; after all, fighting with the Black Ink Clan was not something they could force upon someone.
Those disciples who chose to stay in the Small Universe naturally wouldn’t have another chance to break through to the Open Heaven Realm. Every choice had its pros and cons, so it was best to stick to their own choice.
For the past 1,000 years, the Void Dao Temple had raised many elite disciples. The disciples, who were eligible to leave and advance to the Open Heaven Realm, had basically all chosen to leave. Only a few of them remained in the Small Universe. Cultivators were basically obsessed with cultivation, so every one of them wanted to seek a higher Martial Dao. This kind of temptation could not be quashed by some small dangers.
Yang Kai nodded to the two disciples in response before explaining, “Since you’ve left the Void Dao Temple, I’m sure you understand what’s going on in the outside world. You’ll slowly understand everything. As for the matter of advancing to the Open Heaven Realm, someone will help you prepare for it.”
The two disciples listened quietly and repeatedly nodded.
Yang Kai turned to Zhong Liang, “Martial Uncle, this Junior will take his leave first.”
Zhong Liang didn’t even look at him and waved him away, intently gazing at the two disciples with a happy smile, “Go, go.”
Yang Kai instantly disappeared from his spot.
After he left, the two disciples glanced at each other before turning to Zhong Liang. The latter’s smile made them a little confused, so they secretly released their Divine Sense to investigate, but the next moment, they discovered that this amiable-looking Senior’s cultivation was as deep as the sea, and they were unable to gauge its depth.
[So this is an Open Heaven Realm Master!] The two of them immediately understood. They were both at the peak of the Emperor Realm, so no one in Void World was stronger than them. One had to be at the legendary Open Heaven Realm for them to be unable to detect their cultivation, and an extremely high Order one at that.
“Greetings, Senior!” The two quickly bowed.
Zhong Liang chuckled, “There’s no need to be so polite. En, what Order of materials did you use to complete your Dao Seal?”
Although he knew that those who had come out from Yang Kai’s Small Universe would at the very least advance straight to the Sixth Order, there was always a chance that one of them could break through straight to the Seventh Order, and naturally, Zhong Liang was hoping that these two were such seedlings.
The male disciple replied, “Senior, both Senior Sister and I have Sixth-Order Powers in our Dao Seals.”
[Sixth-Order, huh…] He wasn’t disappointed; after all, even in a place like Yang Kai’s Small Universe, it wasn’t easy to cultivate a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. There had only been two in the past two centuries.
Zhong Liang was still all smiles, “Great!”
While they were talking, a few figures suddenly barged in like bulls. Before the first person even stopped, a voice came from behind, “Another good seedling? It’s finally this Gou’s turn, right?”
“Hold on, this old Master has been waiting for 150 years already, it should be this Old Master’s turn!”
Someone sneered, scoffing, “Naturally, the one who strikes first has the advantage, who would want to discuss order with you, old fart?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting in front of the Juniors? It’s not like we’re fighting or killing enemies, so why does it come down to who strikes first? It should be all about fate!” The one who spoke suddenly turned to look at the female disciple and put on an amiable smile, “Little girl, this King thinks you and I are fated, so why don’t you join this King? This King is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. With this King’s guidance, killing the Black Ink Clan in the future will be as easy as flipping your hand!”
“Who isn’t an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master here?” Immediately, some people became unhappy and released their Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura.
Before the two Void Disciples could figure out what was going on, a group of people suddenly rushed in and started shouting at each other, and the next moment, tremendous pressure fell upon them, making everything go black before their eyes.
“Damn it, these two kids fainted!”
“Senior Brother Yun, quickly withdraw your aura! They are only Emperor Realm Juniors, how can they withstand your Eighth-Order aura?”
“Damn… I actually forgot about that. It’s been a long time since I last saw an Emperor Realm brat…”
The corner of Zhong Liang’s mouth twitched, watching all the chaos that had descended into the hall. He started regretting sending a message to these idle and bored Eighth-Order fools. [These two must have been traumatized by these Eighth-Order bastards. Next time, if any good seedlings appear, I will not let them rush in at once like this.]
After leaving the two disciples for Zhong Liang to deal with, Yang Kai left and used the Universe Transference Law and returned to Blue Sky Pass.
He was not worried about the two Emperor Realm Masters advancing to the Open Heaven Realm. They would be personally guided by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master during their breakthrough, which would be more useful than his guidance.
Not to mention, he had personally refined a batch of Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills and left them with Zhong Liang. Every single one of these disciples who had come out of the Void Dao Temple had an outstanding aptitude to begin with, and they had reached their current cultivation with slow and steady steps. So, with the help of a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, it would be a snap for them to advance to the Open Heaven Realm.
In fact, none of the Void Dao Temple’s disciples had failed to break through to the Open Heaven Realm. This was partly because of their solid foundations, and partly because the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill could increase the success rate of their breakthroughs. So, how could they fail?
In comparison, the future prospects of these disciples far exceeded that of ordinary Cave Heaven and Paradise disciples because their starting point was extremely high.
Nonetheless, cultivating in a special environment like the Void Dao Temple also had its drawbacks, which was their lack of real battle experience.
There weren’t many disputes in Void World right now, and even if there were some, they were minor and happened only between Sects. The status of the Void Dao Temple was special; besides sparring with fellow disciples, most of these kids had never seen blood, much less death.
Growing up in such a sheltered greenhouse was perhaps their greatest shortcoming, which might cause them to act poorly in a life-and-death situation.
Nonetheless, the Blue Sky Theatre had been peaceful for a long time, so even if they wanted to find some Black Ink Clansmen to practice with after they had broken through to the Open Heaven Realm, it was impossible.
Yang Kai had always wanted to set up a Black Ink Nest in his Small Universe and use the sub-nest to nurture some weak Black Ink Clansmen, allowing the disciples of the Dao Temple to familiarize themselves with how to fight with this enemy. Unfortunately, his attempts had all failed.
If he wanted to place the sub-nest, he would need to ensure a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was permanently under Human control, and Yang Kai could not do something about that.
Therefore, one could not judge these disciples based on their smooth and unhindered cultivation, because it remained unclear how much strength they could display during battle. Everything depended on their future performance.
However, there was something else that made Yang Kai quite happy.
This was these disciples’ compatibility with the Dao of Space, Dao of Time, and Spear Dao.
These three Great Daos were Yang Kai’s foundation, especially the Dao of Space. Yang Kai had mastered it the most, followed by the Dao of Time.
In his Small Universe, there were quite a lot of Dao Essences of these three Grand Daos. Dao Essence could not ordinarily be seen or touched, but it could be comprehended.
Perhaps it was because they had grown up in Void World since birth that their compatibility with these three Grand Daos were very high.
Of over 100 Open Heaven Realm Masters who had come from his Small Universe, four of them could cultivate the Dao of Space, three could cultivate the Dao of Time, and as many as 20 could cultivate the Spear Dao.
Some people also displayed extraordinary talent in Alchemy and Artifact Refining, which was definitely related to Yang Kai’s attainments in the two Grand Daos. Although the Dao Essences of Alchemy and Artifact Refining were not as rich as his three main Grand Daos, they were still plentiful. If a cultivator who lived and grew up in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was naturally gifted in these Daos, it would be very easy for him or her to comprehend the mysteries contained within these Dao Essences.
Overall, the future cultivation path of the disciples of his Small Universe was somewhat related to the Grand Daos he himself dabbled in. Such a proportion was already quite impressive.
Yang Kai had no intention of accepting any more Disciples. To him, Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, and Xu Yi were more than enough.
Not to mention, the Dao of Space and Dao of Time were both extremely unorthodox Grand Daos. Ordinary cultivators would find them extremely difficult to even gain a basic understanding of them, let alone cultivate them. Even the Spear Dao was not the easiest to master.
However, many of the cultivators from Yang Kai’s Small Universe were inherently able to cultivate these two Grand Daos. This was one of the reasons why the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters valued these disciples.
During Blue Sky Pass’ crusade, Yang Kai’s Universe Arrays played a huge role, but Yang Kai was just one person. So, Blue Sky Pass’ success was difficult to replicate in other Theatres.
Be that as it may, if these talented disciples succeeded in cultivating the Grand Dao of Space, they would definitely be able to play a great role in the future.
Whether it was the Dao of Space or the Dao of Time, basically no one in the entire Blue Sky Pass could teach them besides Yang Kai, but Yang Kai had no time to give these disciples personal guidance at all times. As such, he had engraved his insights on these two Grand Daos and many related Secret Techniques onto jade slips and offered them to the War Materials Hall over a century ago.
If anyone needed to cultivate these two Grand Daos in the future, they could acquire this knowledge by spending Military Merits in the War Materials Hall.
Although Blue Sky Pass had not faced any battle in a long time, it was still easy for cultivators to earn some Military Merits. They could obtain them by mining resources, going out on patrol, or assisting in Alchemy and Artifact Refining, so there was no need to worry about their future cultivation.
Of course, if Yang Kai had free time on his hands and was in a good mood, he would summon these disciples to teach them. In the past two centuries, Yang Kai had given two lectures, one on the Dao of Space and one on the Dao of Time, allowing these disciples to reap great benefits.
All in all, since Yang Kai had already arranged things for the disciples coming out of his Small Universe, he did not need to rack his brain and waste any more effort.
After returning to Blue Sky Pass through the Universe Array, Yang Kai immediately went to report to the Eastern Army Headquarters.
Ding Yao didn’t say anything to him and simply asked his adjutant to lead him to a storage room.
Although he already knew what to expect, Yang Kai still could not help but gasp in shock at the sight before him. There was nothing else in the secret room but piles and piles of Evil Purging Divine Spears.
By a rough count, there were at least a few dozen piles in here, and if there were a few hundred Evil Purging Divine Spears in each pile, that would mean there were at least 10 or 20 thousand in total.
Yang Kai felt his face twitch as he muttered, “So many.”
The adjutant smiled and stated, “Junior Brother, sorry to trouble you, but this matter can only be handled by you. No one else can do this.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand,” He then asked, “Is everything here?”
The adjutant replied, shaking his head, “Most of them are here, but some Passes still haven’t sent their batch yet. They should be coming soon.”
“En,” Yang Kai resigned to his fate.
The adjutant bid his leave, “Then, I’ll take my leave first.”
After he left, Yang Kai began examining these Evil Purging Divine Spears. Very soon, he discovered the number of Evil Purging Divine Spears in each pile differed, ranging from 200 to 300.
Furthermore, there was an empty Space Ring in front of each pile, marked with a specific Great Pass’ name. Seeing this, Yang Kai understood that each pile of Evil Purging Divine Spear corresponded to a different Pass.
After sealing the Purifying Light into the Evil Purging Divine Spears, he still had to store them back into the Space Ring and send them back through the Hyper Space Array.
Refining the Evil Purging Divine Spear apparently wasn’t easy. It had been five years since the Evil Purging Divine Spear was successfully tested on Hong Hu.
In five years, even after mobilizing every Artifact Refiner in an entire Great Pass, they had only managed to refine 200 to 300 Evil Purging Divine Spears. One could only imagine how long it would take to refine each of these artifacts.
Grandmaster Ma Fan had once mentioned casually that it would take at least a year for an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster to refine an Evil Purging Divine Spear; after all, this was a weapon that would be used to deal with Black Ink Clan Territory Lords, so its requirements for Artifact Refining were extremely harsh. The slightest mistake would cause the entire refining to fail.
In other words, an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster could only refine one artifact a year at most, and this was under the premise that everything went smoothly. If he failed once or twice, it would be normal for him to refine only one in a few years.
How many Artifact Refining Grandmasters could a Great Pass have? Blue Sky Pass had three, so it was reasonable to assume that most other Passes had a similar number. Under the presumption that there was no failure in refining, the number of Evil Purging Divine Spear a Pass could refine in 5 years was still only 10 to 15.
In fact, it might be even less than half of it; after all, the chances of failure were high when refining an unfamiliar artifact.
Ergo, Yang Kai was puzzled how each Pass was able to refine between 200 and 300 in just half a decade. Their quantity did not match his estimates and far exceeded his calculations.
But after he took a closer look, realization dawned upon Yang Kai.
These Evil Purging Divine Spears were divided into two categories. One matched the specs that had been successfully tested on Hong Hu. These were the Evil Purging Divine Spear that could reduce a Territory Lord’s strength by more than 20%, while the other had the specs that had been tested on the Feudal Lord a long time ago and could reduce such a Master’s strength by around 30% while having minimal effect on Territory Lords.
The latter was slightly longer than the former, and their refining technique was obviously cruder. According to Yang Kai’s estimations, the latter didn’t require an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster to refine, as long as one’s skills had reached the Artifact Refining Grandmaster level, they could make one.
By the looks of it, Blue Sky Pass had shared the methods of refining both Evil Purging Divine Spears with the other Passes, who subsequently refined both types.
Obviously, there was a deeper consideration for doing this.
Territory Lords were equivalent to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were the cornerstones of their respective race. The Humans would need to use the Evil Purging Divine Spears refined by the Great Grandmasters in order to deal with Territory Lords, but it was quite difficult to refine such Evil Purging Divine Spears so the output was not high. Furthermore, it would be an overkill to use such a weapon against a Feudal Lord.
And so, the Evil Purging Divine Spear refined by the Artifact Refining Grandmasters would come in handy. These Evil Purging Divine Spears weren’t as powerful as the Territory Lord version, but their production rate was much higher, they were perfect for using it against Feudal Lords, who were much larger in number.
Yang Kai had no idea how the higher-ups of the Human Race categorized these Evil Purging Divine Spears, so for the time being, Yang Kai categorized the smaller number of Evil Purging Divine Spears refined by the Great Grandmasters as Heaven Grade, while the lower grade Evil Purging Divine Spears refined by the Grandmaster were Earth Grade.
Overall, the ratio of Earth to Heaven Grade Evil Purging Divine Spears was about 12:1.
What he needed to do now was infuse the Purifying Light into all these Evil Purging Divine Spears.
Looking at the piles before him, Yang Kai once again realized he had a long and toilsome task ahead of him!
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged before casually picking up an Evil Purging Divine Spear from the closest pile. After discerning its Grade, he enveloped it in Purifying Light. Just like before, the Purifying Light flowed into the Evil Purging Divine Spear like water under its influence and soon disappeared.
Because he had to take the Grade of the Evil Purging Divine Spears into consideration, when he infused the Purifying Light into the Heaven-Grade Evil Purging Divine Spear, Yang Kai chose higher quality Yellow and Blue Crystals. This way, the strength of the Purifying Light infused into it would be even greater, allowing the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to deal with the Territory Lords more easily.
As for the Earth-grade spears, the quality of the Yellow and Blue Crystals he chose was slightly worse. In any case, they would only be used to deal with the Feudal Lords, so even if they were slightly weaker, it wouldn’t matter either.
Although Yang Kai wasn’t slow, he was unable to stand the sheer number of Evil Purging Divine Spears. It took him a few days to finish the pile closest to him, after which he picked up the Space Ring that was originally placed before the Evil Purging Divine Spears and stowed them into it.
Soon after, Blue Sky Pass sent these items back to the Great Pass corresponding to the Space Ring.
Days went by, and just when he was finished with a few dozen piles of Evil Purging Divine Spears, a few dozen rings carrying more Evil Purging Divine Spears were delivered to him.
Yang Kai kept toiling away, but considering that each Evil Purging Divine Spear could take the life of a Feudal Lord or even a Territory Lord, all the effort was well worth it.
By the time he was finished with the Evil Purging Divine Spears sent by all the Passes, over half a year had already gone by.
Afterwards, Yang Kai exited the secret room and went to report to the Eastern Army Headquarters.
Ding Yao didn’t say anything and just nodded slightly.
“This Junior has finished arming the Evil Purging Divine Spears, I will be returning to the forward base now,” Yang Kai reported. The forward base might not have faced any enemies for a long time, but they still needed to patrol occasionally.
“You don’t need to return to the forward base. Remain at Blue Sky Pass for now.”
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback, “Is there a new mission?”
Ding Yao shot a glance at him, “Are you hoping for a new mission?”
Yang Kai clucked his tongue as he defended himself, “No, no, nothing like that. Peace is best.”
Ding Yao waved him off impatiently as Yang Kai quickly excused himself.
Walking out of the Army Headquarters, a slight furrow appeared on Yang Kai’s brow. Ding Yao’s sudden order to stay at Blue Sky Pass was a bit confusing, but since it was an order, he could only comply.
Yang Kai returned to his residence, deactivated the restrictions and walked into the small courtyard. Just as he was about to use this opportunity to go into a retreat, he felt something amiss.
He looked around and noticed life auras coming from the rooms on either side of the courtyard.
[Someone is here?]
Yang Kai was confused, but after carefully sensing it, he discovered that the auras belonged to Feng Ying and Bai Yi.
[Wait. Why are they back?]
Yang Kai had returned to Blue Sky Pass from the forward base for various matters over the years, but he had always returned alone while Dawn had always been guarding the front lines. He might be the Squad Leader, but Dawn was strong enough to carry out various missions without him.
Dawn had not returned with him this time either, so Yang Kai didn’t understand why Feng Ying and Bai Yi were here.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai walked to the left wing and gently touched the restriction. Soon, Feng Ying appeared in front of Yang Kai.
“Squad Leader, you’re back?” Feng Ying immediately commented.
Yang Kai nodded in response, “Why have you also returned?”
Feng Ying answered, “The Pass ordered us to return, so we have.”
“Ordered?” Yang Kai was a bit astounded. He originally thought that Feng Ying and Bai Yi had returned for some reason, but after knowing that it was an order from the Pass, there was nothing left to say.
Feng Ying, after hesitating for a moment, finally added, “Not just our Dawn Squad has been recalled, even Junior Brother Chai’s Squad was recalled, along with several other Squads.”
“Senior Brother Chai is also back?” The corner of Yang Kai’s brow twitched. The so-called Senior Brother Chai was none other than the Old Turtles Squad Leader Chai Fang.
Feng Ying pursed her lips as a smile bloomed on her face. “Junior Brother Chai came looking for you earlier.”
“Why is he looking for me?” Yang Kai cautiously asked.
Feng Ying replied, emphasizing each word, “‘Junior Brother Yang took great care of this Chai on the battlefield, so this Chai should naturally treat Junior Brother Yang well and express my gratitude.’ Well, these are Junior Brother Chai’s original words.”
This was obviously a threat! As the Old Turtles’ Warship was slow, it was easier for them to be robbed of Military Merits on the battlefield, and Dawn had done this the most. Chai Fang had naturally marked this loss down.
The Gadfly Squad’s moniker was not just for show.
But then again, it wasn’t that Dawn Squad enjoyed snatching others’ Military Merits; rather, when they saw other Squads entangled with the Black Ink Clan Squads on the battlefield, there was nothing wrong in eliminating the enemies. Who would even care about Military Merits in that kind of situation? After all, the priority was to kill Black Ink Clansmen.
But obviously, Chai Fang didn’t think so. When they were fighting on the front lines, it wasn’t the right time to quibble with Dawn over this, but now that they had been recalled, he naturally wanted to settle accounts.
Of course, he was not planning to fight it out with Yang Kai or Dawn. He also knew that Dawn was trying to help them many times. Nonetheless, as Special Operations Squads, there was always some competition between them. Since they could not beat Dawn in kills, he naturally had to find something else to regain his face.
Yang Kai immediately spat in disgust, “He can go to Hell!”
Feng Ying stated, pursing her lips, “You should tell Junior Brother Chai this yourself.”
“Forget it, let’s just ignore him. I’ll be going into retreat and cultivate. Senior Sister, you should also rest.”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and entered his room.
Be that as it may, Chai Fang was not going to let Yang Kai have his way. Who knew how he got the news, but the very day Yang Kai returned to his residence, Chai Fang rushed over.
Although the courtyard had privacy restrictions, they were unable to withstand Chai Fang’s all-out harassment. He also knew that Yang Kai and the others would not have entered life-or-death close-door cultivation at this moment, so he acted without scruples.
Alarms kept blaring as the restrictions activated. Whether it was Yang Kai, Feng Ying, or Bai Yi, none of them were able to peacefully cultivate.
Helpless, Yang Kai had no choice but to come out. He deactivated the restriction and looked at Chai Fang with a look of disgust, who was making a ruckus outside the courtyard, “Senior Brother Chai, why are you here instead of cultivating?”
Chai Fang maliciously grinned as he palmed his fist, “Didn’t Senior Sister Feng tell you? Why does Little Brother ask when you already know the answer?”
Yang Kai helplessly asked, rubbing his forehead, “Does Senior Brother want to fight?”
Chai Fang decisively replied, “No! Although we’re not from the same Sect, we’ve fought side by side on this battlefield for so many years, so how can we fight? This Chai doesn’t know how to control his strength. What if I injure you, Junior Brother?”
Of course, he was just being stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat!
The main reason Chai Fang was refusing was because he felt that he was definitely not Yang Kai’s opponent. Yang Kai could even kill a Territory Lord. Although there were circumstances, such as taking advantage of the situation, few Seventh-Order Masters in the entire Human Race had ever killed a Territory Lord.
Chai Fang had witnessed Yang Kai fight with his own eyes. A Feudal Lord was no different than a chicken before Yang Kai; his terrifying strength had long surpassed the Seventh Order. In terms of combat strength, Chai Fang admitted that he was far inferior to Yang Kai, so how could he fight him? He would simply be digging a pit for himself.
“Then, what does Senior Brother want?” Yang Kai asked.
Chai Fang meaningfully grinned as he swiped his Space Ring and took out a jug of wine, “This Chai did not lie when I said I wanted to express my gratitude. Look, I’ve brought everything.”
Yang Kai immediately understood. Since the Old Turtle Squad had lost to Dawn on the battlefield, he wanted to regain face in a drinking competition.
Looking at the wine jug in Chai Fang’s hand, Yang Kai immediately felt frustrated.
He had once engaged with Chai Fang in a drinking contest back at the forward base. In the end, Yang Kai lost and became completely inebriated. He was ridiculed by the other Squad Leaders as a result.
Men were very strange creatures. In the eyes of almost all men, one’s alcohol capacity was also a standard of their worth. If one’s alcohol capacity was as vast as the sea, they would naturally be able to drink to their heart’s content. If a man got drunk after just three glasses, he was simply not a man.
Yang Kai was now a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with a robust foundation and strong physique. Not to mention a single jug of wine, even a hundred or a thousand jugs wouldn’t be enough to make him drunk. If his World Force was taken into account, he could easily detoxify any amount of wine.
But since it was a drinking competition, they naturally would not be using any of their strength. There would be no point in competing if they really used their World Force.
During the drinking competition, everyone would seal their strength and compete with their innate capacity.
In this aspect, Chai Fang seemed to have a higher capacity than Yang Kai.
“Senior Brother, I still need to cultivate. How about this, I’ll just accept this wine as…”
Before Yang Kai could finish speaking, Chai Fang pushed him into the courtyard, “Enough with the nonsense, since this Chai has come today, I don’t plan on leaving.”
Yang Kai staggered back, helplessly watching Chai Fang take out a set of chairs and a table. He then took his seat and gestured to Yang Kai to take the seat across from him. He was staring at Yang Kai very fiercely, assuming the posture that either you die or I perish.
Yang Kai reckoned that he was most likely doomed today!
“Sit! Why isn’t Junior Brother sitting? If you don’t sit, I’ll think that you’re looking down on this Chai!” Chai Fang glared angrily.
Yang Kai forced a laugh, “Senior Brother, there’s no need to go this far.”
Helpless, he sat down opposite Chai Fang.
The moment he sat down, Chai Fang instantly pushed the jug of wine to Yang Kai. Afterwards, he took out another jug, opened the lid, and poured it down his throat.
The corner of Yang Kai’s brow twitched staring at this. Chai Fang had completely emptied the jug in less than a dozen breaths. He then wiped his mouth and stated, “Good! Junior Brother, please help yourself. This Chai will first drink a few jugs to moisten my throat.”
Saying so, a small mountain of wine jugs appeared beside him with a wave of his hand, and he started drinking them like they were water.
[Damn it!] Yang Kai’s heart was gripped with apprehension. If this continued, he would definitely lose. The only choice he was left with was to call for reinforcements!
Taking advantage of the other party’s drinking, Yang Kai secretly sent a message.
A short while later, Yang Kai finally finished his jug, but Chai Fang had already finished four or five. They were on completely different levels.
Fortunately, a figure rushed in from outside at that moment. Seeing the oncoming figure, Yang Kai called out enthusiastically before anyone could understand what was happening, “Fei Ping, you’re here? Come, let me introduce you. This is the Old Turtle’s Squad Leader, Chai Fang!”
Chai Fang shot him an annoyed look, “Why are you introducing me? Do you think that I don’t know everyone in your Squad?”
After so many years of competing with each other, how could he not know who was who?
Yang Kai defended with a smile, “Fei Ping has admired Brother Chai for a long time and has praised Brother Chai many times to me, saying that Brother Chai’s Squad always took the lead and fought bravely when in battle. Fei Ping, now that Squad Leader Chai is here, why don’t you offer him a few toasts.”
Hearing Yang Kai’s suggestion, Miao Fei Ping didn’t dare act disrespectfully and had no choice but to pick up a wine jug and respectfully offer, “Squad Leader Chai, this Junior offers you a toast.”
Chai Fang didn’t refuse and simply glanced at Yang Kai, “Treacherous bastard!”
*Gulp gulp gulp…* Miao Fei Ping quickly downed the entire jug of wine.
Just as he was finished drinking, someone else came in.
Yang Kai called out enthusiastically once again, “Senior Brother Qi, you are here? What a coincidence, Squad Leader Chai is here as a guest. He was worried about no one being able to accompany him, but Senior Brother Qi, your capacity is like the sea, come here and drink with Squad Leader Chai.”
Qi Tai Chu chuckled, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
A moment later, Yang Kai shouted again, “Senior Brother Shen is here…”
One by one, the members of Dawn kept arriving. After seven or eight of them arrived, Chai Fang couldn’t stand it any longer. He slapped his hand on the table and angrily shouted, “Bullying me with numbers, are you?! You Gadflies are too much! As expected, if the foundation is crooked, the house will be too! Yang Kai, you have reinforcements, but do you think that this Old Master doesn’t?”
Saying so, he took out a communication artifact and sent a message with his Divine Sense.
Not long after, several figures flew over from all over Blue Sky Pass. Yang Kai didn’t back down either and quickly summoned the remaining Dawn members.
A moment later, some 90 people were gathered in the small courtyard, bustling with noise and excitement. Because of all the noise, Feng Ying and Bai Yi were unable to remain in seclusion.
Yang Kai and Chai Fang, who were sitting across from each other at the table just as before, were now completely surrounded by members of their respective Squads.
Chai Fang fiercely glared at Yang Kai and shouted, “Brothers, Sisters, Squad Leader Yang has taken care of us quite a lot on the battlefield! He has saved us so many times, but we never got a chance to repay him! Let’s show him proper gratitude today!”
Yang Kai bitterly smiled, “Squad Leader Chai, you’re really too polite, it would be impolite not to repay your gift in return. Since Squad Leader Chai is such a good drinker, let’s let him drink to his heart’s content today!”
At first, whether it was Yang Kai or Chai Fang, both of them were conscious and could drink themselves, but soon their vision became blurry and stars began to shine before their eyes.
Nonetheless, the other members of the Squads were not willing to let them go and opened their mouths and poured wine into them.
*Gulp gulp…*
*Gulp gulp…*
Feng Ying and Bai Yi stood together, watching from afar, the former sighing, “A pyrrhic victory indeed, sacrificing 800 soldiers just to slay 1,000 of the enemy!”
Bai Yi vigorously nodded like a chicken pecking rice.
At one point, Yang Kai’s body went limp and slid under the table.
The drunken Chai Fang on the opposite side broke into loud laughter, “This Old Master won!”
Saying so, he also collapsed onto the table.
Both Squad Leaders got knocked out together, but the members of both Squads had yet to enjoy themselves to their heart’s content. A few female members of the Old Turtles Squad even took out some cooking utensils and started preparing some snacks to go with the drinking. Seeing this, Feng Ying and Bai Yi also stepped forward to help.
The courtyard was bustling with noise and excitement.
Both Special Operations Squads were rivals on the battlefield, but they were also inseparable comrades-in-arms. It was the same during the drinking competition.
Everyone was drinking in either groups of three or five. At some point, everyone was drunk, their eyes were droopy and red. Even Feng Ying and the other women had a slight blush on their faces.
Even though they were all Open Heaven Realm Masters, because no one used their World Force to detoxify themselves, their alcohol tolerance was still limited. Of course, they could still hold their liquor because of their powerful physiques.
The empty wine jugs piled higher and higher as more and more fell to the ground, dead drunk.
After an unknown period of time, the entire courtyard had people lying here and there, knocked out; not a single person was left standing. As for Feng Ying and Bai Yi, they were unable to continue drinking long ago and had returned to their rooms to rest.
The bustling courtyard had become completely silent and peaceful.
Under the table, Yang Kai, who was knocked out, secretly opened his eyes. After confirming that the drinking competition was over, only then did he pop his head up, taking the support of the chair. But the next moment, he saw a pair of eyes staring at him from across the table.
When their eyes met, both Yang Kai and Chai Fang were awkward and embarrassed!
Yang Kai had secretly used his strength to detoxify himself, but he didn’t expect Chai Fang to do the same.
[Shameless bastard!] Both of them cursed in their hearts.
After calming himself down, Yang Kai sat back down with no change in his expression. He then took out a tea set and started carefully brewing.
Chai Fang remained silent and waited for the tea.
A moment later, the fragrance of tea filled the air as Yang Kai poured two cups and pushed one to Chai Fang.
Chai Fang picked up the cup and took a sip.
For a moment, alternate sounds of sipping filled the silent courtyard.
After finishing a pot of tea, Chai Fang suddenly opened his mouth and stated, “I’m afraid that something big is about to happen.”
Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brow, “Senior Brother noticed?”
Chai Fang nodded his affirmation, “It seems you did too.”
Yang Kai continued, “Generally, 80% of the Pass’ forces are concentrated at the forward base, and this status quo has been maintained for over 200 years. Although there hasn’t been any fighting for a long time, we still need to be on guard against the Black Ink Clan’s counterattack. In light of this, it’s a little unusual to suddenly recall two Special Operations Squads.”
Chai Fang added with a nod, “It would have been nothing if it was just our Squads; but recently, many Squads had been returning one after another. All of them must have received recall orders. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but all these Squads belonged to the different Divisions and Battalions. In other words, none of the returning Squads belonged to the same Battalion.”
“Do you have some hypothesis?” Yang Kai asked.
Chai Fang shook his head, denying, “I have no idea. I was hoping you had heard something.”
This was the main reason why he had come to Yang Kai. The drinking competition was just a bonus.
Yang Kai frowned, voicing his thoughts, “If the Pass is planning an attack, they should have gathered their forces at the forward base; but for some reason, they have been recalling us.”
“It seems little brother doesn’t know anything.”
Although Yang Kai suspected that whatever the Pass’ upper echelons were planning had something to do with the newly developed Evil Purging Divine Spear, he believed that doing so would be a reckless thing.
He might have infused Purifying Light into quite a lot of Evil Purging Divine Spears, but each Pass still had only 200 to 300 in total. These Evil Purging Divine Spears could be given to the elite soldiers, but it would not change the course of the war that much; after all, the Evil Purging Divine Spears were one-time-use consumables.
In his opinion, the Evil Purging Divine Spears would be best used only after amassing a considerable amount of them. They should either not use them, or use them only to force the Black Ink Clan into a corner.
Since this matter concerned the Evil Purging Divine Spear, Yang Kai couldn’t reveal too much to Chai Fang.
“The higher-ups have always been very secretive, so I’m afraid no one will know what they’re planning until the last moment,” Chai Fang couldn’t help but grumble.
It was the same when they had used Xiang Shan’s breakthrough to lure the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords out last time. The Special Operations Squads had no idea and tried to protect Xiang Shan at the cost of their lives, but in the end, the upper echelons of the Pass had been well prepared.
But it was only reasonable to not inform them, because only when they put their lives on the line would the Territory Lords believe that the Human Race had not planned some kind of trap. Had they known the plan beforehand, they might have revealed some clues.
“Senior Brother, don’t worry about it. If they’re really planning to do something, we will know soon enough,” Yang Kai comforted.
Chai Fang nodded slightly, “Junior Brother, if you receive any news, please inform me as soon as possible so that I can make preparations.”
“Good!”
“Then, this Chai will take his leave first.” Chai Fang stood up and shouted, “All of you, get up! Don’t keep lying like corpses! 50 of you lot were beaten by just 30 people, stop making fools of yourselves!”
As soon as his voice fell, the members of both Squads lying in the courtyard got up one by one. Everyone circulated their strength to dispel the effects of the alcohol. The members of the Old Turtle Squad looked very ashamed while the Dawn Squad, on the other hand, was beaming with smiles.
Under Chai Fang’s lead, the Old Turtles quickly left and Dawn’s members also left after them, leaving the courtyard in a mess with Yang Kai alone, who silently tidied up everything.
A few days later, Yang Kai, who was cultivating, was once again summoned to the Army Headquarters.
But the moment he stepped into the Army Headquarters, he heard a familiar angry shout coming from the main office, “Why can’t I go? Old Zhong Liang promised me!”
[Grandmaster Ma Fan?]
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback. He had no idea that Grandmaster Ma Fan had returned to Blue Sky Pass. Grandmaster Ma Fan had been staying in the forward base since he had arrived at the Black Ink Battlefield. Since he was here, Yang Kai felt that the situation inside Blue Sky Pass was even more complicated than he expected.
Moreover, Zhong Liang’s promise that Grandmaster Ma Fan had just spoken about was quite concerning.
When the Evil Purging Divine Spear experiment was over, Grandmaster Ma Fan reminded Zhong Liang to not forget his promise, and Zhong Liang assured him that he had not.
Yang Kai didn’t know what Zhong Liang had promised to Grandmaster Ma Fan, but by the looks of it, things had gone wrong. Ding Yao seemed to disagree, which had caused Ma Fan to burn with fury.
While these thoughts were running in his mind, he walked into the office. As he had guessed, he saw Grandmaster Ma Fan inside, but the old man was like an angry rooster, glaring at Ding Yao. Meanwhile, Shen Tu Mo tried to persuade him, “Grandmaster, please calm down. Brother Zhong had indeed promised you, so logically speaking, Brother Ding and I should accept Brother Zhong’s decision, but times have changed. The Evil Purging Divine Spear was invented by you, so you need to oversee the project if further modifications are required. The Evil Purging Divine Spear will determine the future of the Human Race and change the course of its future. Ergo, Grandmaster should remain at Blue Sky Pass for the big picture.”
“Bullshit!” Grandmaster Ma Fan spat in anger. Yang Kai could not help but shrink his neck at the sight of this.
Even an ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wouldn’t act so presumptuously before these two Army Commanders; however, not only was Ma Fan an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he was also an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster.
“This old man already has one foot in the grave, so why would I care about the big picture? That’s something you Army Commanders need to worry about, what does it have to do with me? The reason this old man has been holding on even after so many years is that I am unable to face my ancestors. Now that I have a chance to fulfil my lifelong wish, you guys are not letting this old man go? What kind of bullshit logic is that? Besides, although this old man was in charge of developing the Evil Purging Divine Spear, the refining process has already been spread to the other Passes. If any improvements are needed in the future, those old farts can figure it out, so why should I worry about it?”
Shen Tu Mo earnestly advised, “Grandmaster, the battlefield is dangerous, and this operation will be different from the past. No one can guarantee anything.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan shot him a long look, “What? Are you afraid this old man will be a burden? This old man doesn’t just know how to refine artifacts, I also know how to kill enemies. If it weren’t for your lack of Artifact Refiners, this old man wouldn’t have been sitting in the rear and would have charged into the Black Ink Clan’s base many times already. Furthermore, if this old man really did die on the battlefield, it would be a worthy death! When I meet my ancestors in the next life, this old man can proudly tell them that I died on the Black Ink Battlefield. My ancestors will definitely praise me!”
Shen Tu Mo was rendered speechless. Even he could not use force against someone like Grandmaster Ma Fan, and judging by the old man’s attitude, it was pointless to persuade him.
Grandmaster Ma Fan suddenly turned to Yang Kai, “You said that the Evil Purging Divine Spear is connected to the future of the entire Human Race, so you are afraid that something will happen to me and asked this old man not to go, but the true key to the Evil Purging Divine Spears is that brat! The Evil Purging Divine Spear would be nothing more than a piece of trash without his Purifying Light. You recalled him, so that means you planned to deploy him with the Army? What the Hell!? A Seventh-Order boy can go, but this old man can’t? I don’t give a damn! I’m going whether you like it or not, whether you allow me or not. Hell, this old man will go alone if I have to!”
Saying so, he turned around and left, not even giving Yang Kai so much as a glance.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but pucker his lips. He suddenly felt like he had run into an unexpected disaster. He couldn’t understand why these big shots had to drag him into their quarrel.
[I was right, the Pass is indeed planning something, and judging by Grandmaster Ma Fan’s words, it seemed like we are going somewhere. This explains why all those Squads have been recalled.]
That was alright too. Everything was peaceful at Blue Sky Pass, and the Black Ink Clan had been holed up in their nests for the last two centuries. Since Blue Sky Pass won’t be facing any battle any time soon, deploying forces elsewhere where they might be needed was a good idea.
The Great Passes had never been able to provide any real assistance to one another since ancient times, because they were too far apart and the amount of resources needed to transport so many people was too great. But since Blue Sky Pass had enough resources and leeway, they could ignore such a cost.
While these thoughts were running through his mind, there was no change in Yang Kai’s expression as he cupped his fist, “Sirs.”
Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo both nodded slightly.
Shen Tu Mo looked at him and asked, “You heard everything, right?”
Yang Kai nodded in response.
“What do you think?”
Yang Kai didn’t hesitate to voice his guess, “Is the Pass planning to send reinforcements to another Pass to defend against the Black Ink Clan?”
When Shen Tu Mo heard that, he answered, “Yes, and no…”
Yang Kai was confused.
Then, Shen Tu Mo fell silent as if he were thinking about how to explain this matter to Yang Kai; after all, it was not a simple matter to understand.
It took quite some time before Shen Tu Mo spoke again “It’s been about 300 years since you arrived at the Black Ink Battlefield, and although that’s not a long time, you’ve already gathered more experience than the average soldier could gather after battling the Black Ink Clan for thousands of years. Moreover, you’ve also been to places that even the Eighth-Order Masters had never gone. Have you ever wondered why the entire Black Ink Battlefield is so large and vast?”
Yang Kai answered in his mind, [Why would I wonder about that? Even if I did, would I be able to find the answer?]
However, now that Shen Tu Mo had brought it up, it naturally evoked Yang Kai’s curiosity. He was right. Why was the Black Ink Battlefield so vast? Among the 3,000 Worlds, any Great Territory could be described as vast beyond what the eye could see, none was even comparable in scope and scale to the Black Ink Battlefield.
The area of the Black Ink Battlefield had already gone way past the area of a Great Territory. It was like the Black Ink Battlefield was never-ending.
After sighing, Shen Tu Mo explained, “According to some ancient texts, in the era when the Universe was just created, the Black Ink Battlefield was also divided up into many Great Territories, each of them flourishing and filled with life. Each Great Territory was separated by Territory Barriers, but connected through Territory Gates, similar to the 3,000 Worlds. However, the rise of the Black Ink Clan changed everything. Born out of nowhere, the Black Ink Clan’s natural aggressiveness and unique reproductive methods made it easy for them to dominate the Great Territories.
Whenever the Black Ink Clan fully conquered a Great Territory, that Great Territory would start to corrode and the Territory Barriers around it would collapse, resulting in it merging with the adjacent Great Territories to become an even larger area. Then, like a snowball rolling downhill, the Great Territory would become larger and larger, which is why the Black Ink Battlefield is so vast.”
While scrunching his eyebrows, Yang Kai asked, “In other words, the Black Ink Battlefield we’re standing in now is the product of merging countless Great Territories?”
“That’s right.” Shen Tu Mo nodded.
It was his first time hearing such a description. It was quite interesting.
Yang Kai continued, “Sir, why does the Territory Barrier collapse after the Black Ink Clan fully dominates a Great Territory? Also, how do we conclude whether the Black Ink Clan has fully conquered a Great Territory?”
Shaking his head, Shen Tu Mo replied, “I don’t know either. All the knowledge I have about this matter comes from reading those ancient historical records, but the contents in those documents aren’t complete anymore, and no one can determine if the contents written are real or fake. However, this theory is able to explain why the Black Ink Battlefield has such a vast area.”
“Then, where did the Black Ink Clan come from? A typical Black Ink Clansman is bred from a Black Ink Nest, and Black Ink Nests are divided into different Ranks. A Low-Rank Black Ink Nest is the sub-nest of a Mid-Rank one, so if we trace that logic, what is the primary nest, where were the Royal Lord Black Ink Nests originally spawned from?”
That question had confused Yang Kai for a long time, but he still hadn’t found an answer to it. Ever since he found out about the secret behind the Black Ink Nests, he began to wonder about their origin; therefore, he seized this opportunity to ask Shen Tu Mo, wanting to get an answer to his questions.
However, Shen Tu Mo shook his head, “I don’t know. Before you discovered the secrets behind the reproduction of Black Ink Nests, we Humans had no idea they were even linked.”
That answer naturally disappointed Yang Kai, but when he thought about it, he suddenly had a more pertinent question to ask, “Sir, why are you telling me these things?”
Just now, Yang Kai was asking about why so many Squads had been recalled from the forward base, so how did the topic suddenly change to this?
Shen Tu Mo answered, “I’m telling you these things because the higher-ups are planning a new operation, and it involves not only Blue Sky Pass but all the Great Passes.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Is an all-out crusade about to begin?”
Ding Yao, who had been silent throughout the conversation, finally spoke up, “It has something to do with that, but before we begin the crusade, we must finish this first! Just shut up, listen, and don’t ask any questions.”
Obediently, Yang Kai stopped talking.
Shen Tu Mo continued, “Back in the ancient era, the Black Ink Clan were on a rampage, and the Great Territories were falling rapidly. In the face of this threat, some Human Great Experts banded together and created 108 Great Passes in the Black Ink Battlefield to fight back against the Black Ink Clan. This initiative has blessed the following generations to this day. Without these 108 Great Passes, the current 3,000 Worlds might have already become the Black Ink Clan’s territory, and you and I might never have existed. Although these 108 Passes seem to be fighting independent campaigns, in reality, we are all closely connected into one, creating a strong line of defence.”
While he was talking, he stretched out his hand and drew something in the air. Then, pure World Force gathered together to become a large tapestry of light.
Under his control, the light rays were divided into two distinctive areas, one white and one black. He then pointed at the white area, “This region corresponds to the 3,000 Worlds.”
After that, he pointed at the black area, “And this represents the Black Ink Battlefield.”
He then pointed at the middle area between the two, and a drop of golden light suddenly appeared, “This is the No-Return Pass, which has been guarded by the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans since ancient times. It is also the only connection point between the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield. All reinforcements from the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, as well as our resources from the 3,000 Worlds, must pass through the No-Return Pass. So, we can say that the No-Return Pass is the 3,000 World’s last line of defence!”
With a wave of his hand, Shen Tu Mo caused more than 100 golden lights to appear in the Black Ink Battlefield region and arrange themselves into a semicircle that shielded the No-Return pass.
This was the first time Yang Kai clearly saw the actual arrangement of all 108 great passes in the Black Ink Battlefield. He asked in shock, “Is this the real arrangement of all the great passes?”
Shen Tu Mo nodded and explained, “That’s right. Such an arrangement can ensure that every great pass has a Theatre to defend, and as long as we can defend our own Theatres, the Black Ink Clan will never be able to step foot in the 3,000 Worlds.”
Yang Kai was astonished, “The Ancient Great Experts’ abilities are truly awe-inspiring.”
At that moment, Ding Yao came forward with his hands behind his back, “We Humans have been relying on this defence line to hold back the Black Ink Clan for countless years. Although we’ve sacrificed more elite soldiers than we can count, we were able to ensure the freedom of the 3,000 Worlds. However, something happened 30,000 years ago, which completely changed our situation.”
While saying so, he stretched out his hand, and under Yang Kai’s gaze, one of the over 100 golden lights suddenly turned black.”
Yang Kai felt his heart sink and could vaguely guess what had happened 30,000 years ago.
As he expected, Ding Yao elaborated, “30,000 years ago, the Black Ink Clan managed to break through Great Evolution Pass, which was guarded by Great Evolution Paradise. The Old Ancestor of Great Evolution Pass led tens of thousands of soldiers to fight with the Black Ink Clan for several years, and the whole Army was almost wiped out while the Old Ancestor himself died in battle. Since then, Great Evolution Pass has been in the hands of the Black Ink Clan.”
Despite having guessed as much, Yang Kai still felt depressed when hearing Ding Yao mention this incident. Almost the entire Army of a Great Pass was wiped out, and even the Old Ancestor overseeing the Pass had died in battle. That battle must have been a huge blow to the Humans as it was not only the loss of a Great Pass, but also the annihilation of a Paradise!
That was the first and only time since ancient times that Humans lost a Great Pass.
That battle also caused the Great Evolution Paradise to wither away.
The Humans considered that matter a great shame, which is why Yang Kai had never heard about it directly despite joining the Black Ink Battlefield for over 300 years. Those who knew about this were mainly the Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who wouldn’t tell him such things. Cultivators under the Eighth Order had no idea about this incident. In fact, Yang Kai first heard about this news from Hei Yuan Territory Lord.
Yang Kai didn’t know what actually happened 30,000 years ago that caused Great Evolution Pass’ demise, but he knew that something was obviously not right about that battle because not only was the Army almost wiped out, but even the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor had been killed.
“An Old Ancestor’s strength is on par with that of a Royal Lord, or possibly even slightly superior, so how could the Black Ink Clan manage to easily defeat a Great Pass with an Old Ancestor assuming command? Also, why did the Great Evolution Pass fall so quickly?” Yang Kai asked in confusion.
Ding Yao explained, “Though an Old Ancestor can fight a Royal Lord to a standstill quite easily, what about when it’s two against one?”
Yang Kai was shocked, “Did the Black Ink Clan deploy two Royal Lords to that battle?”
Nodding, Ding Yao replied, “We only learned about this after the fact. It’s not easy for a Human to advance to the Ninth Order, but that is true for the Black Ink Clan’s Royal Lords too. Such a Master might not appear even once in several thousand years. Back then, there had only been one Royal Lord in the Great Evolution Theatre, and he had been fighting with the Great Evolution Pass’ Old Ancestor for countless years, so they knew each other very well. However, one of the Territory Lords advanced to become a Royal Lord, and the Black Ink Clan was able to keep that hidden from Great Evolution Pass’ Old Ancestor. Then, while the Old Ancestor was in the midst of fighting with the old Royal Lord, that newly advanced Royal Lord managed to launch a sneak attack and severely injure the Old Ancestor. How could the Old Ancestor win a battle in such a situation?”
Shen Tu Mo added, “Although the Great Evolution Pass’ Old Ancestor died in battle, he was able to bring down one of the Royal Lords with him. In a way, his death wasn’t in vain.”
In a battle, where it was two against one, and being severely injured, the Great Evolution Pass’ Old Ancestor still managed to kill one of the Royal Lords before he died. It was a feat worthy of being recorded in history.
“Though you’re only a Seventh-Order Master, you’ve joined many secret operations, so you must know that the Humans are preparing for a grand crusade.”
With a nod, Yang Kai replied, “I understand.”
Then, Ding Yao pointed at the black dot symbolising the Great Evolution Pass, “If we want to start a crusade, we must first take back Great Evolution Pass! Otherwise, our lines will have a critical weak point. This is the purpose of the recent personnel rearrangement made by the Inner Sanctum. Not only is it happening in Blue Sky Pass, but also at the other Great Passes.”
Yang Kai now understood the situation.
In the meantime, he also finally understood why Grandmaster Ma Fan was so excited back then. He was one of the few remnants of Great Evolution Paradise, and now that he found out that the Humans were planning to take back Great Evolution Pass, of course, he would want to have a part in the campaign. Great Evolution Pass was the place that his ancestors shed blood to protect and where they were buried. Standing from Grandmaster Ma Fan’s point of view, he had to go take a look no matter what and pry their lost Great Pass from the Black Ink Clan’s clutches as revenge for his ancestors.
However, Shen Tu Mo and Ding Yao were wary about that and didn’t want Grandmaster Ma Fan to join the operation, which would naturally lead to the latter flying into a rage. In such a situation, perhaps everyone would be against him joining this operation.
In fact, Yang Kai even suspected that Grandmaster Ma Fan was able to be enlisted into the Black Ink Battlefield 200 years ago because the Humans had been planning to take back Great Evolution Pass even then.
Of course, that was just his own speculation, and there was no way to confirm it.
The Humans wanted to take back the Great Evolution Pass. That was big news, and just thinking about it made Yang Kai feel excited.
As far as the main crusade went, the first step was to recover Great Evolution Pass. That was because the Great Pass had fallen into the hands of the Black Ink Clan, and if not recovered, once the Humans began their crusade, the Black Ink Clan might harass them from the rear. Therefore, the Humans had to tie up all loose ends that might affect their crusade before it could begin.
Yang Kai suddenly thought of a problem, “Sirs, according to your story on how Great Evolution Pass fell into the hands of the Black Ink Clan, there must still be a Royal Lord assuming command over there. If we want to defeat a Royal Lord, we must have an Old Ancestor with us. Could it be that the Old Ancestor from our side will be personally leading the Army to Great Evolution Pass?”
Although it had been quite a while since Blue Sky Theatre had seen open hostilities, the Old Ancestor still couldn’t leave the Great Pass at will. Once the Black Ink Clan discovered that the Old Ancestor had left, they might try something. By then, they wouldn’t be anyone restraining the Black Ink Clan’s Royal Lord, and although Blue Sky Pass could not be easily overtaken, such a battle would definitely cost them the forward base. Once that was gone, all their hard work for hundreds of years would be wiped away.
Blue Sky Pass wouldn’t do such a stupid thing.
Shen Tu Mo replied, “There will be an Old Ancestor leading the Army in this battle to recover our territory, but not the one from our Pass.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Who would it be?”
It wasn’t an easy decision to let the Old Ancestor leave a Theatre, regardless of which Great Pass they were overseeing.
“You also know this Old Ancestor.”
“Someone I know?” Yang Kai was stunned. When he thought about it, he knew only three Old Ancestors. One was Blue Sky Pass’ Old Ancestor, one was Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor, and the other was Myriad Demons Pass’ Old Ancestor. He hadn’t met the other Old Ancestors yet.
But Shen Tu Mo just said that the battle to recover their territory had nothing to do with the Old Ancestor of Blue Sky Pass, so there were only the Old Ancestors of Yin-Yang Pass and Myriad Demons Pass.
“The one leading this campaign will be the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass.”
The image of the gluttonous little girl immediately appeared in Yang Kai’s mind, and his brow twitched slightly. He thought it might be the one from Myriad Demons Pass, but did not expect it to be the one from Yin-Yang Pass.
That person was not very reliable! Was it really feasible for her to lead the Army to recover Great Evolution Pass?
However, Yang Kai was more concerned about another thing, “If she leaves, who will assume command of Yin-Yang Pass?”
Just as Blue Sky Pass’ Old Ancestor couldn’t easily leave Blue Sky Pass, Yin-Yang Pass had the same situation. The presence of each Old Ancestor was a great deterrent to the Black Ink Clan.
Hearing his question, Ding Yao hesitated for a moment and said, “200 years ago, Yin-Yang Pass’ Southern Army Commander, Wu Qing exhibited signs of a breakthrough, so he returned to the 3,000 Worlds via the No-Return Pass. He then succeeded in breaking through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm at Red Clouds Cave Heaven!”
Not knowing whether he had felt it wrongly, Yang Kai felt that Ding Yao was full of envy when he said that; however, Yang Kai was still surprised by the news, “Senior Wu has advanced to the Ninth Order?”
Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo nodded together, and Shen Tu Mo urged, “This is a top-secret matter. Even in Yin-Yang Pass, only the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters know about it, so don’t make a big fuss about it.”
Yang Kai nodded instinctively, but his mind was still in a state of shock.
Wu Qing had broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
This was great news to the Humans because they now had another Old Ancestor. Now, Yin-Yang Pass had two Old Ancestors.
But then again, before he went to Yin-Yang Pass last time, he had heard about Wu Qing from the others. Wu Qing carried a Profound Fish, one of the Four Universe Pillars, so he did not fear the Black Ink Strength’s corruption. As he was already very strong, he would frequently dive into the Black Ink Clan’s territory alone and stir up trouble. The Black Ink Clan in Yin-Yang Theatre resented him very much, but they couldn’t do anything about it.
Wu Qing had been an Eighth-Order Master for many years and had been on the verge of a breakthrough for some time now; therefore, he was known as the one who was most likely to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in recent years. That wasn’t a secret among the Great Passes, but no one knew when or even if he could advance successfully.
No one knew if he would suddenly have a bought of enlightenment and break through, or perhaps he would stay in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for another 10,000 years without any change. It was not just a matter of accumulation, but also about luck and opportunity.
It was not until more than 200 years ago that Wu Qing had an epiphany and immediately returned to Red Clouds Cave Heaven via the No-Return Pass.
Ordinary cultivators who came to the Black Ink Battlefield could never return to the 3,000 Worlds, but it was different with Wu Qing’s situation because he had the Profound Fish, so it was impossible for him to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Moreover, he was in a special state whereby he was about to make a breakthrough, so his return was permitted as it had strategic importance.
Another reason was that the process of advancing into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm would cause a huge commotion, so if Wu Qing remained in Yin-Yang Pass during his advancement, the Royal Lord would definitely become aware of it. Once the Black Ink Clan noticed, they would become warier.
Therefore, the best choice was for Wu Qing to return to the 3,000 Worlds and quietly break through at Red Clouds Cave Heaven first.
It could be said that every Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that was about to break through to Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm would be returned to the 3,000 Worlds to their Master Sect before they break through.
After Wu Qing had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he stayed in Red Clouds Cave Heaven for more than 200 years to stabilise his Realm before secretly returning to Yin-Yang Pass.
Only after his return did the Humans prepare to implement the plan to recover Great Evolution Pass.
With Wu Qing, the newly advanced Ninth-Order Old Ancestor, assuming command of Yin-Yang Pass, the situation at Yin-Yang Theatre would not change much, and the veteran Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass would be free to lead the Army to take back Great Evolution Pass.
Yang Kai had met with Wu Qing during his previous trip to Yin-Yang Pass, but they hadn’t said much to each other, so he wasn’t very familiar with him. Regardless, Yang Kai was still happy that Wu Qing was able to advance into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
However, he soon thought of another thing, “Since Senior Wu has advanced into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm without the knowledge of the Royal Lord in the Yin-Yang Theatre, why doesn’t he team up with the Old Ancestor at Yin-Yang Pass to deal with the Royal Lord there?”
The Old Ancestor of Great Evolution Paradise was sneak attacked by a newly advanced Royal Lord more than 30,000 years ago under similar circumstances, resulting in his demise.
The Humans could simply return the favour.
While shaking his head, Ding Yao explained, “That’s too big of a risk, and there are too many uncontrollable factors. A Royal Lord is not like a Territory Lord or a Feudal Lord. When it comes to life-or-death situations, even if there is no chance of survival, a Royal Lord has a high chance of dragging someone down with them. It’s not easy for us Humans to gain an Old Ancestor, so we cannot afford to take that risk.”
Back then, the Old Ancestor of Great Evolution Pass was still able to kill a Royal Lord despite being sneak attacked and outnumbered. A Royal Lord’s strength was basically on par with that of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so there was also a chance that they could do the same.
As long as there was such a chance, the Humans would not risk it.
Smiling, Shen Tu Mo elaborated, “Because an Old Ancestor and a Royal Lord aren’t that easy to kill, each Great Pass can barely maintain a balance. If the Black Ink Clan acted according to what you just proposed, who knows how many Great Passes we would have lost.”
“What do you mean by that?” Yang Kai frowned in confusion.
Shen Tu Mo continued to explain, “There are a number of Theatres with more than one Royal Lord. For example, the Great Battle Theatre. There are two Royal Lords there while we only have one Old Ancestor standing guard.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was very surprised, “There are two Royal Lords in the Great Battle Theatre?”
“What’s so surprising about that?” Ding Yao glanced at him, “Some Human Great Passes have two Old Ancestors, but the total number of Royal Lords is most likely still higher.”
Yang Kai looked bewildered, “I always thought that every Great Pass only had one Old Ancestor and the corresponding Theatre only had one Royal Lord.”
Frowning, Shen Tu Mo asked, “Who told you that?”
While shaking his head, Yang Kai replied, “No one.” It was all his own assumption, but now it seemed that he was being naive.
Thinking about it, no one had ever told him explicitly that each Great Pass had only one Old Ancestor that corresponded to one Royal Lord.
Though there weren’t many Old Ancestors, how could they possibly be distributed perfectly evenly so that all Great Passes only had one? There had to be a few extras somewhere.
It was the same for the Royal Lord.
It just so happened that the three Great Passes he visited only had one Old Ancestor and one Royal Lord.
“On the Black Ink Clan’s side, both their Feudal Lords and Territory Lords outnumber our Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters, so it’s only normal for their Royal Lords to outnumber our Ninth-Masters too. However, the actual number is irrelevant to the overall situation. Although there are fewer Ninth-Orders Open Heaven Realm Masters in some Theatres, they are still able to maintain a balance with the Royal Lords and keep each other in check.”
Yang Kai nodded his head, indicating that he understood.
Using Great Battle Pass as an example, although there was only one Ninth-Order Old Ancestor facing two Royal Lords, along with the risks of attacking the Great Pass, as long as the Old Ancestor acted prudently, there wouldn’t be any danger.
“We’ve strayed a bit too far off-topic,” Shen Tu Mo waved his hand and said, “Let’s put all these to the side. What we have to do now is to recover Great Evolution Pass. Originally, you weren’t supposed to be involved in this matter because, as Grandmaster Ma Fan said, you are the key to the Evil Purging Divine Spear. The future of the Human Race is at stake, and we wouldn’t allow you to head to such a dangerous battlefield so easily. If you were to have any accidents, the whole crusade would be in jeopardy.”
Smiling playfully, Yang Kai added, “Though I don’t know the reason, Dawn will be participating in this battle to recover the Great Pass, right?”
[I’m sure no Human soldier would want to miss such an opportunity.]
Shen Tu Mo nodded, “Indeed! The Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass specifically requested you to join the Army, saying that your Small Universe can help her restore her strength and recover from her injuries. We naturally need to cooperate when such a request is made.”
Yang Kai suddenly understood the situation.
The last time he was in Yin-Yang Pass, he had used his Small Universe to help the Old Ancestor heal from her wounds. It seemed like after tasting the benefits he could offer, she had developed a liking for them.
This was only reasonable as she would turn into a child if she were seriously injured, and normal healing methods had little effect on her. She could only restore her injuries in a Bustling World.
Yang Kai’s Small Universe just happened to be a place where countless ordinary beings flourished and was perfectly suitable for her healing process. Also, the flow of time inside his Small Universe was different from the outside world, so it could be said that if they had Yang Kai with them, the chances of success in this campaign to recover their territory would increase greatly.
The recovery of Great Evolution Pass was related to their future crusade, and the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass had personally requested Yang Kai to follow them; therefore, considering the overall situation, Blue Sky Pass couldn’t refuse.
This was the reason Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo told Yang Kai so much; otherwise, how could a Seventh-Order Junior be qualified to know so many operational details? Since it was an order from the higher-ups, they were just carrying them out.
“All Great Passes will contribute to this mission to recover the Great Evolution Pass. Blue Sky Pass will probably deploy about 500 people, with Senior Brother Xiang leading the team. So, when you get there, you cannot act without Senior Brother Xiang’s order!” Ding Yao looked at Yang Kai with a serious face.
Yang Kai accepted the order, “Understood!” Then, he asked, “When will we be leaving?”
Ding Yao answered, “It won’t be a long wait, within a few months at most.”
Shen Tu Mo added, “I am telling you this today because I want you to be prepared; otherwise, you will be confused when you get there. On the other hand, Dawn doesn’t have enough members, so the Inner Sanctum has chosen a ten-person Squad to join Dawn. They will be heading over for the transition within these few days.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You can head back and make the necessary preparations,” Shen Tu Mo waved his hand.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and left.
After leaving the Army Headquarters, Yang Kai breathed in a light breath to calm his excitement. The Humans were going to recover Great Evolution Pass. After countless years of defending against the Black Ink Clan, Blue Sky Pass’ initial crusade could be said to be a small step forward for the Humans, while taking back Great Evolution Pass was like a big step forward.
Once Great Evolution Pass was retaken, the real crusade would not be too far away. By then, there would be a world-shaking battle to the death between the two races in this huge and vast Black Ink Battlefield, and no one could predict what the final result would be. On this vast battlefield, a single Human’s strength was too weak to matter, and Yang Kai was a mere Seventh-Order Master. Even an Old Ancestor could only affect the situation of their own designated Theatre, not the entire situation of the war.
The only thing Yang Kai could do now was prepare himself for the upcoming campaign.
After returning to his home, he entered retreat and began cultivating to improve his Small Universe’s heritage as much as possible.
A few days later, two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Ren Bing Bai and Yu Zi You, came for a visit. They were the Squad Leader and Vice Squad Leader of a ten-man Squad and were both veterans who had been on the Black Ink Battlefield for at least 2,000 years, killing countless enemies and earning a lot of Merits.
Because they were about to embark on a campaign to recover Great Evolution Pass, Dawn naturally needed to be as strong as possible; however, since the establishment of Dawn, the Squad had never filled its ranks, so after some consideration, Ding Yao took the initiative to choose a ten-member Squad to fill in the vacancies and increase Dawn’s strength.
The team led by Ren Bing Bai and Yu Zi You were the lucky Squad.
The two were not repulsed by this order and were even a bit happy. This couldn’t be helped, as every ordinary Squad’s desire was to develop their Squad to become an elite Squad with grand accomplishments. Unfortunately, there were only five Special Operations Squads here in Blue Sky Pass, so if the others wanted to be promoted, they had to perform exceptionally well and play a decisive role in battle; otherwise, promotion was impossible.
The creation of Dawn was also because Yang Kai was too important for Blue Sky Pass, which was why the Army Commanders granted a special exception. Of course, the Military Merits Dawn earned after its establishment did live up to its title as a Special Operations Squad. They even outshined the other four elite Squads.
Although Ren Bing Bai and Yu Zi You’s Squad was quite strong and had earned a lot of Military Merits in its time, their capabilities were still far from being able to be promoted.
So, when they were suddenly ordered to join Dawn, they were a bit confused, but were still happy to report to Yang Kai.
In every war it participated in, Dawn would rank first in the War Materials Hall in terms of Military Merits. More importantly, Dawn still had vacancies.
Many cultivators wanted to join Dawn and fight as part of the Squad, but unfortunately, Yang Kai, the Squad Leader, never intended to recruit new members over the years.
Ren Bing Bai and Yu Zi You did not expect that a sudden transfer order from the higher-ups would allow them to fulfil this wish.
In the courtyard, Yang Kai gave the two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters a warm welcome. Although they had never met each other before, they were comrades who fought together on the Black Ink Battlefield, so there was no estrangement between them when talking about killing the Black Ink Clan and restoring peace. After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became very lively.
During that time, the two Seventh-Order Masters had asked about the reason behind the transfer order given by the higher-ups, but Yang Kai dodged the question.
The matters Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo told him about had to be kept confidential for the time being. Although these secrets would soon be revealed during the battle to recover Great Evolution Pass, Yang Kai still couldn’t say anything in this situation. At least, the announcement shouldn’t be coming from him.
After a while of chatting, both the host and guests were having a good time.
With the addition of Ren Bing Bai and Yu Zi You’s ten-person Squad, the number of Dawn team members instantly increased to forty-seven. Though it wasn’t completely full, it was not far off and there were as many as 8 Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad.
As time passed, some rumours gradually spread within Blue Sky Pass. No one knew where those rumours came from, but all the soldiers who were transferred back to the Inner Sanctum were soon vaguely aware of the news that the Humans were going to take back Great Evolution Pass.
Everyone was so excited that they could barely wait for that battle to start!
Several months later, it was finally time.
A message was sent to all the members of Dawn. Once they had all assembled, they were led by Yang Kai to Blue Sky Pass Main Square, where Squads of varying numbers had gathered from all directions of the Inner Sanctum.
By the time Yang Kai arrived with Dawn, hundreds of people had already assembled and more were on their way.
In less than a half cup of tea’s time, about 500 people had gathered at the square, which was the number Ding Yao had revealed to Yang Kai earlier.
Despite the large number of people, the square was silent. Under the calm exterior though was suppressed excitement.
Chai Fang, the Old Turtle’s Squad Leader, was standing not far from Yang Kai while squinting at him to attract his attention. Chai Feng said, “Brother Yang, judging from this situation, it seems like the rumours about recovering Great Evolution Pass might be true.”
When the news of recovering the Great Pass began spreading around the Inner Sanctum, Chai Fang also came to Yang Kai to discuss this matter with him, but Yang Kai didn’t dare to reveal anything and pretended not to know about it when talking to Chai Feng.
However, everyone knew that without the tacit approval from the higher-ups, the news wouldn’t have spread throughout the Inner Sanctum; therefore, Chai Feng had expected it to be more than 80% true back then, and now it seemed like he was right.
After realising that, Chai Fang felt very excited. Since the battle 200 years ago, the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass had been bored and idle. It was unbearable for them not to kill any enemies for 200 years, but now they could finally kill as many enemies as they could during this campaign to recover Great Evolution Pass.
“I think you’re right,” Yang Kai replied.
Then, Chai Fang added, “For more than 30,000 years, Great Evolution Pass has been occupied by the Black Ink Clan, resulting in a lot of pressure on the Great Passes to the left and right of the Great Evolution Theatre. If we can take back Great Evolution Pass, the pressure on those two Great Passes will be greatly reduced.”
Every Great Pass had a corresponding Theatre, so when Great Evolution Pass fell, all the Black Ink Clan in that Theatre would naturally be free of constraints and would have extra manpower to reinforce their fellow clansmen in the two neighbouring Theatres. Although the efficiency of their reinforcements wasn’t high due to the distance, they were still able to make the two Great Passes suffer a lot of hardships throughout the years.
In comparison to the other Great Passes, the two Great Passes adjacent to Great Evolution Pass also had more troops.
For example, there were about 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers in Blue Sky Pass, which was the same for most of the Human Great Passes. Even if there were Passes with over 40,000 soldiers, it still wouldn’t exceed that number by much.
But for those two Great Passes, they had more than 50,000 soldiers each. Otherwise, they would not be able to resist the Black Ink Clan’s attack because each of them needed to deal with an enemy with numbers equivalent to one and a half Theatres.
Chai Fang added, “Blue Sky Pass alone is sending out 500 troops. If every Great Pass dispatches a similar amount, wouldn’t we have gathered an army of 50,000 soldiers? Adding on the reinforcements sent from the two Great Passes themselves, *tsk* seems like the higher-ups are really determined to get back Great Evolution Pass.”
With a smile, Yang Kai elaborated, “Since we’ve decided to take it back, the higher-ups must have gone through a lot of consideration. Blue Sky Pass is a special case though, and deploying 500 people is not much of a burden for us, but the other Great Passes might not be able to send so many people.”
Because the war at Blue Sky Pass had entered a lull, it wouldn’t affect them too much if they sent out more soldiers; however, the other Great Passes didn’t have the same advantages as Blue Sky Pass, and although 500 people didn’t sound like much, it was equivalent to the strength of several Battalions.
While the two of them were communicating secretly, a sudden stream of light came from Eastern Army Headquarters and appeared before them in the blink of an eye.
The light dispersed and revealed the figures of 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters led by Xiang Shan and Ding Yao.
Yang Kai saw that among these Eighth-Order Masters was Grandmaster Ma Fan. It seemed like Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo had finally given in to the old man’s stubbornness.
Then, in front of everyone’s eyes, Xiang Shan took a step forward with his hands behind his back, looked around, and opened his mouth to speak, “Recently, there have been some rumours circulating in the Inner Sanctum, and I think you all have heard them, so today, I am here to tell you all that the matter of taking back Great Evolution Pass is true.”
Even though everyone standing here had guessed this already and was almost certain about it, there was still an uproar when Xiang Shan formally announced it.
Ignoring the excitement of the soldiers, Xiang Shan continued, “Since the fall of Great Evolution Pass more than 30,000 years ago, it has been under the control of the Black Ink Clan, and the strong defence line built by the Ancient Masters has become vulnerable. The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass even dared to venture forward and challenge the No-Return Pass. That is a humiliation to the entire Human Race!”
“For 30,000 years, we have been trying to recover Great Evolution Pass, but the situation here on the Black Ink Battlefield was horrendous and each Great Pass couldn’t afford to divide our forces, even if we wanted to. Now that 30,000 years have passed, after generations of hard work and effort, the chance has finally come. I can’t comment on the rights and wrongs of my ancestors, but as one of their descendants, I have only one goal.”
“To reclaim Great Evolution Pass!”
“Today, all 500 of you will join me on this endeavour, and whether we face life or death in the days to come, we will not embarrass the Human Race’s prestige. We will not forget the efforts of our forefathers and their original intentions. The enemy stands before us, so let us prepare for battle!”
“For victory!”
“Victory!” The crowd roared in excitement, and their shouts echoed across the sky.
With a slight nod, Xiang Shan suddenly waved his hand, and dozens of streams of light scattered to all parts of the crowd. The streams of light hovered in front of each Squad Leader level Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and in the streams of light was a Space Ring.
“Squad Leaders, please take care of your own supplies. There are Purifying Black Ink Pills and a spare warship inside each Space Ring. You will distribute those pills accordingly when the time comes.”
“Yes, sir!” The Squad Leaders all responded.
Xiang Shan nodded his head again and ordered, “Move out!”
Xiang Shan turned around and dashed towards the Central Hall, where the Hyper Space Array was located. Following behind him was Ding Yao and 9 other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, with the 500 Human soldiers further back.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai led Dawn at the front of the pack, followed by Chai Fang and the members of the Old Turtles.
Soon, all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the 500 soldiers arrived at the Hyper Space Array. Fortunately, the Central Hall was spacious enough to hold hundreds of people without being crowded.
An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master greeted them and cupped his fist to Xiang Shan, “Everything is prepared.”
Xiang Shan nodded, “Many thanks.”
The Eighth-Order Master moved aside, and Xiang Shan led hundreds of soldiers straight to the front of the Space Array. The array’s light glowed brightly while the patterns flashed and the array hummed, obviously indicating that it was already opened and ready to use.
Xiang Shan turned around, looked at the 500 people behind him and ordered, “Get into groups of 50 and spread out!”
The crowd followed the order, and under the leadership of their Squad Leaders, three to four Squads formed groups of 50 each.
Only Dawn and the Old Turtles did not need to move because the total number of members in those two Special Operations Squads was about 50 people.
Xiang Shan turned his head, looked at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around him, and nodded lightly. The next moment, the group of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters moved to a group of soldiers.
The one who arrived before Dawn was Grandmaster Ma Fan. No one could tell if it was pre-arranged, but like the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Grandmaster Ma Fan activated the power of his Small Universe, opened its portal, and turned it into a channel before he shouted to Yang Kai and the others, “Get in!”
Yang Kai naturally understood what the Eighth-Order Masters had planned, which was to use these 10 Eight-Order Masters to send all 500 soldiers to another Great Pass.
Due to the large distance between the Great Passes, each transmission across the Hyper Space Array consumed a huge amount of materials. The higher the strength of the cultivator being transmitted, the more materials they would have to consume.
Since Blue Sky Pass was sending 500 soldiers, it could still afford to do this one by one because it was rich with materials, but it was an unnecessary waste.
It also consumed a lot of time.
Instead of that, it would be better to use the Eighth-Order Masters’ Small Universes to expedite the process.
In comparison to transmitting 500 people, transmitting 10 Eighth-Order Masters would definitely consume far fewer materials, and it would take less time as well.
As a matter of fact, whenever cultivators moved from one Great Pass to another, they would usually use this method, which was to let lower-order cultivators enter the Small Universe of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. That way, they could save as many materials as possible.
The Small Universe of an Eighth-Order Master was, if they were only to accommodate Fifth-Order Masters, capable of carrying upwards of 1,000 people. If they were trying to hold Sixth-Order Masters, around 100 people would be the limit. For Seventh-Order Masters, perhaps 10 would be the limit. Any more would add a significant burden to the Eighth-Order Master’s Small Universe and cause unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, after Xiang Shan and others had carefully discussed this matter, they thought that using 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to transport 500 people would be the best choice.
After Grandmaster Ma Fan’s shout, Yang Kai charged into the portal first, followed by his team members. Then, one after another, each figure disappeared.
Only after everyone had entered the Small Universe did Grandmaster Ma Fan close the portal.
This was not the first time Ma Fan had done something like this; still, this was something that most would avoid doing if possible. Under normal circumstances, even if a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master could store someone of a lower Order in their Small Universe, they wouldn’t as the dangers of doing so were too great. It would be extremely difficult to stop their Small Universe from being damaged from the inside if someone they took in had malicious intentions. The High-Rank Masters could use their World Force to suppress such behaviour, but their Small Universe would still inevitably be contaminated with another person’s World Force as long as the other party simply circulated their strength, which was very troublesome to deal with.
Therefore, the cultivators in Yang Kai’s Small Universe had to leave when they were about to break through to the Open Heaven Realm. Another reason was that everyone had different paths of cultivation, and the disciples of the Void Dao Temple would have a low chance of success if they stayed in Yang Kai’s Small Universe when they wanted to break through.
However, the Black Ink Battlefield was a special case. It wasn’t uncommon to see High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters using their Small Universe to accommodate lower-order Masters. All Humans here were life-and-death comrades and fought side by side, so trust was not an issue.
After receiving the entire Dawn Squad, Grandmaster Ma Fan turned a little pale despite receiving less than 50 people.
On the other hand, Xiang Shan and others all seemed normal, especially Xiang Shan. He had taken in nearly 60 people yet still seemed like he was perfectly fine.
From that, it was obvious that though the two were in the same Realm, Ma Fan’s heritage was incomparable to those veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Blue Sky Pass. After all, the Dao of Artifact Refining consumed a lot of his time and energy, so his foundation was not nearly as rich.
After receiving all 500 people into their Small Universes, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not immediately teleport away through the array but instead stood in place and waited in silence.
That was because Blue Sky Pass wasn’t the only one sending people. As all the Great Passes were deploying some soldiers for the campaign, it was impossible for the receiving Space Array to support them all at once, so they had to wait for the signal from the other side.
It wasn’t a long wait. About half an hour later, the Hyper Space Array suddenly shone out a light that was extremely dazzling but was quickly withdrawn. It happened three times.
That was the signal they and that had been agreed on.
After the light around the array stabilised Xiang Shan took the lead, stepping onto the array, followed by the other Open Heaven Realm Masters.
“Activate the array!” The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was monitoring the Central Hall ordered. Then, the many already prepared soldiers around the array each formed a set of seals and started the array.
A dazzling light shone out from the edge of the Grand Array and gradually diffused towards the centre. It soon enveloped Xiang Shan and the other 10 Eighth-Order Masters.
The array hummed, and the hall shook.
A dozen breaths later, the dazzling light disappeared, and the array became dark. Xiang Shan and others who had been standing there were gone along with it.
The crystals placed in the seven Array Nodes around the Grand Array also dimmed.
Those seven Array Nodes corresponded to the Seven Elements. These crystals were originally arranged here, created by a special technique that gathered Energy from different materials. Even a crystal the size of a fingernail consumed a set of materials that could help create a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
If the crystals used up in this one transfer were gathered together, they could fill up an entire washbasin. One could imagine how many materials this teleportation had consumed.
Meanwhile, inside Ma Fan’s Small Universe, Yang Kai and others sat down cross-legged, calmed their powers, and tried to remain motionless.
This was the self-awareness every Open Heaven Realm Master that had been invited into a Small Universe should have.
Perhaps because he had cultivated the Dao of Artifact Refining too, Yang Kai noticed that there were a lot of Artifact Refining Dao Essences in this Small Universe as soon as he entered.
They were inside Grandmaster Ma Fan’s Small Universe after all, and as an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster, it was normal to have such a dense Dao Essence.
If Grandmaster Ma Fan’s Small Universe could rear living beings like Yang Kai’s Small Universe, there would certainly be a lot of Artifact Refining prodigies to emerge from here.
In fact, because of the special characteristic of the Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe, whenever a cultivator’s strength reached the Seventh Order, their Small Universe would turn from immaterial to material. By then, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a Legacy Disciple because they could raise a batch of living beings themselves, and following the subtle influence of their own Grand Dao Essence, there would eventually be a perfect candidate to inherit their legacy.
Under normal circumstances, however, High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would not do such a thing because their Small Universe would easily become unstable when fighting fierce battles, and the living creatures inside would be killed or injured. There was a possibility that hundreds of years of hard work would be lost in a single clash.
According to Yang Kai’s knowledge of this place, only those High-Rank Open Heaven from Cave-Heavens and Paradises who were about to die would do such a thing.
They knew they didn’t have long to live, and there was no hope for them in the future; therefore, the only thing they could do before their lives came to an end was to contribute to the continuation of their Sect.
That was the reason why there was no shortage of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, and why special Sects like Divine Cauldron Heaven and Divine Medicine Heaven could ensure the continuation of their inheritance from generation to generation.
Actually, Yang Kai could have taken the chance to cultivate in this environment and perhaps gain something.
But he did not care much about Dao of Artifact Refining, and the reason why he practised it was simply because it was related to a mission.
Now that his mission was long over, he hadn’t actively cultivated the Dao of Artifact Refining for a long time.
After waiting for almost an hour or so, the Small Universe suddenly buzzed, and a portal to the outside world opened.
The members of Dawn got up and exited the portal under Yang Kai’s lead, leaving Grandmaster Ma Fan’s Small Universe.
When the world suddenly changed, they found themselves in the middle of a huge open area.
Before the crowd could even stand firm, a vague buzzing noise entered their ears as they felt energy fluctuations coming at them from all directions.
These signs were all very familiar as all of them had encountered such scenes many times in their lives.
Shen Ao, who was standing beside Yang Kai, raised a brow and asked what everyone was thinking, “Is the Black Ink Clan attacking?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
He didn’t know which Great Pass this was, but it must be one of the two adjacent to Great Evolution Pass; after all, in order to recover Great Evolution Pass, starting from the two adjacent Great Passes would be the shortest route.
However, they didn’t anticipate that they would bump into the Black Ink Clan attacking the Great Passes. Also, Yang Kai couldn’t figure out whether this attack was a coincidence or a situation planned out by the Humans.
He guessed that it was most likely the latter. The Black Ink Clan’s sieges would generally last for many years, but there would be an equally long period of rest in between, so if the Humans were willing to, they could easily avoid such incidents.
In this case, it seemed like the higher-ups had decided to inflict serious damage on the Black Ink Clan forces in the neighbouring Theatres before retaking Great Evolution Pass so that the enemy wouldn’t be able to send reinforcements.
That was also a very natural choice.
Turning his head to look at the 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai guessed that the Black Ink Clan in this Theatre were about to suffer a heavy toll.
Dawn’s members were whispering to each other, just like in the other Squads. They seemed to have noticed the special situation here.
However, they were all still confused about which Great Pass they were in.
The Universe Chart they brought over from Blue Sky Pass was useless because each Theatre had its own Universe Chart. Although the chart had details about some nearby Theatres, the Universe Chart showed nothing of Great Passes that were further away.
While the members of Dawn were talking amongst themselves, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master suddenly came in from not far away and cupped his fist at Xiang Shan, “Senior Brother Xiang!”
Xiang Shan returned the greeting, “Junior Brother Hong.”
Though no one knew which Great Pass the man called Junior Brother Hong came from, he obviously was not a local. After he met up with Xiang Shan, they interacted via Divine Sense.
Yang Kai took the opportunity to look around and realised that many cultivators had gathered in different groups in the square.
The number of people in each group varied from about 200 to 300, but none of them had 500 like Blue Sky Pass.
Those groups of cultivators gathered together should have been the soldiers deployed by various Passes, and it seemed like Yang Kai’s guess was right. Because the situation in Blue Sky Pass was different, they could deploy 500 soldiers, while the other Great Passes couldn’t deploy as many.
In contrast to the 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers in each Great Pass, a few hundred people wouldn’t affect their strength too much.
But once all of them had gathered in this place, it would be a considerable amount of manpower.
Yang Kai estimated that there were almost 6,000 to 7,000 people gathered in this square, and this was before everyone had arrived. Once everyone had assembled, there would likely be several tens of thousands in total.
In every group of cultivators, there would also be Eighth-Order Masters, but their numbers varied as well; each group basically had more than five though.
It seemed like the other Great Passes had made the same choice as Blue Sky Pass, using the Small Universes from Eighth-Order Masters to send their soldiers here.
Yang Kai was secretly speechless. Besides the 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers gathered in this square, there were already about 100 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present.
The Black Ink Clan besieging this Great Pass at this moment were not only unlucky, they were about to feel miserable.
Just as Yang Kai was about to ask Grandmaster Ma Fan which Great Pass they were at, a voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, “Brat, over here!”
Following the direction of the voice, Yang Kai looked around and saw someone waving his hand from one of the groups.
It was Xu Ling Gong!
Yang Kai was stunned as he didn’t expect to see Xu Ling Gong there. Because Xu Ling Gong was a Seventh-Order Master, he must have come here to take part in the mission to recover Great Evolution Pass.
When Yang Kai saw Xu Ling Gong, he was happy because he was still his Elder after all, despite both of them having the same cultivation.
Following that, Yang Kai went up to Ding Yao and said, “Martial Uncle, there’s someone I know over there. I’ll head over and say hello.”
Ding Yao turned his head towards the areas where cultivators from Yin-Yang Pass were gathered and nodded lightly, “You’re free to roam around but do not leave the square.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai replied and turned back to relay a message to the members of Dawn before heading towards Xu Ling Gong.
When he arrived before Xu Ling Gong, Yang Kai bowed, “Martial Uncle Xu!”
He also bowed to Tang Qiu and the others, “Greetings, Seniors.”
On Yin-Yang Pass’ side, not only did Xu Ling Gong join this mission, but so did Tang Qiu and several other familiar faces. Among these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, there were some whom Yang Kai knew and some he didn’t.
Standing behind Xu Ling Gong were Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue, who also nodded at Yang Kai as a greeting.
Xu Ling Gong slapped his hand on Yang Kai’s shoulder and laughed heartily, “I never thought we would have the chance to fight side by side again. It’s good to have you with us because you tend to cause a lot of commotion, which I enjoy the most.”
Hearing that made Yang Kai laugh. Unsure if it was a compliment, he replied casually, “Martial Uncle Xu, you’re flattering me. I feel assured seeing you and the others have been doing fine.”
Xu Ling Gong nodded happily, “I’ll take it as you being filial.”
Yang Kai added, “It looks like quite a number of Yin-Yang Pass soldiers came this time. How is the situation back there?”
Just now, he had noticed that the number of soldiers from Yin-Yang Pass was similar to that of Blue Sky Pass, around 500 with 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Not only did the Eastern Army Commander, Tang Qiu, join this mission, but so did the Western Army Commander, Liu Zhi Ping.
Yang Kai had a deep impression of the Western Army Commander, which couldn’t be helped because the steamed stuffed buns she made were quite delicious. Back when he and the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass were hanging around at the Marketplace, he frequented Lin’s Steamed Bun Restaurant quite frequently.
Since two Army Commanders had come here in person, it obviously meant that everything was going well at Yin-Yang Pass; otherwise, these two wouldn’t have had the spare time.
One had to know that though Blue Sky Pass also had 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present, only Ding Yao, the Eastern Army Commander, joined this mission.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Tang Qiu said smilingly, “Thanks to you, we won a big victory against the Black Ink Clan more than 100 years ago and severely damaged their foundation. So, Yin-Yang Pass will have several hundred years of peace.”
Yang Kai understood what Tang Qin meant as soon as he heard it. The Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises he opened outside Yin-Yang Pass must have made a great contribution to winning the most recent war.
Like at Blue Sky Pass, Yin-Yang Pass took the Black Ink Clan Army by surprise with the help of those Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises. After activating countless traps, the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties. Almost the entire Black Ink Clan Army was killed in that war, while more than 20 Territory Lords had either died or were severely wounded.
Despite having experienced those traps once in the Blue Sky Theatre and being very cautious when attacking Yin-Yang Pass, unless the Black Ink Clan stopped besieging the Great Passes entirely, it would just be a matter of time before they fell into those traps. For the Black Ink Clan, there was no good solution to those death traps set by the Humans, and they would pay a high price when they encountered them whether they were prepared in advance or not.
“Originally, Yin-Yang Pass wanted to follow Blue Sky Pass’ example and organise a crusade, but unfortunately, we don’t have a solution to our logistics problem, nor do we have someone to arrange Universe Arrays as transit points, so we had to give up on that idea,” Tang Qiu said with some regret.
Yin-Yang Pass had considered asking Yang Kai to help them set up some Universe Arrays as transit points for their crusade; however, due to various reasons, the plan was eventually shelved.
Although they couldn’t organise a crusade, the situation in the Yin-Yang Theatre was quite stable right now, so they could deploy more people to support the mission to recover the Great Evolution Pass.
That was the reason why Yin-Yang Pass deployed 500 people and even two Army Commanders.
Among the two Army Commanders, Liu Zhi Ping would be joining the campaign to recover Great Evolution Pass while Tang Qiu would return to Yin-Yang Pass soon to oversee matters there. However, Yang Kai and the others weren’t informed about the decisions made by the higher-ups.
The only thing Yang Kai desperately wanted to know now was which Great Pass they were at.
When he asked this question, Tang Qiu said, “Didn’t Ding Yao tell you?”
Yang Kai replied, “I haven’t had time to ask yet.”
Tang Qiu explained, “This is Wind and Cloud Pass.”
Then it dawned on Yang Kai. Wind and Cloud Pass naturally corresponded to Wind and Cloud Paradise. Because of the Star Boundary’s World Tree and the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, Yang Kai had dealt with people from almost all of the Cave Heavens and Paradises and knew at least one or two people from each of them. In a way, he now had quite a wide network.
When mentioning Wind and Cloud Paradise, Yang Kai’s deepest impression of it was its auction houses. Thinking back, it was from Wind and Cloud Auction House that he got the pill recipe for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill.
If this place was Wind and Cloud Pass, the other Great Pass adjacent to Great Evolution Pass should be Azure Void Pass.
Azure Void Pass corresponded to Azure Void Cave Heaven, and these two Great Passes sandwiched Great Evolution Pass between them. Originally, they could have helped each other in battle, but after the fall of Great Evolution Pass, both Azure Void Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass fell under even more pressure.
Since the Black Ink Clan of the Great Evolution Theatre had no opponent to fight, they could gather their forces and develop without worry. They could frequently gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers to pass through the vast void and aid their fellow Black Ink Clansmen in the Azure Void and Wind and Cloud Theatres.
On average, Azure Void Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass faced more frequent assaults from the Black Ink Clan than other Great Passes. Usually, the Black Ink Clan would rest for 100 years between attacks on a Great Pass, but these two would see assaults every 70 to 80 years, and with far greater force than at other Great Passes.
Due to the immense pressure they faced, these two Great Passes had more than 50,000 troops each, or else they wouldn’t be able to resist the attacks.
Knowing that this place was Wind and Cloud Pass, Yang Kai nodded lightly and asked, “Senior, what’s our situation? I noticed that there are only 20 to 30 groups of reinforcements here. When will the troops from other Great Passes arrive?”
Tang Qiu explained, “Not all of the troops that the 108 Great Passes are deploying for this mission will be gathered at Wind and Cloud Pass. Only half of them will assemble here, while the other half will gather at Azure Void Pass, which is also facing an attack from the Black Ink Clan at this very moment. With the strength from the other Great Passes and the strength from the local garrison, we will crush the besieging Black Ink Clan Armies first. Then, Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies will be formed on the Wind and Cloud Pass side, while the Northern and Southern Armies will be formed on the Azure Void Pass side.”
“I’m not sure about the situation at Azure Void Pass, but here, the Eastern Army Commander will be Xiang Shan from Blue Sky Pass, and the Western Army Commander will be Liu Zhi Ping from Yin-Yang Pass. At that time, the four Armies will set out from both Great Passes and advance together with the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass leading the Army to recover Great Evolution Pass.”
Now that Yang Kai had the gist of the situation, he glanced at the troops in the square and silently estimated in his mind, “According to your words, each Army will have about 10,000 soldiers, and all four armies will have a total of some 40,000 people, right?”
Tang Qiu shook his head, “It will be more than that. According to the original plan, the estimated manpower needed to recover the Great Evolution Pass should be around 60,000. In other words, each army will have at least 15,000 soldiers. The only way to take back Great Evolution Pass is to ensure we have 60,000 soldiers.”
A war to re-take territory was different from simply defending it. 30,000 to 40,000 troops in a Human Great Pass were sufficient to ensure that they wouldn’t be defeated, but the risks of attacking an entrenched position also played a part in that.
By the same token, the Black Ink Clan had been occupying Great Evolution Pass for more than 30,000 years. Even if they didn’t have the same means as Humans, 30,000 years of managing that place would be enough for them to set up traps and other defensive arrangements.
This time it was the Black Ink Clan’s turn to rely on the risk of attacking a Great Pass. If the Humans wanted to conquer the Great Evolution Pass, they had to ensure that they had a much superior force, so 60,000 was thought to be the minimum requirement.
In the case of Wind and Cloud Pass, if they gathered all the troops deployed by the other Great Passes, they might be able to assemble 15,000 soldiers, equivalent to an Army’s strength.
But considering that once Great Evolution Pass was successfully retaken, Wind and Cloud Pass wouldn’t be under as much pressure anymore, so they wouldn’t need 50,000 soldiers to hold the line anymore. Therefore, Wind and Cloud Pass would be deploying 15,000 troops to help fill in the vacancies for Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies.
It was the same for Azure Void Pass. They would assemble an Army gathered from all the troops sent by the other Great Passes and deploy an Army of their own, forming two Armies as well.
The Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern Armies would meet at Great Evolution Pass, where Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor would take command and decide how to recover the Great Pass, which had been lost for more than 30,000 years.
Tang Qiu let out a light sigh as he spoke with mixed emotions, “We don’t know how many of us will survive this battle. Yang Boy, this campaign to recover our lost territory will be more dangerous than any battle you’ve faced before. You must remember not to act impulsively and put your safety first out of all things.”
“Yes, Sir!” Yang Kai nodded respectfully.
After Tang Qiu’s explanation, Yang Kai now had a deeper understanding of the situation and the obstacles he would be facing later. On the other hand, these weren’t exactly secrets, so he guessed the others might find out from all sorts of sources in short order.
Back at the square, the atmosphere was becoming increasingly lively as cultivators from different Great Passes arrived one after another, and early birds, like Yang Kai, were socialising with the others.
Many Fellow Brothers and Sisters came from the same Cave Heaven or Paradise, but were allocated to different Great Passes after arriving at the Black Ink Battlefield. Once they separated, it would be hundreds to thousands of years, or even longer, before they could meet again. They might even never see each other again until they meet in the afterlife.
The battle for Great Evolution Pass had called for all Great Passes to deploy troops and gather in Wind and Cloud and Azure Void Pass, which provided those cultivators from the same Sects a chance to reunite.
Though everyone came here from different Great Passes, they only had one goal, which was to recover Great Evolution Pass.
All the Open Heaven Realm Masters had thrown the thought of life and death out of their heads. Also, there wasn’t much sadness in the air. Instead, they all felt proud and delighted to be reunited with their friends.
Everyone couldn’t stop talking about how their own Great Pass defended themselves against the Black Ink Clan. Among all the cultivators present, the cultivators from Blue Sky Pass undoubtedly became the centre of attention. That couldn’t be helped as Blue Sky Pass was the only one that successfully launched and completed a crusade. Not only did they manage to secure a forward base in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, they also managed to snatch a large piece of territory from them. It had been over 200 years since then, yet the Black Ink Clan still didn’t dare to cross the new border.
At the temporary camp of the 500 soldiers from Yin-Yang Pass, Yang Kai chatted with Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue for a while longer before excusing himself and walking towards a quiet place where he stopped before a cultivator who was adjusting his breathing while sitting cross-legged on the ground.
That person looked up at Yang Kai and showed him an ugly expression.
With a slight chuckle, Yang Kai said, “Brother Blood Crow, we’ve crossed so much land to meet each other again. Can’t you be at least a little happy to see an old friend?”
That was right. Blood Crow was also included among the 500 people deployed by Yin-Yang Pass. Though Yang Kai noticed him long ago, he had to speak to Tang Qiu, so he didn’t have time to greet the former.
Meanwhile, Blood Crow looked as if he didn’t want anything to do with Yang Kai and snarled, “There’s bound to be trouble wherever you are, so you’d better stay away from me.”
Having been at the Black Ink Battlefield for quite a while, Blood Crow had accepted his fate, but he couldn’t help but think, [If this brat hadn’t got in the way, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. Maybe I would have still been cultivating peacefully inside Blood Monster Cave Heaven, gathering more strength and restoring my cultivation to when I was an Eighth-Order Divine Monarch.]
Yang Kai chuckled, “Brother Blood Crow, why are you still holding on to the past? Now that we’re both here on the Black Ink Battlefield, we’ll have to fight side by side, so we should watch out for each other.”
However, Blood Crow just snapped, “Never. When we get on the battlefield, remember to tell me in advance where you will be. That way, I can stay as far as I can.”
At that moment, Xu Ling Gong approached them, “Emneties should be solved rather than settled. Blood Crow, the way you acted before was too merciless, and Yang Kai only did what he had to to be safe. Why do you have to hold onto past grudges?”
Xu Ling Gong also heard about what happened back at the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, which was why he could understand what was going on after listening to Yang Kai and Blood Crow’s conversation.
“Come on, have you heard of the saying, ‘a smile dissolves hatred, while wine dissolves all resentment’? After you finish these bottles, you’ll let bygones be bygones!” While saying so, Xu Ling Gong took out two bottles of wine and tossed them to Yang Kai and Blood Crow respectfully.
Blood Crow accepted one, but still kept quiet.
Then, Xu Ling Gong slapped Blood Crow’s shoulder with so much force that his figure shrank a little. Following that, Xu Ling Gong ordered, “Drink! If you don’t, I’ll take it as you having no respect for me.”
Feeling his lips twitching, Blood Crow complained in secret that if he still had his Eight-Order cultivation, a mere Seventh-Order Junior wouldn’t have had the guts to act so arrogantly before him. But with his current situation, he could only suppress his anger and abide by Xu Ling Gong’s words.
After opening the bottle, he raised his head and gulped down the wine.
Yang Kai smiled and drank his wine as well.
In the meantime, Xu Ling Gong laughed heartily, “Very good. That’s how you should solve grudges.”
Wind and Cloud Pass only had one Hyper Space Array, but had to receive troops sent from more than 50 Great Passes, so it naturally took quite a long time. Moreover, running the Hyper Space Array continuously was troublesome, so that process was incredibly time-consuming.
Under that premise, the Hyper Space Array could only be used once daily. In other words, only one Great Pass could send their troops here each day.
The 500 people from Blue Sky Pass didn’t arrive too early, and they weren’t late either, as half of the 50 Great Passes were still waiting to send their troops over.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was still restlessly attacking. There were times when they could feel the strong energy blasts that would pass through the multiple Spirit Array barriers and into the square.
It was tough for those cultivators gathered in the square as they knew large groups of Black Ink Clansmen were attacking outside, yet they couldn’t go out to kill the enemy. Those cultivators from the other Great Passes had to stay put before all the others arrived, and Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies had officially been formed.
This agony continued for 20 more days.
When the last troops from the other Great Passes arrived at Wind and Cloud Pass, there were already 15,000 cultivators gathered in the square, including over 200 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
It was an unprecedented lineup. Though the number of cultivators gathered here did not outnumber any of the Great Passes, the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters far outnumbered all of them.
All those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were here basically because they were tasked with sending soldiers from their Great Passes over and had to stay in Wind and Cloud Pass temporarily because the Hyper Space Array here couldn’t send them back for the moment.
At the same time, their presence was also to lay the groundwork for the upcoming battle.
Following the orders from the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from all Great Passes, those cultivators who were chatting with old friends immediately returned to their assigned spots, and the previously lively square immediately fell silent.
A short while later, a large group of cultivators entered the square from all directions. The incoming troop had about 15,000 cultivators and was on par with those already in the square.
After that, the square now had 30,000 soldiers!
Seeing the situation, Yang Kai knew that if the previous 15,000 soldiers gathered in the square were from the other Great Passes, the 15,000 who had just arrived were soldiers that belonged to Wind and Cloud Pass.
Their actions did seem more orderly. Though Yang Kai didn’t mean to offend anyone, that group of soldiers were from the same Great Pass and had a tacit understanding, but Yang Kai and the others came from different Great Passes, so both troops were incomparable in terms of coordination.
The scene of 30,000 soldiers gathering in one place was spectacular.
At that moment, another two figures dashed over from a distance and stopped right in the middle of the square. It was a man and a woman, and they were both Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The man was Xiang Shan from Blue Sky Pass, while the woman was Liu Zhi Ping from Yin-Yang Pass.
Xiang Shan had a dignified air to him, while Liu Zhi Ping cut a heroic figure. Though there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present, these two both had strong and oppressive temperaments that allowed them to attract everyone’s attention whenever they appeared.
Looking around the square, Xiang Shan announced, “Today, there are soldiers gathered here from more than 50 Great Passes with only one goal, to take back Great Evolution Pass. We also have many soldiers from Wind and Cloud Pass joining us, and so, with the recommendations from each Great Pass, and the approval from all Old Ancestors, we will now form Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies. All soldiers, hear my command!”
“I declare Xiang Shan the Army Commander of Great Evolution’s Eastern Army!”
“I declare Liu Zhi Ping the Army Commander of Great Evolution’s Western Army!”
“Yes, sir!” All the soldiers in the square responded in unison.
Then, Xiang Shan continued, “Yan Jia? Step forward and receive your orders!”
Somewhere in the square, an elderly Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm Master stepped out from the crowd, flew forward, and stopped before Xiang Shan while cupping his fist, “Yan Jia. Ready to receive my order!”
Xiang Shan then solemnly placed a token representing Yan Jia’s identity on the latter’s hand while seriously ordering, “I assign you as Division Commander of Great Evolution’s Eastern Army’s First Division!”
While holding the Division Commander’s jade token, Yan Jia yelled, “Yes, sir!”
Then, he dashed back to his place.
Following that, Liu Zhi Ping’s crisp voice rang out, “Lu Feng!”
Someone leapt up from within the crowd and landed before Liu Zhi Ping before cupping his fist and bowing, “Lu Feng at your command!”
Looking at him, Liu Zhi Ping nodded lightly, “I declare you Division Commander of Great Evolution’s Western Army’s First Division. I charge you to lead your fellow soldiers and bravely destroy the enemy!”
With a low shout, Lu Feng replied, “I won’t disappoint you!”
Then, Xiang Shan yelled again, “Xu Yong Da!”
“Xu Yong Da is at your disposal!”
“I assign you as Division Commander of the Eastern Army’s Second Division!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Shu Yin, come forward and receive your orders!”
“I declare you as Division Commander for the Western Army’s Second Division!”
“I humbly accept!”
…..
As the orders were given out one by one, and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were assigned their positions, the basis of Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies was formed in Wind and Cloud Pass’s central square.
On the Azure Void Pass’ side, the Northern and Southern Armies would similarly be organized.
No one here was a newcomer who was unfamiliar with the Black Ink Clan or the Black Ink Battlefield, so the process was carried out smoothly.
When Yang Kai had just arrived at Blue Sky Pass, Feng Ying explained all of this to him. Simply put, Squads were the most basic grouping of Human soldiers on the Black Ink Battlefield.
10 to 15 people was the norm for a Squad, with a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as the Squad Leader. Of course, other specially formed elite Squads like Dawn also existed in the other Great Passes. However, each Great Pass had different numbers of Special Operations Squads.
Above a Squad was a Battalion, which consisted of around 100 people.
Above a Battalion was a Division, and above a Division was an Army, of which each Great Pass would have four.
Therefore, with over 30,000 people being separated into Eastern and Western Armies, each Army would have 15,000 people, and on average, each army would have 30 Divisions each.
As for the position of Division Commander, only Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were eligible for such a post. In other words, the Eastern and Western Armies would have a total of sixty Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
And that was only for the Eastern and Western Armies.
The Northern and Southern Armies would be formed on Azure Void Pass’ side, and they would be in the same situation here.
Under that premise, the Great Evolution Army would have over 100 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!
Having 60,000 soldiers, over 100 Eighth-Order Masters, and being personally led by Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor, this was the confidence and capital the Humans had to take back Great Evolution Pass.
Of course, just as Tang Qiu had said, this battle would be very dangerous, and no one could tell how many of these 60,000 soldiers would survive.
It only took about one hour to appoint the several dozen Division Commanders.
After the Division Commanders had been appointed, Xiang Shan announced, “All Divisions are to gather their own troops. In half a day, you will all follow me and fight our way out of Wind and Cloud Pass!”
“Yes, sir!”
After that, all the Division Commanders instantly busied themselves with their duties. Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping only announced Division Commander positions. Below the Division Commanders were Battalion Commanders, which they had to deal with on their own as the two Army Commanders wouldn’t interfere with this matter.
However, the higher-ups had already devised a plan to divide the 30,000 soldiers in the square and allocated which Battalion the troops from each Great Pass would belong to, so the Division Commanders only needed to gather the troops according to the provided lists.
While Yang Kai and the others were waiting for the troops to be organized, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters weren’t idle.
As allocating personnel also required careful selection, all the members for each Battalion and Division needed to be coordinated in advance.
The square was constantly filled with shouts from each Division Commander as they delegated positions to the soldiers. Meanwhile, troops from different Great Passes were also moving quickly around the square, finding which Battalion they belonged to.
Yang Kai and Chai Feng looked at each other, and the latter said, “Brother Yang, I don’t think we’ll be allocated to the same Battalion, but I think we should ask about how we will be operating during battle.”
Since the two Special Operations Squads had about 50 people each, equivalent to half a Battalion’s strength, they naturally wouldn’t get allocated into the same Battalion.
Moreover, back at Blue Sky Pass, the Special Operations Squads didn’t follow the same arrangements as the others and only reported to the Army Commanders.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Brother Chai is right. Let’s go.”
The two then walked towards Xiang Shan.
When they arrived before him, they paid their respects, and Yang Kai asked, “Sir, what are both mine and Brother Chai’s Squads going to be doing during battle?”
After glancing at them, Xiang Shan said only five words, “Act according to the situation!”
Yang Kai acknowledged Xiang Shan’s words and replied, “Understood!”
By ‘act according to the situation,’ Xiang Shan meant that there wouldn’t be any restrictions for their two Squads, and they wouldn’t have to follow the ordinary chain of command. This was good news for the two Squads because, without any hindrance, they could better utilise their strengths.
Of course, there were also downsides to this arrangement. Because they were not collaborating with the other Squads, they were unlikely to receive many reinforcements and had to rely on themselves during battle.
Dawn and the Old Turtle were mentally prepared for that because it was the same as when they were back at Blue Sky Pass. The Special Operations Squads were always free to do their own thing during battle, which had both risks and rewards.
After getting Xiang Shan’s reply, Yang Kai and Chai Feng felt reassured and returned to their spots.
While watching the two leave, Liu Zhi Ping frowned slightly, “Senior Brother Xiang, Yang Kai is an important factor in this war. Wouldn’t it be better if we arranged for him to be in the Central Army?”
The centre position inside the Army was the most important position within the Great Army and was also the safest place. If they could arrange for Yang Kai to be a member of the Central Army, it would be easier for them to protect him.
Before they came here, Ding Yao had made the same suggestion as Liu Zhi Ping.
Xiang Shan, however, replied, “While we’re moving as an Army, the centre is indeed much safer, but once we engage in battle, nowhere is safe because it’s chaos on the battlefield, and we have no one to rely on but ourselves. Since he came here, he must have come here to kill the enemy. That brat has been through all sorts of incredible situations already and survived, so it won’t be easy for him to find himself in grave danger.”
If it had been another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, maybe that person would have paid more attention to Yang Kai’s safety and might even arrange a safer position for him; however, Xiang Shan had always been straightforward and made a name for himself in the Blue Sky Theatre by killing many Black Ink Clan Masters with his own blade. For a person like him, how could he possibly give Yang Kai special attention? In his opinion, every soldier was the same, and soldiers who could kill the Black Ink Clan were good soldiers. No one should have special consideration.
Though Yang Kai’s safety was important to the bigger picture, Xiang Shan had previously done careful research on him and knew he was proficient in the Dao of Space, which was a very effective weapon to maintain one’s safety on the battlefield. If Yang Kai didn’t make any foolish decisions, he wouldn’t be in danger.
Seeing that Xiang Shan was so determined, Liu Zhi Ping didn’t say anything more.
Before half a day was up, the Eastern and Western Armies had been successfully formed, and each Division and Battalion was organized and ready, releasing murderous intent into the air.
Until this moment, the Black Ink Clan was still attacking, and they seemed to be pushing harder than before. The entire Wind and Cloud Pass seemed to be filled with the reverberating echoes of explosions from outside attacks. Though several shields and barriers were blocking the fallout, the rumbling could still penetrate the Inner Sanctum.
The Wind and Cloud Pass originally had 50,000 soldiers, and they relied on this great army, which exceeded the other Great Passes’ in number, to ward off the enemy. However, 15,000 out of the original 50,000 soldiers were chosen to join Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies.
In other words, the number of Wind and Cloud Pass soldiers was now around 35,000.
Though relying on the great strength of the Great Pass could help those 35,000 soldiers defend Wind and Cloud Pass for a time, they were still in a disadvantageous spot on the battlefield with their diminished numbers. The current range of movement for Wind and Cloud Pass’ soldiers had been reduced to within a 10,000-kilometre radius of the outer walls. Such a region was the most effective range for the defensive Artifacts and Arrays of the great Pass, any further away and the amount of support that could be given would drop off significantly.
The Black Ink Clan Army was ecstatic about the Human’s sudden weakened force. After many years of battling each other, the Black Ink Clan had never gained such a large advantage. Though they weren’t sure why the Human Army’s strength had suddenly weakened, the Territory Lords responsible for organising this siege saw hope for victory.
It was as if the Black Ink Clan only had to fight a little harder, and they would be able to take down this Human Great Pass and make it into the second Great Evolution Pass.
The Black Ink Clan had yet to gain any further ground in this vast Black Ink Battlefield since the successful conquest of their first Human Great Pass 30,000 years ago because the Humans’ persistence and tenacity rendered them unable to do so.
If they could secure Wind and Cloud Pass, it would definitely be a big blow to the Human’s morale, and the Black Ink Clan soldiers at Wind and Cloud Theatre would become heroes.
Therefore, the Black Ink Clan had almost deployed all of their forces to the battlefield, wanting to successfully conquer Wind and Cloud Pass in one fell swoop and kill off every Human here!
A Royal Lord hid inside a large Black Ink Cloud, silently watching everything.
It had been 20 years since his Army began attacking Wind and Cloud Pass, and he had fought with the Old Ancestor keeping watch over the Great Pass three times. Every time they battled, it would cause a huge commotion, yet it would always end in a tie, with both of them suffering some minor injuries.
But those injuries wouldn’t affect the overall situation on the battlefield, nor would they have any effect on his strength.
He noticed the changes on the Humans’ side and knew it was a strange phenomenon. Though he had no idea what the Humans were up to and why they would intentionally weaken their own forces, he had an instinctive feeling that Wind and Cloud Pass was plotting something.
At first, he wanted to find a chance to sneak a look at the Inner Sanctum’s situation, but the Wind and Cloud Pass had all sorts of barriers protecting it, and despite his strength as a Royal Lord, he couldn’t see through them.
After hesitating for almost half a day, the Royal Lord decided that no matter what the Humans were scheming, it was a great chance for his Army to defeat their enemy. Moreover, he had gotten a message from the front lines, saying that 200,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers from Great Evolution Theatre would be coming to reinforce them soon.
Once this 200,000-strong army arrived, no matter what the Humans had in mind, his side would have an absolute advantage over them, so the Humans could forget their plans.
All he needed to do now was to create more pressure on the Humans and not let them have any time to rest. After the 200,000 reinforcements arrived, they could easily conquer this eye-sore of a Great Pass.
Just as he was thinking about that, a figure suddenly flew out from within Wind and Cloud Pass and charged straight at the Black Ink Cloud where he was hiding.
The Royal Lord was slightly shocked, but soon roared, “Old Dog, you court death!”
He never expected the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass would take the initiative to attack him in this situation. Both races had been at war for countless years, and with the Wind and Could Pass’ special situation, it wasn’t easy for the Old Ancestor to actively launch an attack. Therefore, he had always been the one to initiate the battles with the Old Ancestor.
It was very rare that this Old Ancestor would come to him to pick a fight.
In all three times they had battled in recent years, the Royal Lord had always been the first to make a move, with the Human Old Ancestor having to accept his challenge for a battle. However, he never anticipated that the old man would actually attack him first.
Feeling like he was being disdained, the Royal Lord came forward in a rage. When the two figures clashed, chaos erupted all around them.
The vigorous battle had only just begun, but the Royal Lord suddenly sensed something and turned around to look somewhere not far away. What he saw was a child charging at him from the void.
That child looked so young that it was as if he could kill her with a snort. The Royal Lord was stunned, [Is this… a Human child?]
He had been battling the Humans for so many years, yet he had never seen what a Human child looked like. All the Humans in the Black Ink Battlefield were at least Fifth-Order Open Heaven Masters, so how could there be children here?
But at that moment, the seemingly harmless little girl gave the Royal Lord a huge sense of danger.
The Royal Lord didn’t know where that sense of danger came from, as the little girl didn’t seem to have a strong aura coming from her; however, just as he was in the midst of his confusion, he saw the little girl smiling mischievously before quickly forming a set of hand seals. Then, the shape of a Yin-Yang Fish appeared and enveloped a huge portion of the void around her.
At the same time, the little girl’s expression suddenly transformed as she rapidly grew into a lovely young woman.
That young woman was exuding the terrifying air of an Old Ancestor!
The Royal Lord was so frightened his face drained of all colour, [Another Old Ancestor? Why do the Humans have two Old Ancestors?]
For so many years, Wind and Cloud Pass only had one Old Ancestor, so it should have been impossible for a second to appear so suddenly.
Was she a newly advanced Old Ancestor? Or did another Great Pass send her over as reinforcements?
In just a short amount of time, the Royal Lord drew some conclusions. The young woman in front of him was not a recently advanced Old Ancestor. She was Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor, who had been sent here as reinforcements.
Because the Black Ink Nests were so efficient in spreading intelligence, the Royal Lords had naturally been communicating with each other. He had once communicated with the Royal Lord of the Yin-Yang Theatre and knew that the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass cultivated a strange Secret Art that allowed her to sometimes transform herself into a young woman or a child.
Noting the special and obvious transformation of his opponent, the Royal Lord was sure that the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass had arrived here at Wind and Cloud Pass.
That realisation shocked the Royal Lord!
Why would the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass come all the way here? Had the Humans given up on Yin-Yang Pass? This was the first time the Royal Lord faced such a situation. Every Old Ancestor was responsible for overseeing their own Great Pass and would not easily leave.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t figure out the reason though, because the appearance of the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass was the biggest crisis he had faced in his entire lifetime.
If it were a one-on-one fight, this Royal Lord could easily hold his ground against an Old Ancestor, but if it were two against one, it would become an impossible fight to win, and if he was the slightest bit careless during the battle, he might even be killed.
That was why he knew he had to leave, and he was about to escape when he sensed the Old Ancestor aura from the former little girl.
But how could Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor let him escape just like that? With all kinds of mysterious Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at his disposal, he tied down the Royal Lord and stopped the latter from quickly escaping the battlefield.
During that slight moment of hindrance, the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor was able to use the Yin-Yang Fish she condensed to envelop the Royal Lord. At that instant, the Yin and Yang Energy began to swirly, and the Universe seemed to invert. The Royal Lord felt as if an entire Universe World was suddenly pressing down on him, causing his knees to bend. Then, because of his slight moment of carelessness, he was hit by Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor hard, the terrifying explosion of power drawing a groan of pain from his lips.
When Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor arrived, it became two against one, and the Royal Lord was quickly overwhelmed.
The sudden appearance of another Human Old Ancestor terrified the Black Ink Clan Army, and all the Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield stared in horror at the direction the Old Ancestor’s aura appeared from, hoping that it was just their imagination.
But they knew it wasn’t their imagination when they saw their Royal Lord being besieged by two Human Old Ancestors.
[The Humans really have another Old Ancestor!]
Terrified, the Black Ink Clan stopped attacking, and the once chaotic battlefield temporarily fell silent.
The Territory Lords were particularly frightened and secretly rejoiced that the newly appearing Old Ancestor did not seek them out and instead directly went to battle the Royal Lord.
Though the Royal Lord had to face two enemies at once, he was temporarily safe and didn’t need to fear for his life, but if the new Old Ancestor came and attacked the Territory Lords, none of them would be able to withstand more than three strikes from her. By then, many Territory Lords would be seriously injured if not killed.
Because of the sudden appearance of a second Old Ancestor, the Black Ink Clan Army lost all momentum, and just as the Territory Lords were hesitating about whether to continue the battle or retreat, all the main gates of Wind and Cloud Pass opened!
Human Warships sailed out in all directions and charged straight into the battlefield, quickly reinforcing the Wind and Cloud Pass soldiers.
Great Evolution’s two Armies had a combined might of 30,000 soldiers, and all of them charged into battle at once. Some 8,000 Masters dashed out from each gate and instantly doubled the strength of the Human Army battling against the Black Ink Clan.
The Black Ink Clansmen’s eyes bulged as the flood of Warships appeared from all directions.
What terrified them even more was the aura of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that exploded into the air after the Warships arrived on the battlefield. The number of auras was so high that the Black Ink Clan soldiers felt despair.
50 Great Passes had sent troops to Wind and Cloud Pass, and although each one sent a different number of Eighth-Order Masters to escort these soldiers, the minimum number was 5 while some had sent as many as 10.
As such, when all the troops sent by the other Great Passes had gathered, the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had reached a shocking 300 plus!
Among those over 300 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, dozens of them had been appointed as Division Commanders of the newly formed Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies and would be leading them to take back Great Evolution Pass.
As for the other 200 plus Eighth-Order Masters, they didn’t leave Wind and Cloud Pass immediately as they were waiting for this very moment.
How terrifying would it be when more than 300 new Eighth-Order Masters swarmed into the battlefield all at once?
The Black Ink Clan hadn’t dared to think about such a scenario before, but now they were witnessing it with their own eyes.
Their confidence was immediately crushed like dry weeds! Suddenly, the odds were absolutely against them!
The Territory Lords finally understood why the new Old Ancestor hadn’t come to find trouble with them. There was simply no need for her to.
The Old Ancestor had her own opponent, which was the Royal Lord, and the two Old Ancestors could easily suppress their opponent and if they were lucky, might even be able to kill him. In comparison with a few Territory Lords, of course, it was more valuable to kill a Royal Lord.
As for the Territory Lords, the swarm of Eighth-Order Masters would deal with them.
How many Territory Lords were there in the Wind and Cloud Theatre? While there might be a few more than in other Theatres, the number was definitely not higher than 90. With reinforcements from the Great Evolution Theatre, that number might reach as high as 100 Territory Lords. With that amount of Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan had always had an advantage over the Eighth-Order Masters from Wind and Cloud Pass, but that balance was shattered today. What’s more, not all 100 Territory Lords were taking part in the siege as some of them naturally had to remain in the Black Ink Clan’s territory to stand guard and oversee the steady deployment of reinforcements.
The huge difference in strength between the two Armies made the Territory Lords immediately fall into a desperate struggle. When all of Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies charged out of Wind and Cloud Pass, three to four Eighth-Order Masters were able to target each Territory Lord.
It only took a few breaths for the first Territory Lord aura to be extinguished! That unlucky Territory Lord just happened to be close to the very front of the Black Ink Army and was swiftly surrounded by five Eighth-Order Masters. He was killed on the spot without even being given a chance to defend himself.
The first Territory Lord’s demise was like a catalyst, and soon, the auras of Territory Lords were being snuffed out all across the battlefield.
Not only had the Territory Lords fallen into a desperate situation though, the Armies that belonged to those Territory Lords were all caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events. The Humans were attacking so viciously, and their Army had dramatically increased in strength. This great change of fortunes made the Black Ink Clan’s originally advantageous situation fall into a complete rout. As the Warships sailed across the battlefield, swaths of Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered.
All across the battlefield, large patches of void were wiped clean by powerful Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques or the offensive Arrays of the swarming Warships.
Since Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies charged out of Wind and Cloud Pass, it only took them a cup of tea’s time to severely injure or kill countless Black Ink Clan soldiers and execute more than 10 Territory Lords. Though the rest of the Territory Lords weren’t dead, they were all in dire states and were at risk of perishing at any moment.
A long roar suddenly sounded throughout the void, and its sharp pitch seemed to echo right beside everyone’s ear.
That roar belonged to the Royal Lord. After he roared, rich Black Ink Strength erupted from his body and he turned into a black-coloured cloud before shooting away.
The Royal Lord had ordered a retreat and fled! He knew that if he stayed any longer, all the Territory Lords he brought to this battle would die. If they left now, they would surely suffer heavy casualties while being chased down, but at least some of them could survive. Moreover, the longer they delayed, the fewer of them would be able to escape. If things went particularly poorly, even the Royal Lord himself might not be able to leave with his life.
After so many years of battling each other, the Royal Lord knew the Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor’s temperament and methods very well.
On the other hand, it was his first time battling the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor, so he knew practically nothing about her capabilities. Moreover, the single Divine Ability she had shown today had already made him feel wary of her. He could still remember the painful feeling when that Yin-Yang Fish pressed down on him, slowing all his movements while seemingly grinding apart his body.
Unlike the Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor, Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor’s attack wasn’t quick and penetrating, but instead longer lasting and difficult to grasp.
Now that these two Old Ancestors had banded together, their seemingly opposite methods complimented each other and compensated for what the other lacked.
Seeing the Royal Lord’s obvious attempt to escape, both Old Ancestors naturally wouldn’t let him go so easily.
“Trying to escape? In your dreams!” Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor mocked as her figure was engulfed in a stream of light and she raced after him like a shadow. At the same time, the Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor was right behind the Royal Lord and was continuously launched a barrage of attacks at the fleeing enemy’s back.
While the three figures entangled with each other, they rapidly flew off into the distance.
On the other hand, right after the Royal Lord’s roar, one by one, the Territory Lords began to utilise their Life-Saving Techniques to try and escape from the battlefield.
But every Territory Lord had several Eighth-Order Masters surrounding them, so how could they escape that easily?
In the end, only about 20 Territory Lords managed to escape by using Secret Techniques that damaged their own foundations in exchange for bursts of strength and speed. As for those who failed, they were like cornered beasts that fought back wildly, despite knowing that death was inevitable!
After the Royal Lord and a couple dozen Territory Lords escaped from the battlefield, the already flailing Black Ink Clan Army lost all will to resist. Along with the increasing number of fallen Territory Lords, it was certain that they would soon be wiped out, so the surviving Black Ink Clansmen no longer even tried to fight back and only did everything they could to escape.
It was foreseeable that after this battle, the Black Ink Clan in Wind and Cloud Theatre would be beaten half to death, and the Wind and Cloud Pass would gain a similar period of peace to Blue Sky Pass and Yin-Yang Pass.
In the void to the East of Wind and Cloud Pass, Yang Kai had taken point with six other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in a spearhead formation. Dawning Light took up position in the middle of this formation, while Bai Yi stood at the bow of the Warship with her longbow. The Squad had been rampaging across the vast battlefield like wild horses since the moment they emerged from Wind and Cloud Pass.
Everywhere Dawn passed, they would wipe out every last Black Ink Clansmen they came across. Working together, they were all but unstoppable, and no matter how many Black Ink Clansmen stood in front of them, none could even slow their momentum.
Ren Bing Bai was assigned to the rear left side of the formation. Since he joined Dawn, this was his first time fighting alongside Yang Kai and the others.
He and Yu Zi You had previously discussed in private how important it was for them to perform well this time; after all, they were both Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it would look bad if they didn’t show their mettle.
The two were originally a Squad Leader and Vice Squad Leader of a 10-man Squad, so they were well-versed in how to cooperate with a Warship to kill their enemies.
But after they followed Dawn into battle, they realised that all of their past experiences couldn’t be used in this Special Operations Squad.
They found themselves unable to make a big contribution on this chaotic and enemy-filled battlefield.
The entire Dawn Squad’s soul was on the man in the lead.
Feudal Lords were like chickens or dogs before him, and with every strike of his spear, he would kill such an enemy. Even if he didn’t manage to kill a Feudal Lord in one move, the other Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad only had to attack once more to end the enemy’s life.
It had not been long since they charged out of the Wind and Cloud Pass, but Yang Kai had already slaughtered more than 10 Feudal Lords!
And that was just the amount he had killed. There were even more that were injured.
Meanwhile, on the bow of Dawning Light, Bai Yi, who hailed from Divine Feather Paradise and had transcendent archery skills, would kill a Feudal Lord every time she drew her bow.
Though she didn’t attack frequently, every arrow she fired struck its target and greatly decreased the pressure Dawn was facing.
All the Arrays on the Warship also released their power continuously, taking aim at the largest groups of Black Ink Clansmen, causing severe casualties whenever they attacked.
To Ren Bing Bai, Dawn was like a red-hot knife cutting into butter, reducing every enemy that blocked their path to mist.
How much of a terrifying tacit understanding and astonishing efficiency in killing enemies did Dawn have?
Was this the heritage of a Special Operations Squad?
They had killed more than a dozen Feudal Lords and thousands of weaker Black Ink Clansmen in the time it took to burn half an incense stick.
In the past, Ren Bing Bai would never have dreamed about having such accomplishments, but he had witnessed this with his own eyes today.
He had killed a Feudal Lord in this battle, which was already a good result in the past because, according to their equivalence in Realm, a Feudal Lord was on par with a Seventh-Order Master; thus, it was not that easy for a Seventh-Order Human to kill a Feudal Lord.
However, when compared to Yang Kai’s gains, his were paltry.
Even the Feudal Lord he had just killed had already been heavily injured by Yang Kai; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been that easy for him.
Ren Bing Bai felt like he was taking advantage of Yang Kai while following behind him, and such a feeling made him not know whether to laugh or cry.
Under his observation though, not only was he like that, but the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around the Warship were also in the same situation.
With Yang Kai, who was at the forefront, as the tip of the blade, the entire Squad became like a sharp knife, killing all the Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.
Ren Bing Bai felt a surge of pride. This is what a Special Operations Squad should be like. If a Special Operations Squad had the same level of difficulty in killing the enemy as an ordinary Squad, what kind of a Special Operations Squad would that be? Now he was also a member of a Special Operations Squad, the one leading the charge.
The Special Operations Squad’s advantage in having their own freedom to act was magnified to its absolute limit at this moment.
An ordinary Squad would only have 10 to 15 members, and in such a vast battlefield, it was very difficult for a single Squad to do much in the face of an enemy several times more numerous than themselves. Moreover, it was very likely that they would find themselves under the enemy’s besiegement if they moved independently.
Therefore, an ordinary Squad had to coordinate with other Squads on such a battlefield. The Squads under the same Battalion would have tactics and strategies they were familiar with to ensure their safety while killing as many enemies as possible.
Because of the need to coordinate with other Squads, there was also a certain degree of restraint, and it was impossible for them to act as freely as Dawn, who could go wherever they wanted.
Most Squads took a slow and steady approach to clearing the battlefield, but when it came to Dawn, though they had exited from the East Gate, they had moved around so much that they had almost killed their way to the South Gate and were now heading in the direction of the West Gate.
Dawn’s strategy had always been very straightforward, which was to hit and run. This strategy focused on mobility and prevented Dawn from being targeted by a powerful Master because of their conspicuous performance.
Of course, now that all Territory Lords on the battlefield were surrounded by Eighth-Order Masters, none of them had the time to keep an eye on Dawn. The Territory Lords were fleeing and dying, and those who still remained on the battlefield were struggling to live.
Yang Kai’s overwhelming combat strength was Dawn’s biggest guarantee to ensure that they could still effectively kill their enemies while maintaining such high mobility.
Without interference from the Territory Lords, the strongest enemies that Dawn had to face were the Feudal Lords; however, Yang Kai could basically deal with Feudal Lords with one thrust of his spear, and if he didn’t manage to kill them with his initial attack, the other Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn would finish the job. Therefore, even if a Feudal Lord had managed to survive Yang Kai’s attack, they would soon be killed off by the others.
Years of crusade and hunting experience had led everyone in Dawn to develop a tacit understanding and the ability to work together seamlessly. Even if there was a Black Ink Clan Army blocking their way, they could use the artifacts and arrays on Dawning Light to easily tear through them.
As time passed, the Black Ink Clan Army on the battlefield was wiped out, and the pressure on all the Squads decreased.
During a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly stopped, and following in his footsteps, Dawning Light and the other Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn all stopped together.
Ren Bing Bai was a little confused as to why Yang Kai had suddenly stopped, but after turning his head and looking around, he was surprised to find that the battle was already over.
90% of the Black Ink Clan Army that had been swarming outside Wind and Cloud Pass before had been killed while the rest were desperately trying to flee, leaving scattered pieces of flesh and broken limbs everywhere throughout the void.
[It’s over?] Ren Bing Bai was taken aback. The end came so quickly. It felt like only a few hours had passed.
Wind and Cloud Pass had been under siege by the Black Ink Clan Army for some 20 years yet could only maintain a defensive posture, but once the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies joined in, everything was over in the blink of an eye.
The Black Ink Clan Army that attacked Wind and Cloud Pass was quite massive, and under normal circumstances, even if they were defeated while battling the Humans, they wouldn’t have suffered such heavy casualties.
However, the Humans caught them unawares. Firstly, it was the sudden appearance of Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor, who cooperated with the Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor to corner the Royal Lord. Then, it was followed by hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters appearing on the battlefield, catching the Territory Lords by surprise and beating them to the point where they couldn’t fight back. A short while later, following the demise of many Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan’s morale hit rock bottom.
When the Royal Lord and Territory Lords fled, the Black Ink Clan Army was at a loss for what to do.
The Humans had a huge advantage with so many powerful Masters on their side, which was the fundamental reason why the battle ended so quickly.
In fact, when the Royal Lord and Territory Lords started to flee, the Black Ink Clan Army had already lost all will to fight.
However, the Human Army’s pursuit made it impossible for them to escape even if they wanted to, which eventually led to the annihilation of almost the entire Black Ink Clan Army.
There were no cheers or celebrations from the Humans as it was only to be expected that they won such an overwhelming victory given their luxurious lineup.
After the battle, the Human Army silently gathered together and regrouped.
Half an hour later, Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies assembled at the East Gate of Wind and Cloud Pass. The 30,000 soldiers had naturally fewer losses during the battle, but the casualties were minimal. The soldiers were somewhat spent and needed time to recuperate, however, and some of their Warships were also damaged in the fight. Still, those weren’t much of a problem as they had many Artifact Refiners, Alchemists, Array Masters, and other support personnel following the Army to Great Evolution Pass. While they were on the move, those Artifact Refiners had ample time to repair the damage those Warships had suffered.
Soon, all the Divisions and Battalions had finished gathering their troops.
The motivation of all the soldiers was boosted to the peak because of the great task that lay before them.
Without stopping, the 30,000-strong Army immediately turned towards Great Evolution Pass, and Xiang Shan gave the order, “Set sail!”
In a flash, Division by Division, one Warship after another sailed in the direction of Great Evolution Pass. With 30,000 men and nearly 2,000 Warships, they formed a mighty fleet!
Yang Kai had no idea what the higher-ups had planned, but with such a large-scale lineup, there would certainly need to be a distribution of forces and overall strategy, but that wasn’t something he needed to worry about because the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would make those decisions.
Since Dawn did not have any special tasks, they simply gathered together with the other Warships and moved together.
Back at Wind and Cloud Pass, after the Army set out, the tens of thousands of soldiers who remained saw them off solemnly until the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies disappeared from sight. Following that, they returned to the Inner Sanctum, and those Eighth-Order Masters who escorted soldiers from the other Great Passes to Wind and Cloud Pass began returning.
While the Army moved forward, the members from each Squad took turns to rest and recuperate, and the Artifact Refiners got to work, heading over to the Warships that had been damaged in the battle and repairing them carefully.
On the other hand, Dawn Squad suffered almost no damage and were simply recuperating on their own.
After only half a day’s travel though, a man suddenly appeared, landed on the deck, looked around, and bellowed, “Where is the Squad Leader for this Warship?”
Yang Kai, who was on the deck, turned his head and looked over to find that the visitor was a fellow Seventh-Order Master whom he did not recognise and did not know the origins of.
Immediately, Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “I am the Squad Leader. Does Senior Brother have any orders to relay?”
The Seventh-Order Master replied, “By order of the two Army Commanders, the Squad members here are to report to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and leave their Imprints behind.” While saying so, he pointed his finger in a specific direction.
Yang Kai was surprised, “Did the Army Commanders bring a Purifying Black Ink Battleship with them?”
He then moved his fingers and partially activated the Universe Transference Law, which allowed him to sense a vague connection coming from that direction.
Since it was a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, it naturally had a Universe Array that Yang Kai had personally arranged to board it. No matter where the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was brought from, Yang Kai would be able to sense a connection to it.
As he thought about it though, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships did play a huge role in all the Great Passes. Besides the Purifying Light that was sealed inside having the ability to purify Black Ink Strength, the Universe Array aboard was useful for soldiers to use as a return point when they found themselves in danger.
If the Humans wanted to recover Great Evolution Pass, bringing along a Purifying Black Ink Battleship was a given.
However, Yang Kai was a little confused because he could sense not one but two Universe Arrays when he activated the Universe Transference Law.
In other words, this fleet had two Purifying Black Ink Battleships!
It seemed like Xiang Shan not only brought one out from Blue Sky Pass, but Liu Zhi Ping also brought one out from Yin-Yang Pass.
There was no need for him to head over and leave his Imprint because he was the one who set up those Universe Arrays, so all of them had his Imprint already. However, the other members of the Squad had to go, just in case they needed it later.
“I’ve relayed the message. I have to inform the other Squads. Farewell!”
After the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said so, he leapt off the Warship and rushed towards another nearby Warship to inform the other Squads one by one.
Though this method was time-consuming, there was no other way because an Open Heaven Realm Army lineup differed from a mortal army. Mortal armies travelled together as one unit, but Open Heaven Realm Masters moved quickly, and in order to avoid collisions in the void, Warships needed a fair amount of space between each other. For example, the closest Warship to Dawning Light was hundreds of kilometres away.
The Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies had nearly 2,000 Warships and was thus spread out over a radius of several thousand kilometres, which for mortals was farther than the eye could see. However, for an Open Heaven Realm Master, it was just a matter of a few breaths to reinforce each other in battle.
Yang Kai turned to face the crowd and ordered, “You all heard it, right? Separate yourselves into two groups and take turns heading over.”
Having received their orders, the members of Dawn quickly grouped themselves into two teams. Following that, the first group of 20 or so, led by Feng Ying, flew away in the direction of the central Army.
In fact, it would have been easier for them to leave their Imprints on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship while they were still at Wind and Cloud Pass because all 30,000 soldiers were already gathered there. Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping would only have had to summon their respective Purifying Black Ink Battleships before letting the soldiers take turns leaving their Imprints.
However, when all soldiers from all Great Passes were gathered together, the priority was to organize Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies. Once both Armies were completely formed, they immediately charged out of Wind and Cloud Pass to engage the Black Ink Clan. There was simply no time for them to take care of such things.
After they successfully defeated the Black Ink Clan, the Great Evolution Army immediately set out. Xiang Shan deeply understood the principle of ‘in war, speed is everything,’ so he naturally wouldn’t delay the start of the campaign by having the soldiers leave their Imprints on the Purifying Black Ink Battleships while at Wind and Cloud Pass.
As a result, such things could only be done during their voyage.
Though it was more tedious, the benefit was that they wouldn’t be wasting any time, and if they had made suitable arrangements, it wouldn’t delay their speed either.
About half a day later, Feng Ying and the others returned, letting the other half of Dawn’s members head over to the two Purifying Black Ink Battleships.
Another half a day passed, and the second team of Dawn members also returned to the ship. Just like that, all members of Dawn had left their Imprints on the two Purifying Black Ink Battleships.
The days during their deployment to Great Evolution Pass were dull, so everyone decided to cultivate on their own.
Four days after the Army’s departure from Wind and Cloud Pass, Yang Kai, whose eyes were closed while adjusting his breathing on the ship’s deck, suddenly felt something and turned his head to look in a specific direction.
What he saw was a stream of light coming from behind the Army and heading right towards them. The speed at which the stream of light was moving had already surpassed the speed ordinary cultivators could comprehend, and even Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement couldn’t surpass such speed.
The stream of light should be heading in the direction of the central Army, but then, as if it had sensed Yang Kai’s gaze, it changed directions and landed on Dawning Light.
The stream of light dispersed and revealed a stunning figure.
Yang Kai was taken aback but quickly got up and saluted, “Greetings, Old Ancestor!”
There were other members in charge of operating various arrays on the deck, and at first, they were curious about the young woman who had suddenly appeared and why she came here, but when they heard how Yang Kai addressed her, all of them paled in shock and quickly rose to their feet to greet her.
[This uninvited guest is actually the Old Ancestor!]
Although they had heard about Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor being a woman, the others had never met her before. It was then that they realised that this Old Ancestor was different from how they had imagined her and that she was actually a beautiful young woman.
Now that they thought about it, they wondered if a woman’s cultivation was incomparable to a man’s or something along those lines because the higher the cultivation realm, the smaller the ratio of women to men became. It was especially true for the Old Ancestors. There were only around 20 women among all the Old Ancestors, with the rest being men.
In the presence of an Old Ancestor, even an unruly and untamed Squad like Dawn, who had achieved many Military Merits on various battlefields, became respectful and didn’t even dare breathe loudly.
The Old Ancestor swept her gaze across Yang Kai’s figure, and there seemed to be a flash of divine light in her eyes when she commented in surprise, “Looks like your cultivation has increased rapidly.”
With her level of vision, she could see that Yang Kai’s strength had significantly increased compared to 200 years ago. The speed at which his cultivation had increased was not typical for an ordinary Seventh-Order Master; however, she soon remembered the various mysteries of Yang Kai’s Small Universe and felt that his huge advancement was quite reasonable.
While thinking of that, she was looking forward to seeing how long Yang Kai would take to advance to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In the Black Ink Battlefield, though Seventh-Order Masters could take charge of a Squad, they weren’t considered the backbone of any Army.
“Thanks to you, Old Ancestor, there haven’t been many huge events recently, so I have been in retreat all this while,” Yang Kai replied respectfully.
The Old Ancestor nodded lightly, “A fast increase in cultivation might not be a bad thing, but your foundation must remain stable.”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai nodded with a serious expression.
Then, the Old Ancestor added, “The fact that your Small Universe can help me heal my injuries is also one of the considerations I had when requesting you for this campaign. During the process of retaking Great Evolution Pass, I will have to fight against the Royal Lord there a number of times, so I will be depending on you when the time comes.”
Nodding, Yang Kai responded, “That won’t be a problem. If the Old Ancestor needs my help, I will definitely do my best to assist.”
The Old Ancestor reached out and patted his shoulders before chuckling innocently, “Enough with the Old Ancestor nonsense. I’m just someone with a cultivation that is a little higher than yours.”
Yang Kai leaned forward from the slap and couldn’t help but stifle a grunt, knowing that he might have said the wrong thing. It looked like no matter how high a woman’s cultivation realm was, references to their age were still taboo.
So, he quickly changed the topic, “By the way, how long will it take for us to reach Great Evolution Pass?”
Withdrawing her hand, the Old Ancestor looked in the direction where the Army was heading and explained, “The distance between each Great Pass is quite large. Judging by the speed the Army is moving, it might take one or two years for us to reach Great Evolution Theatre.
Yang Kai was shocked, “That long?”
The Old Ancestor smiled, “Why do you think the Great Passes aren’t able to send large numbers of reinforcements to each other in times of need? The distance between each Pass is too great, and every Great Pass has its own enemies to face. If reinforcements are sent out, they won’t be able to call them back if the enemy suddenly appears, which will put them in a bad situation. Suppose the distance between each Great Pass was closer, the situation at Black Ink Battlefield wouldn’t be as anxious as it is now. Of course, another reason is that we can’t advance too quickly as we need to maintain formation and keep a wary lookout for ambushes”
While nodding to indicate his understanding, Yang Kai asked, “How’s the situation with the Royal Lord of the Wind and Cloud Theatre?”
The person before him and the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass had jointly fought with a Royal Lord, and when the latter fled, the two Old Ancestors had given chase beyond the horizon.
In such a high-level battle, it would be perilous even for Eighth-Order Masters to interfere.
However, now that she had returned, it meant that the battle was over, and judging by her appearance, Yang Kai guessed that the Yin Yang Pass Old Ancestor hadn’t been injured.
Since the one before him wasn’t injured, the Royal Lord might be in quite a miserable situation.
As he had expected, the Old Ancestor said, “The Royal Lord has been badly injured and will need a few hundred years of recuperation before he can restore his strength, but Senior Brother Zhang and I found it inappropriate to push him too far, lest he decide to use drastic measures, so we let him go.”
The Senior Brother Zhang she was referring to should be the Old Ancestor from Wind and Cloud Pass.
In a two-against-one, they had the upper hand, but if they wanted to kill the Royal Lord, they would need to pay a huge price, so no matter whether it was the person before him or the Old Ancestor from Wind and Cloud Pass, they both quit after gaining an advantage.
After the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered a great loss. About 70% of their Territory Lords were either dead or heavily injured, and their Royal Lord was seriously wounded, so the Black Ink Clan in that Theatre could be considered as completely crippled.
This was also the main reason why Wind and Cloud Pass could contribute 15,000 soldiers to the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies.
As for Azure Void Pass, their situation would probably a bit worse compared to Wind and Cloud Pass, but not by a large margin.
The number of troops there was on par with Wind and Cloud Pass, but they only had one Old Ancestor; therefore, they weren’t able to do as much damage to the Royal Lord as the two Old Ancestors at Wind and Cloud Pass had.
While watching their Squad Leader talking to an Old Ancestor, all the members of Dawn were shocked.
Although every Great Pass had an Old Ancestor assuming command, these figures were all like hidden Dragons who show their tails but never their faces, so ordinary people wouldn’t even have the chance to meet them. Even back at Blue Sky Pass, the members of Dawn had only seen the Old Ancestor from afar and never had any close contact with him.
But today, an Old Ancestor came to Dawning Light and was now chatting casually with Yang Kai.
It seemed like he was the only Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who had such a privilege.
While they were chatting, the Old Ancestor suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction the Army was heading in before raising an eyebrow, “Someone dares to seek the gates of death? Interesting.”
After saying that, the Old Ancestor didn’t waste any time and shot right into the sky. Then, from afar, her voice sounded in Yang Kai’s ears, “Prepare for battle!”
Yang Kai was stunned at first, but quickly reacted and echoed, “Prepare for battle!”
With his command, everyone immediately assumed their post and Dawning Light turned into a stream of light as it flew forward.
Aboard the main Purifying Black Ink Battleship, where the central Army was located, Xiang Shan was listening to a scout reporting their findings at this moment.
When deploying such a large Army, the Commanders naturally arranged for scouts to survey the area ahead of the main force. They were heading straight for Great Evolution Pass, and it was unlikely that they would encounter any Black Ink Clan Army because of the vast distance between the two Passes, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
However, a moment ago, the scouts actually came to report that they spotted a Black Ink Clan Army.
According to their observation, the Black Ink Clan Army had about 300,000 members with about a dozen Territory Lords, and they were heading straight for Wind and Cloud Pass.
Also, after calculating the speed of both Armies, the scouts estimated that the two would meet in about an hour.
Just as the scout finished reporting, the Old Ancestor arrived at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Xiang Shan and the others stood up and greeted her.
After the Old Ancestor sat down, Xiang Shan reported, “The scouts have just reported that there is a Black Ink Clan Army of approximately 300,000 heading right for us.”
When the Old Ancestor heard that, she nodded, “I’ve sensed them too. They’re obviously reinforcements sent over from Great Evolution Pass.”
In the 30,000 years after the Black Ink Clan took over Great Evolution Pass, they would occasionally send reinforcements to help the Black Ink Clan Armies in the Wind and Cloud and Azure Void Theatres. Although it was a long distance to travel and the effectiveness of these reinforcements wasn’t very high, the Black Ink Clan had never stopped doing it.
It was also due to these reinforcements from the Great Evolution Theatre that Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass suffered more pressure than the other Great Passes.
About two years ago, this Black Ink Clan Army departed from the Great Evolution Theatre and travelled to aid the Black Ink Clan Army besieging Wind and Cloud Pass. The 300,000 Black Ink Clansmen were expected to arrive at the Wind and Cloud Theatre in a few days, at which point they would join the battle, adding tremendous pressure onto Wind and Cloud Pass.
Unfortunately for them, the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass had ended before they got there. Also, since it was hard to communicate with others in the void, this reinforcement Army had no way of knowing the drastic changes that occurred at Wind and Cloud Pass and was still moving forward according to their previous plan.
The two sides were heading in opposite directions, so they would inevitably encounter each other.
“Old Ancestor, please issue your command!” Xiang Shan asked for instructions from the Old Ancestor.
The Old Ancestor smiled and replied, “Marching and planning for battles aren’t my strong suits, so everything on this trip will be up to you and Liu Zhi Ping’s will. Just treat me as a soldier with a higher cultivation, and you don’t have to ask for my opinion if you have an idea.”
Most Old Ancestors acted as more of a deterrent than as a commander for their Armies in battle, and formulating strategies was generally the responsibility of Army Commanders and Division Commanders. Therefore, many of the Old Ancestors weren’t as proficient as those actively doing the job, so rashly intervening might not necessarily yield better results than when the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were allowed to take charge.
Without a doubt, the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass had great self-awareness, and her choosing not to intervene made Xiang Shan feel less restrained and have a place to show his talent.
Since the Old Ancestor had spoken, Xiang Shan naturally carried out his duties.
The 300,000 troops of the Black Ink Clan Army might sound like a lot, but those numbers were not actually very high. It had to be said that the Black Ink Clan generally dispatched nearly a million troops whenever they attacked Blue Sky Pass. This number did not include the troops that would continually be dispatched to the battlefield as reinforcements. If those numbers were included, then their numbers would swell even more. Moreover, there were only a dozen or so Territory Lords among the ranks of the 300,000 troops of this Black Ink Clan Army.
In contrast, the Great Evolution Army had some 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders. The combat power of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders alone was enough to form a crushing advantage in terms of numbers. Not to mention, the Great Evolution Army also had a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor personally assuming command.
If a war broke out, this Black Ink Clan Army would crumble without much effort as long as they removed the Territory Lords quickly.
That was why it was not difficult for Xiang Shan to defeat this enemy even though they only had 30,000 against 300,000. All he needed to consider at the moment was how he could reduce the damage dealt to the Human Army. Furthermore, he had deeper considerations. It might be possible for him to use the reinforcement Army from the Great Evolution Theatre’s Black Ink Clan as a research subject to better plan out the recovery of Great Evolution Pass.
As the Army Commander of Great Evolution Pass’ Eastern Army, Xiang Shan could be considered the highest authority after the Old Ancestor; therefore, he could not be so short-sighted as to only plan for what he could see in front of him.
Following a brief discussion with Liu Zhi Ping, the two of them formulated a strategy. The Armies from the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were bound to encounter each other in the void, so battle was inevitable.
At present, the Black Ink Clan had yet to detect the Human Army and probably never imagined that Humans would march over from the direction of the Wind and Cloud Pass. For the past 30,000 years, the Black Ink Clan had sent reinforcements to their clansmen in the Wind and Cloud Theatre countless times, and the process had always been smooth sailing with no unexpected incidents. This kind of long-term experience gradually lowered their vigilance. As a result, they didn’t even bother to send any scouts to investigate the situation of the route ahead. That was why the initiative of the current situation was completely in the hands of the Great Evolution Army.
Xiang Shan initially wanted to seek a more suitable location to carry out an ambush, but there was no such place in the vicinity. The void was vast and silent, with many places completely devoid of anything that could be used to conceal themselves. Coupled with the lack of time and their unfamiliarity with the nearby terrain, they could only choose a small field of universe fragments as their ambush location in the end.
This location was not perfect, for as long as the Black Ink Clan was even the slightest bit vigilant, they would not step into such a location so easily. Unfortunately, that could not be helped. If their ambush was exposed, then they could only opt for a direct confrontation.
Once everything was ready, various orders were conveyed throughout the fleet. The speed of the Army increased sharply as they headed straight for the area filled with universe fragments.
When all the preparations were in place, Xiang Shan finally turned around to look at the Old Ancestor, “Old Ancestor, please do not kill them all. It’s better if we let one of the Territory Lords escape alive.”
The Old Ancestor was astonished by his words, “Won’t doing that alert the enemy of our presence?”
He replied, “That’s exactly what we want.”
She frowned slightly and asked, “Why? What’s the purpose of doing that?”
Xiang Shan answered succinctly, “Great Evolution Pass has been occupied by the Black Ink Clan for the past 30,000 years, but, if my speculations are correct, the Royal Lord probably does not live in Great Evolution Pass. After all, his Black Ink Nest is his foundation, so he most likely lives in the Royal City. As for Great Evolution Pass, there will only be a few Territory Lords overseeing the area at most. Old Ancestor, would you rather fight the Royal Lord in the vicinity of the Royal City or the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass?”
She smiled, “If I have to choose, I am naturally more inclined to fight in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass.”
If the battle took place near the Royal City, the Royal Lord would have the support of his Black Ink Nest. Even if she had the opportunity to injure the other party, he would be able to rely on the strength of his Black Ink Nest to recover from his injuries quickly and also boost his strength in moments of need. Not to mention, the Royal City was located in the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory. Fighting the Royal Lord there meant that the Black Ink Clan would be able to receive large numbers of reinforcements in short order.
On the other hand, it would be different if the battle took place near Great Evolution Pass. Without the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, his rate of recovery would be greatly reduced. That would be beneficial to her.
Xiang Shan broke into a grin, “That’s right. If the Black Ink Clan learns about the arrival of a Human Army that appears to be trying to recover Great Evolution Pass, then the Royal Lord would definitely come forward in order to prevent the invasion of the Human Race.”
“Luring the tiger from the mountain!” The Old Ancestor’s eyes lit up. She had to admit that Xiang Shan’s idea was interesting. This move would allow them to secure control over the initiative of the battle and create an advantage for themselves in the process.
After further consideration, she continued, “This plan might have its advantages, but if there are only a few Territory Lords at Great Evolution Pass, why don’t we secretly swoop in and secure Great Evolution Pass?”
This was not an interrogative question but a genuine inquiry of curiosity. She might have a higher cultivation compared to Xiang Shan, but from his various arrangements, it could be seen that his ability to conduct military strategy was superior to hers. With a simple deployment, he could pave the way for the future, which was something she could never hope to achieve.
When she detected the Black Ink Clan Army approaching them, her first instinct was to simply obliterate it entirely. She never even considered allowing a Territory Lord to escape.
It was only natural for her to inquire further since she thought of another possibility. Besides, she believed that it was impossible for Xiang Shan to overlook something so simple.
Sure enough, Xiang Shan nodded, “It is as you have said, Old Ancestor. If the Army marched forward in secret, we would definitely be able to capture Great Evolution Pass with ease. From when the Black Ink Clan took over Great Evolution Pass until now, we have never shown any signs of trying to take it back, so the Black Ink Clan has no reason to station many troops there. Even if the Black Ink Clan prepared many defensive mechanisms at Great Evolution Pass over the past 30,000 years, they will not be able to stop the might of our Army without sufficient troops. But… What happens after we retake Great Evolution Pass?”
The Old Ancestor followed his train of thought and soon came to a realisation.
Liu Zhi Ping, who was standing by the side, nodded and continued, “Even if our Army can take back Great Evolution Pass, the Black Ink Clan will not just stand by idly and watch. I’m sure they will gather a large Army and attack us in short order.”
“Indeed!” Xiang Shan nodded, “However, we will have just recaptured Great Evolution Pass and won’t have had time to make any arrangements. When the time comes to face the Black Ink Clan’s attack, how will we defend ourselves? If we don’t defend the Great Pass, then what was the point of attacking and retaking it in the first place? But, if we defend the Great Pass… Without restoring the various facilities of Great Evolution Pass, our Army will have no place to fall back to. We will be forced to engage in an all-out battle in the void against the Black Ink Clan, where their advantage in numbers and willingness to sacrifice lives will be greatest. The Black Ink Clan has never been afraid of suffering losses as thanks to the Black Ink Nests, they can produce a steady stream of troops as long as they have resources. In comparison, how long can Great Evolution Pass’s Army of 60,000 last? 10 years? 20? There will come a day when our Army simply cannot hold any longer.”
Liu Zhi Ping nodded lightly. As the former Army Commander of Yin-Yang Pass’ Western Army, though she had considerable talent in commanding military operations, she seemed like a novice when compared to Xiang Shan. His ability to see the long-term consequences and formulate strategies to obtain optimal outcomes was beyond her.
“For that reason, the primary goal of the Great Evolution Army is not to retake Great Evolution Pass, but to cripple the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre! That is the only way we can gain enough time to recover and restore the Great Pass to its original glory.”
In order to recover Great Evolution Pass, they deployed troops from all the Great Passes and formed Great Evolution’s Four Armies. Be that as it may, the primary objective of this campaign was not to recover Great Evolution Pass. Although these words sounded rather ridiculous, it was also the best method to achieve their goals.
Liu Zhi Ping cupped her fist solemnly, “Many thanks for your guidance!”
She had long heard of Xiang Shan despite belonging to a different Great Pass. As the former Blue Sky Pass Western Army’s Army Commander, Xiang Shan was famed for being the nightmare of the Territory Lords in the Blue Sky Theatre more than 3,000 years ago. During his active years, all Territory Lords trembled wherever he appeared.
Liu Zhi Ping had never had any in-depth contact with him before though, so she only learned today that Xiang Shan was not only fierce in terms of personal strength, but he also boasted an extraordinary ability in strategy and tactics. It was no wonder the Old Ancestors allowed him to serve as the Great Evolution Eastern Army’s Army Commander. Compared to him, she was greatly lacking in terms of ability.
While the executives were analysing the situation, the Eastern and Western Armies had already entered the designated universe fragment field.
This location was only a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass, so it could be considered within the vicinity of Wind and Cloud Pass.
There used to be several Universe Worlds here, but they had been picked clean by Wind and Cloud Pass long ago. After extensive mining and many years of drifting, these Universe Worlds had broken down into numerous universe fragments, which left behind a region filled with universe fragments.
These universe fragments would provide cover for the Great Evolution Army to a certain extent.
The Warships flew towards different universe fragments and concealed themselves as best they could. Meanwhile, the members of each Squad swiftly prepared various Spirit Arrays to disguise their auras and hide their figures. They could not do a thorough job since time was short, but their efforts were better than nothing.
The reason this place was not considered a good spot for an ambush was that the number of universe fragments here was not very large. Moreover, they were far too scattered for the troops to form an effective encirclement.
If the terrain was better, the Warships could take action as soon as the Black Ink Clan Army entered the range of these universe fragments to form a watertight encirclement.
Unfortunately, based on the current ambush location of Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies, the encirclement they formed would be filled with gaps. Even if the Black Ink Clan entered the centre of the ambush, they would be able to escape through these openings when the situation turned unfavourable.
Be that as it may, Xiang Shan had already made arrangements for these possibilities. There were at least two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters monitoring each of the largest gaps, so even if there were escapees, they would need to pass these Division Commanders first.
At present, the only issue that the Great Evolution Army had to consider was whether the Black Ink Clan would pass through this area or not. If the Black Ink Clan had even the slightest sense of vigilance to send somebody to scout the route ahead, or simply took a detour around the universe fragments, the preparations of the Great Evolution Army would be all for naught.
Regardless, that was not something the Great Evolution Army could determine. They had done their best to make these preparations in the short time they had, the rest was up to the Heavens.
On top of a small universe fragment, Dawn and two other Squads squeezed together and secretly observed the situation in front.
Less than an incense stick later, Yang Kai frowned and whispered, “They’re coming!”
This universe fragment was located relatively far forward, so its field of view was quite wide. What entered Yang Kai’s eyes at that moment was a Black Ink Clan Army approaching slowly. Their numbers seemed vast and endless, resembling a long black dragon swimming through the void. A rough estimate indicated that there were at least several hundreds of thousands of them.
The location of the ambush was well chosen though, and judging by the marching route of the Black Ink Clan Army, they were bound to pass through this exact location shortly, and they showed no signs of changing direction whatsoever.
The Human Army fell silent and concealed themselves as best they could, not daring to expose themselves in the slightest.
The Black Ink Clan Army continued marching forward and soon flew past the hiding spot of Dawn and the others to head deep into the field of universe fragments.
From Yang Kai’s point of view, the Black Ink Clan Army resembled a huge black snake plunging headlong into a death trap. The black snake’s head soon entered the centre area, quickly followed by its body.
Everything was going smoothly.
Just as the tail was about to enter the universe fragment area, one of the Feudal Lords marching at the head of the Army suddenly raised his hand. Dense Black Ink Strength surged, and a universe fragment blocking his way forward was shattered to pieces.
He had struck out casually and without much thought, simply because the universe fragment was blocking his way; however, the result of this blow was startling indeed. When the universe fragment shattered into pieces, several Human Warships suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, there were many silhouettes standing on the Warships.
The Feudal Lord was instantly stunned by the sight!
Likewise, the Humans on the Warships were speechless. They had been hiding in ambush, using the universe fragment as a cover to conceal their figures and auras. How did they get exposed without any warning?
When the universe fragment shattered to pieces, the Humans thought that the Black Ink Clan had discovered their whereabouts. It was not until their gazes met those of the Black Ink Clansmen that they realized this was nothing more than a coincidence. The Feudal Lord who attacked earlier would not have seemed so startled otherwise.
Regardless of whether it was intentional or coincidental, these Squads had already been exposed. Just as the Squad Leaders were wondering how they should deal with the situation in front of them, a loud whistle resounded across the void.
It was the signal to attack!
The Squad Leaders no longer hesitated. With the order given, the power of countless artifacts and Spirit Arrays aboard the Warships was activated in an instant. A thick ray of light containing horrifying destructive power suddenly blasted into the middle of the Black Ink Clan Army. Before the stunned Feudal Lord could react to the situation, he was devoured by the light and suffered serious injuries. The many Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen beside him also suffered heavy casualties.
It was not just these few Squads. When the signal to attack sounded, all the Humans hiding in ambush behind the universe fragments attacked all at once.
Thanks to the overwhelming power of the Secret Techniques and artifacts, the colourful brilliance instantly rendered the dead and silent void into a bright world, one filled with death and destruction.
The sudden attack shocked and frightened the Black Ink Clan. The 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army had been marching forward leisurely; after all, this was the standard route taken whenever they attacked Wind and Cloud Pass. The dozen Territory Lords overseeing the Army had taken this route countless times and had never encountered any unexpected occurrences before, but today, a huge Human Army was actually lying in ambush for them!
[How could there be a Human Army lying in ambush here?] The Territory Lords were in shock.
Ever since Great Evolution Pass was occupied by the Black Ink Clan, the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass had been heavily suppressed. It was impossible for the Human Race Army to leave Wind and Cloud Pass and travel millions of kilometres away, let alone come to such a place and lay an ambush. After all, this place was more than just a few million kilometres away from Wind and Cloud Pass!
Where did this Army of Humans come from? If they came from Wind and Cloud Pass, then what about their clansmen at Wind and Cloud Pass? However, if these Humans weren’t from Wind and Cloud Pass, where did they come from?
The Black Ink Clan had almost unimaginable advantages in conveying various messages to each other thanks to the Black Ink Nests. Nevertheless, it was impossible to bring a Black Ink Nest along when the Army was on the march. Transmitting messages to each other was extremely inconvenient in the void, so how could the Black Ink Clan Army know that the Black Ink Clan at Wind and Cloud Pass had almost been wiped out completely? That was why they had still been on their way to provide reinforcements to the Wind and Cloud Pass’ Black Ink Clan as originally planned.
In that brief moment when the Territory Lords fell into a daze, almost 10% of the 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army was either killed or critically wounded!
The large number of Humans shocked the Territory Lords. Although there was no way to accurately calculate the numbers, the dense number of Warships in front of them indicated that there were at least tens of thousands of Humans hiding in ambush here. The sight left them furious. Since when did the Humans become so bold and reckless as to act in this manner?
The Black Ink Clan who came from Great Evolution Theatre carried an arrogance that normal Black Ink Clansmen did not have. That was because Great Evolution Pass was the only Great Pass that the Humans had ever lost. It was also the only Great Pass that the Black Ink Clan ever occupied. Just that point alone was enough for the Black Ink Clansmen who came from the Great Evolution Theatre to be proud of themselves.
Over 30,000 years of subtle influence from their environment had given these Black Ink Clansmen the impression that the Humans were mediocre. They also believed that the clansmen in the other Theatres were useless for being unable to take over a single Great Pass.
That was why they did not panic even though they faced a sudden ambush and suffered heavy losses. They believed that the Human Race would fall apart as long as they counterattacked; after all, the difference in numbers could not be denied.
On the other hand, the Human Race troops who jumped out from behind the various universe fragments were stunned to discover that the Black Ink Clansmen did not even flinch after being attacked but rushed forward bravely and fearlessly!
The Black Ink Clansmen faced the powerful assault of the Warships head-on and charged towards them! It was absolutely haphazard, and countless casualties piled up along the way.
Behind the Black Ink Clan Army was a large, ornate ship. This ship was not a Mobile Palace Artifact but a simple flight-type artifact.
Artifact Refining among the Black Ink Clan relied entirely upon Black Ink Disciples. There were very few Artifact Refiners among the Black Ink Disciples to begin with, and those with decent skill were even rarer.
For the Black Ink Clan, only the Territory Lords were qualified to possess a large ship artifact of their own. Tremendous amounts of energy and resources were required to refine such artifacts, so ordinary Feudal Lords were not qualified to possess them.
The person in charge of this large ship was a Territory Lord known as Zhe Chong. A Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 was not a small one; therefore, he had been tasked with bringing up the rear. He was responsible for monitoring the Army to prevent any eccentric Black Ink Clansmen from messing around during the march. Fortunately, things had been peaceful throughout the journey.
Zhe Chong immediately noticed as soon as the Humans attacked. With a shift of his figure, he flew out of the cabin and came to the deck to observe the situation. What entered his field of vision was the Warships emerging from among the universe fragments, and the multi-coloured flashes of lights blasting out from those Warships. The sight made his heart sink to the bottom of his chest.
Unlike most of the Black Ink Clansmen here, Zhe Chong was a veteran Territory Lord who had been alive before Great Evolution Pass had fallen to them. He had personally participated in the war 30,000 ago, so he knew how tenacious and difficult the Human Race could be.
Two Royal Lords had joined hands back then. One of them had attacked and severely injured the Old Ancestor at Great Evolution Pass, but in the end, the veteran Royal Lord was dragged down and lost his life along with the Human Old Ancestor.
Ever since then, Zhe Chong knew that he should never underestimate the Human Race; otherwise, he would be the one to suffer instead. That was why he immediately had an ominous feeling when he saw such a large Human Army hiding in ambush here.
[There’s such a large Army of Humans here. Have our clansmen at Wind and Cloud Pass been defeated?]
He watched as countless Black Ink Clansmen died on the spot due to the sudden ambush and even more Black Ink Clansmen counter-attacking after being attacked. Then, he saw the troops on both sides engaging in fierce battles among the universe fragments.
All of a sudden, he widened his eyes with a look of horror on his face. That couldn’t be helped as the auras of 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters burst out from the middle of the battlefield. Like bright lights shining in the dark, they were so blinding that he couldn’t ignore the sight even if he wanted to.
That was 60 Eighth-Order Humans! Any one of them would be able to fight him on equal footing. In fact, he would be no match for an Eighth-Order Master who was slightly stronger than average.
[It’s over! Our entire army of 300,000 will be obliterated right here!] The Humans definitely came here prepared; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to have such an overwhelming lineup.
The Human Race Army might have been small in numbers, with only several tens of thousands in total; however, 60 Eighth-Order Masters were an unstoppable force. Not only would the Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 be obliterated here, but even his fellow Territory Lords among the Army would suffer a tragic fate.
Just as he was hesitating over whether he should go over and help the others try to withdraw, an aura that was even more powerful than an Eighth-Order Master suddenly exploded out. Zhe Chong saw a stream of light flashing out from a certain corner of the battlefield and coming to a stop beside one of the Territory Lords. A breath later, the aura of that Territory Lord flared up before vanishing!
Then, the light dissipated to reveal a petite figure.
Zhe Chong immediately felt as though his soul had leapt out of his body!
[An Old Ancestor! There’s a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor here! Moreover, it’s a completely unfamiliar Old Ancestor! I’ve never seen her before! This isn’t the Old Ancestor from Wind and Cloud Pass!]
He had been providing reinforcements to the battlefield at Wind and Cloud Pass over the past 30,000 years, so he knew that the Old Ancestor from Wind and Cloud Pass was a man; however, the Old Ancestor in front of him was clearly a woman.
With the appearance of the Old Ancestor, it only took a breath for a powerful Territory Lord to be killed. That Territory Lord’s strength was not inferior compared to Zhe Chong’s. In other words, if Zhe Chong was the one facing that Old Ancestor instead, he would not have survived any longer.
At that moment, what Zhe Chong needed to consider was not whether he should step forward to help the others, but how he was going to escape alive from under the nose of a Human Old Ancestor.
He was stationed at the rear of the Army to monitor the troops, which placed him in a relatively lucky position. Even though 90% of the Black Ink Clan Army had entered the range of the Human encirclement, he remained outside and was temporarily untouched by the chaos of the battlefield.
After confirming that the woman was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor, Zhe Chong quickly looked away and did not dare to take another glance. A Ninth-Order Master was generally extremely sensitive to the gaze of others, so he was afraid that he might be targeted if he stared for too long.
Activating a Secret Technique, Zhe Chong concealed his aura. He couldn’t even bother to care about his precious ship at this point. Instead, he leapt off the ship without a word and secretly rushed off in the direction of Great Evolution Pass. He did not dare to make large movements. In fact, he only hoped that one of his fellow Territory Lords could distract the Old Ancestor as much as possible so that he would have the opportunity to escape.
Zhe Chong was not the only Black Ink Clansman on the large ship. There were also many Feudal Lords and even more High and Low-Rank Clansmen.
Zhe Chong’s sudden escape surprised these Feudal Lords. Nevertheless, they quickly followed suit and activated their respective Secret Techniques to flee in all directions. Having sensed the overwhelming aura on the battlefield, they knew that staying behind would only lead to a disastrous ending for them; therefore, it was only natural for them to prioritise escape.
The actions of the Black Ink Clan Masters on the ship left the 20,000 or 30,000 Black Ink Clansmen outside the encirclement at a loss for what to do. They did not know whether they should rush forward and confront the enemy or flee like the higher-ups behind them. Be that as it may, it did not take long for the notion of escape to gain the upper hand. Their leaders had already fled, so what could they do even if they stayed behind? Hence, they quickly began running for their lives.
The figure of the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor stood alone in the middle of the battlefield. Several ignorant and fearless Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen charged towards her; however, her sharp aura alone was enough to cause them to explode into mist before they could even approach her.
Her gaze swept lightly in the direction that Zhe Chong had escaped, and the corners of her mouth curled into a slight smile.
Xiang Shan had asked her to allow one of the Territory Lords to escape so that the Royal Lord would be informed of their presence. She had initially wondered how she could seamlessly succeed at something like that.
For a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her, it was not easy for her to pull off such a trick as the gap in strength was too large. If her actions were too obvious, they would only arouse suspicion.
She never imagined that there would be a Territory Lord who did not step into the universe fragments at all. Moreover, he immediately decided to flee as soon as he detected her aura. It was undoubtedly an outcome that she was happy to see, so she simply pretended not to notice his presence.
Out of the dozen Territory Lords, she only needed to allow one to escape. The rest… would die without exception!
Xiang Shan had mentioned that the primary goal of Great Evolution Army was not to recover Great Evolution Pass but to beat the Great Evolution Theatre Black Ink Clan half to death. Only then would they gain the opportunity to build a stable foothold at Great Evolution Pass.
The deaths of 300,000 troops and nearly a dozen Territory Lords was probably not a small loss to the Black Ink Clan of the Great Evolution Theatre.
The more opportunities the Human Army had to weaken the forces of the Black Ink Clan, the lesser the pressure they would face when they arrived at the Great Evolution Theatre in the future.
After confirming that the Territory Lord had escaped into the distance, the Old Ancestor no longer held back and cast a Divine Ability. An enormous Yin-Yang Fish manifested behind her, its black and white colours enveloping the entire battlefield with herself as the centre.
The Human Race Army caught up in the Divine Ability was not affected in any way, but the Black Ink Clan felt like they were sinking into a quagmire. Their figures seemed to become stagnant and the strength of those below the Feudal Lords was reduced by some 30%. Even the Feudal Lords were considerably weakened; only the Territory Lords seemed unaffected.
That was not to say that the Old Ancestor’s Divine Ability was ineffective towards the Territory Lords, it was just that the range she cast it over was too large, so the effects of its suppression on the Territory Lords were minimal.
Even without the suppression from this Divine Ability though, the Territory Lords were caught in a terrible situation.
There were 3 to 5 Eighth-Order Masters surrounding each Territory Lord to begin with, so which one of them withstand the countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that came raining down on them?
Only half of the Eighth-Order Masters were tasked with attacking the Territory Lords. The other 30 were moving back and forth across the battlefield, working together with the troops to reap the lives of the Black Ink Clan to their hearts’ content. Everywhere these Eighth-Order Masters went, their presence would give rise to a reign of terror. The Black Ink Clan were mowed down in droves, like harvesting wheat in a field.
The battle began hastily, and the ambush was rather imperfect, but nevertheless, with the help of the 30 Eighth-Order Masters, the Human Army of 30,000 obtained a crushing victory over the Black Ink Clan.
Even so, the reaction of the Black Ink Clan puzzled many people.
In the beginning, these Black Ink Clansmen had shown no fear towards the Humans regardless of their cultivation. Even the Low-Rank Clansmen had charged towards the Humans without any scruples. Forget the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, many Black Ink Clansmen even dared to attack the Old Ancestor.
The reason for this situation naturally stemmed from the fact that these Black Ink Clansmen came from the Great Evolution Theatre and most of them had never fought with the Human Race before.
Every time Great Evolution Theatre provided reinforcements to attack Wind and Cloud Army, only the Territory Lords who led the Army and some lucky Feudal Lords would return alive. The rest generally died on the battlefield. Consequently, many of the Black Ink Clansmen had never experienced a battle against the Humans before.
However, they were the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Theatre. Their ancestors were the only ones who successfully seized one of the Great Passes. Almost all the Black Ink Clansmen below the Feudal Lords believed that the Human Race was extremely weak. That was why the Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 had bravely fought back despite being ambushed and severely outmatched.
As time passed though, and the number of clansmen decreased, they finally realised that the information passed down from ancient times did not match up to reality.
The Humans were not as weak as the rumours claimed. It turned out that every one of them was extremely strong. Not to mention, they could borrow the power of large artifacts that came in varying shapes and sizes to fight. As long as the defences of these artifacts remained intact, the Black Ink Clan could barely cause any damage towards them.
After about half of the Army had died in battle, the Black Ink Clan finally understood their situation. The Humans seemed to be much fewer in number, but they were still a force they could not compete with.
Unfortunately, the realisation had come too late. Under the command of Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping, the entire universe fragment field had already turned into a perfect encirclement. Aside from the 30,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen who had originally been outside the ambush zone, the remaining Black Ink Clan Army no longer had the opportunity to flee even if they wanted to. What followed next was a one-sided massacre!
All the Territory Lords quickly fell in battle, leaving the surviving Black Ink Clansmen leaderless. They all fought independently, resulting in an extremely chaotic situation.
On the other hand, the Human Army had dozens of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and even an Old Ancestor assuming command. It was only natural that they would hold the absolute advantage.
In just one day, the Black Ink Clan Army was completely obliterated. All the universe fragments in the nearby void had been shattered to dust. Severed limbs and hashed meat were everywhere. Dense Black Ink Strength had condensed together to form an enormous Black Ink Cloud that filled a vast swath of the void. Looking out into the distance, the entire scene resembled a dark shadow.
The Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies gathered outside the Black Ink Cloud; however, they did not rush to set off immediately and decided to stop to rest and recover instead.
Since Xiang Shan had decided to alert the enemy of their presence, it stood to reason that he would need to give the Black Ink Clan enough time to react, so there was no need to rush.
The Territory Lord who escaped needed a head-start. Although there was no knowing how he would report the situation back to the Royal Lord, the Royal Lord would surely realise that something was wrong as long as he was not a fool. For example, where did the Human Race Army come from and where were they going?
The battle situation at Wind and Cloud Pass would have been reported to the Great Evolution Theatre’s Royal Lord via the Black Ink Nest by now, so when the Territory Lord who escaped earlier reported the current situation to the Royal Lord, the latter would surely understand the intentions of the Great Evolution Army.
The reason for the Human’s decision to stop and reorganise was to give the Black Ink Clan some time to make the necessary arrangements.
The Great Evolution Army’s losses in this battle were minimal; after all, the difference in combat power between the two sides was immense. Once again, the Warships played a huge role in limiting the number of casualties to the hundreds.
An Army of 30,000 troops had defeated 300,000 enemies, yet they only suffered a few hundred casualties. The losses could be considered negligible.
Meanwhile, Zhe Chong fled at the speed of lightning. Never before had he ever felt death so close to him. He had practically believed that he was as good as dead when he saw the Old Ancestor appearing on the battlefield.
Fortunately, it seemed luck was on his side. The Old Ancestor did not seem to have noticed him in the first place. Following his escape, a few tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen outside the Human ambush had scattered everywhere, which provided him with a good cover to conceal his tracks.
Be that as it may, Zhe Chong remained extremely uneasy. He was terribly afraid that the Old Ancestor would pursue him. If that were the case, then he could only resign himself to his death. It was fortunate that there were no signs of pursuit coming from behind.
On any battlefield, fleeing was a huge crime. Zhe Chong was sure he would be punished upon his return, but he couldn’t care less about such things at this moment. He simply wanted to inform the Royal Lord about the current crisis as soon as possible.
The Human Race was acting very differently from the usual. He did not know what they were planning, but he was certain the Royal Lord would know.
After escaping for a month, Zhe Chong finally felt relieved and became certain that the Old Ancestor was not chasing after him; otherwise, he would have been caught by now. The other Black Ink Clansmen who escaped with him had been left behind, but he didn’t care about their survival. At this moment, he was simply trying to return to the Great Evolution Theatre as quickly as possible.
Back at the original battlefield, Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies spent some time recovering. According to the orders passed down from the higher-ups, they would have three days of rest before they resumed marching.
Most of the troops did not understand the meaning behind these orders; after all, they had only departed from Wind and Cloud Pass a few days ago. Although they encountered a big battle, there was no reason to take a rest yet. If that was the case, then why did they rush off from Wind and Cloud Pass in the first place?
Regardless, they didn’t question the order. Many had exhausted their energy during the battle, so they indeed needed some time to recover. Hence, nobody had any objections despite not understanding these strange orders.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was doing some repair work on Dawning Light.
During the previous battle, Dawning Light had suffered some minor damage, and as a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner who also participated in the Black Ink Clan’s Warship project, it was not a problem for him to repair a few dents and cracks. Unfortunately, some of the damaged Spirit Arrays would require the help of the Array Masters travelling with the Army to fully repair.
Feng Ying was helping by the side while the rest of the members of Dawn were either idling around with nothing to do or cultivating diligently.
While Yang Kai was busy working, a Divine Sense suddenly fluctuated throughout the entire area. A message was transmitted via the Divine Sense, “Squad Leaders of the Western Army Fourth Division are to assemble immediately!”
The Divine Sense covered a large area, which happened to include the area where Dawning Light was located; therefore, Yang Kai and the others heard the orders clearly. The person who sent out the Divine Sense Message was the Eighth-Order Division Commander of Fourth Division.
Just as that Divine Sense vanished, another Divine Sense came out. This time around, it was the Division Commander of the First Division who issued orders to assemble together. The members of these two Divisions happened to be located near Dawn, which was why the orders from both Division Commanders also reached their ears.
Yang Kai couldn’t help looking around. In the next moment, he saw numerous Seventh-Order Squad Leaders emerge from the Warships nearby and gather in the direction of their respective Division Commanders.
“What’s going on?” Yang Kai looked confused.
Feng Ying replied, “Why don’t you go and ask?”
After giving the suggestion some thought, Yang Kai stopped what he was doing and headed towards one of the gathering points.
Two Division Commanders had transmitted messages, that obviously indicated that some sort of special deployment order had come from the higher-ups. It was not just these two Division Commanders though. The other Division Commanders had most likely sent out their own messages via voice Divine Sense, it was just that they were located at different positions, so Yang Kai could only hear the transmissions of these two Division Commanders.
Dawn was a Special Operations Squad, so unlike ordinary Squads, they did not belong to any Division or Battalion. They were under the direct command of the Army Commanders. The same was true for the Old Turtles.
While a Special Operations Squad generally enjoyed many benefits and preferential treatment, it became apparent that they were a slightly isolated existence at times like these. Even if the higher-ups had deployment orders for them, they had no Division Commander to inform them.
Although the Army Commanders would have made the necessary arrangements for them, Yang Kai preferred to understand the situation in advance.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive on one of the Battalion Class Warships.
Warships could generally be classified into three types. The most basic Squad Class Warships were used by ordinary Squads. Next came the Battalion Class Warship that was much larger and more imposing. In addition, the Battalion Class Warships usually carried far more firepower.
Before Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield, the Battalion-Class Warships were basically the largest among the Human Race. There was no such thing as a Division Class Warship.
High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters mainly relied upon their own respective means to slaughter their enemies on the battlefield in cooperation with the Warships under their command; therefore, they would never have to hide themselves away inside a Warship during battle. That was especially true for the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. During the war, their main responsibility was to target and hold down the Territory Lords. Even if they had the cooperation of the Warships, the Warships would only be a burden to them.
A Battalion-Class Warship basically served as the headquarters of a Division. For example, every Division had its own Battalion-Class Warship during the march of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders would generally issue various orders from where they were stationed on the Battalion-Class Warships.
There were 60 Divisions in the Eastern and Western Armies, which meant that there were 60 Battalion-Class Warships. Each Battalion-Class Warship not only had an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commander overseeing its operations, but also other auxiliary personnel. Nevertheless, these personnel roughly numbered no more than half the numbers of a Battalion or 50 people.
Battalion-Class Warships were much larger and had greater destructive power compared to Squad Class Warships. The role that a Battalion-Class Warship could play on the battlefield was no less than Dawning Light under Dawn’s command.
It was not until Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield that the Human Race finally created the larger Purifying Black Ink Battleships for the sake of carrying Purifying Light.
From a defensive and offensive aspect, a Purifying Black Ink Battleship was not much stronger than a Battalion-Class Warship; however, the Purifying Light sealed within the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was the Human Race’s biggest reliance against Black Ink Strength. Not to mention, the Universe Array set up on the Purifying Black Ink Battleships also played a significant role. That was why the Purifying Black Ink Battleships generally had a more significant meaning compared to a Battalion-Class Warship.
Yang Kai came to the Warship where the Division Commander of the First Division was located. The Division Commander of the First Division was also one of those who sent out a Divine Sense transmission earlier.
Each Division consisted of roughly 500 troops, with five Battalions under its command. Each Battalion subsequently consisted of eight or nine Squads, so there were approximately 45 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Squad Leaders gathered here.
The Division Commander of the First Division was Xu Yong Da, who was personally appointed by Xiang Shan back at the Central Square of Wind and Cloud Pass. Yang Kai remembered him from back then.
Xu Yong Da stood on the deck with his hands behind his back. The Squad Leaders rushed over in droves and obediently stood in line before him.
When he saw Yang Kai in attendance, he simply glanced at him briefly and said nothing. It was evident that he knew Yang Kai came here to obtain information as the Squad Leader of a Special Operations Squad.
Not long afterwards, the adjutant next to him leaned over and reported in a low voice, “Sir, everyone is here.”
He nodded and finally opened his mouth to speak, “I called you over because I have orders from above.”
While Xu Yong Da was speaking, the adjutant reached up and swept his hand out before him. Materials of various Elements suddenly appeared in front of him. There were almost a dozen of these materials in varying shapes and sizes; moreover, these materials were of varying Orders. Everybody was confused by the sight before them.
Xu Yong Da stepped forward and pointed at the materials, “When you return to your respective Squads, you must collect the materials that are shown here. There are no requirements in terms of Order, so just collect as many as possible.”
There were times when the same materials might not have the same Order. Those with better formation conditions and enough time would have a higher Order. On the other hand, the reverse would result in materials with a lower Order instead.
One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Squad Leaders asked curiously, “Sir, what is the purpose of collecting these materials?”
Xu Yong Da replied, “The higher-ups have their own considerations. Don’t ask so many questions and simply collect what you have been told to collect. The time limit is half a day. Each Squad Leader will be responsible for their respective Squad. Please gather all the materials presented in front of you and deliver them here promptly.”
“Yes!” The Squad Leaders received the orders and dispersed back to their Squads.
There was an unwritten rule on the Black Ink Battlefield that every cultivator would leave all their resources behind in their residence whenever they were dispatched from the Great Pass where they resided, especially during wartime. They normally did not carry many materials with them on the battlefield.
This practice was to prevent the loss of resources should they fall in battle or suffer from any unexpected accidents on the battlefield. By leaving all their materials in their residence, the property they left behind could be used by others if they lost their lives in battle.
The Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield used to live a difficult life where materials were desperately lacking. Although their situation had improved considerably, their deep-rooted habits formed over the years had not changed.
However, the situation among the troops of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies was different. They planned to retake Great Evolution Pass, so regardless of whether they survived the campaign, they would not be returning to their original Great Passes. They were part of the Great Evolution Army now.
For that reason, they had packed and brought all their belongings with them before the campaign began. That was not all though as the various Great Passes had also distributed large amounts of cultivation resources to the deployed troops, lest they lacked the necessary resources when they arrived at the Great Evolution Theatre. Therefore, all the troops in the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies could be said to be extremely wealthy.
It would not be difficult to complete the order from the higher-ups to collect the specified materials as there were 30,000 troops in the Armies, and the number would not be too small either. If nothing else, there were piles of materials stacked up like mountains in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, so there would no doubt be many of the requested materials there.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai could not understand why the higher-ups wanted to gather these items. Looking at the situation, it would seem as though it was a sudden idea; otherwise, they would have prepared these materials back in the Inner Sanctum and not while the Army was on the march. Since it was a sudden idea, then the higher-ups must have come up with some kind of special plan while on the march. It might even have something to do with the battle earlier.
Deep in thought, Yang Kai quickly returned to the Dawning Light. A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master immediately came forward, “Junior Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai looked up and recognised that person as Li Xing, who also came from Blue Sky Pass. A total of 500 people had been dispatched from Blue Sky Pass, so even if he was not acquainted with all of them, Yang Kai would at least be familiar with their faces.
Yang Kai was not close to Li Xing, but they had met each other at Blue Sky Pass on several occasions. Furthermore, Li Xing currently served as Xiang Shan’s adjutant in the Great Evolution Army.
“Senior Brother Li!” Yang Kai cupped his fist in greeting and asked, “Do you need something, Senior Brother?”
Li Xing solemnly replied, “The Army Commander has summoned you. If you have nothing urgent going on, please come with me.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Please wait a moment, Senior Brother. I received orders from Division Commander Xu to gather some materials, so I would like to convey the orders to the others first.”
Li Xing had no objections.
Yang Kai immediately informed Feng Ying about the several dozen materials that Xu Yong Da had displayed earlier; then, he asked her to gather these materials from the Squad members and deliver them to the Division Commander.
Feng Ying diligently memorised the information and got to work.
After settling this matter, Yang Kai finally stretched out his hand in a polite gesture, “Please lead the way, Senior Brother.”
Li Xing nodded and took off.
The two of them navigated through the void and passed by numerous Warships before quickly arriving at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship stationed in the middle of the Army.
The Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies had two Purifying Black Ink Battleships. Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping had each brought one from their respective Pass. It was just that Liu Zhi Ping had retrieved the Western Army’s Purifying Black Ink Battleship after everybody had left their Imprint on its Universe Array, so there was currently only one Purifying Black Ink Battleship with the Army at the moment. In this way, it was more convenient for the two Army Commanders to discuss various matters and receive intelligence since they were gathered in one spot.
When Yang Kai arrived at this place, he was startled to discover a bunch of people sitting down cross-legged on the ship’s deck. Moreover, it was not just the deck. There were also people floating nearby in the void.
Meanwhile, the person seated in the middle of this gathering was none other than Ma Fan. Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and even the Old Ancestor were also present, but they stood not far away and watched quietly with no intention of intervening.
Yang Kai did not know what was happening, but Grandmaster Ma Fan seemed to be explaining the method of refining something at the moment. If Yang Kai was not mistaken, all the people gathered here were Artifact Refiners.
On this trip to recover Great Evolution Pass, there were more than 1,000 Artifact Refiners marching along with the Army. That was the only way to ensure that the Warships would be repaired in a timely manner when damaged. Besides, if the Great Evolution Army could successfully retake Great Evolution Pass, they would ultimately require the strength of these Artifact Refiners to restore the Great Pass to its former glory.
The Army not only had 1,000 Artifact Refiners, but also quite a few Alchemists and Array Masters as well.
Among the 1,000 Artifact Refiners, there was another Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster aside from Grandmaster Ma Fan, as well as some 50 Grandmasters. The rest were mostly Artifact Refining Great Masters.
The Artifact Refining elites of several Great Passes had been gathered together in this place. In order to successfully retake Great Evolution Pass, each Great Pass had not been stingy to contribute their own talents.
With 1,000 such people gathered in one place, it was impossible for the deck to accommodate them all even if the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was quite large. That was why Yang Kai was greeted with the sight of Grandmaster Ma Fan being surrounded by a huge crowd.
Following Li Xing to stand in front of Xiang Shan and the others, Yang Kai respectfully bowed in greeting.
Xiang Shan nodded and waved his hand, “Go over there and listen with the others.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai obeyed and headed towards Grandmaster Ma Fan. After squeezing his way through the crowd, he finally managed to occupy a spot and carefully listened to the lecture.
A short while later, Yang Kai grasped the contents of this talk to an extent. Grandmaster Ma Fan was explaining the refining method of a mechanical puppet.
A mechanical puppet could be considered a kind of puppet, but the mechanical puppet developed by Grandmaster Ma Fan was clearly more agile and realistic than ordinary puppets. Not to mention, he was explaining the refining method of a humanoid puppet.
The refining method was not complicated. Under normal circumstances, an Artifact Refining Grandmaster would be more than qualified to refine these puppets. It was just that the quality of the refined puppets would depend on the refiner’s personal attainments and the materials used. The refining method of these humanoid puppets was probably created by Grandmaster Ma Fan himself, and that was why he was the one to teach them the method.
Whatever the case, his explanation was extremely thorough. All the Artifact Refiners gathered here were talented beyond their peers, so it was easy for them to quickly master the refining method. Some people also asked some questions and received detailed answers from Ma Fan, which gave them a deeper understanding of the refining method for these puppets.
Less than half a day later, the lecture ended and Grandmaster Ma Fan looked around the surroundings, “Does anybody else have any questions? If you have a question, please feel free to ask and this Old Master will explain to the best of his ability.”
Nobody said anything. Clearly, they had no questions regarding the contents of the lecture.
Ma Fan nodded in satisfaction, “In that case, this Old Master has prepared a jade slip for each of you. The jade slip contains a detailed refining method for the mechanical puppet. After receiving the necessary materials, you will have to figure out the refining by yourselves. If there is anything you don’t understand, you may come and ask this Old Master at any time.”
After saying that, he raised his large hand and numerous streams of lights appeared and drifted towards each person in attendance. Every single stream of light contained a single jade slip.
Although a thorough explanation had been given, there were bound to be many problems once these people started refining the puppets even though they understood the contents of the lecture. That was why he went the extra length to prepare these jade slips. These jade slips not only contained the detailed refining method but also some of his insights. In this way, they could reduce most of the difficulties by comparing their results with the jade slip during the process of refining.
Taking the jade slip, Yang Kai immersed his mind into it. He discovered that the jade slip contained the refining method of the humanoid mechanical puppet Grandmaster Ma Fan had explained earlier, but it was much more detailed and comprehensive.
It was almost like a complete pill recipe. The problems that should be watched out for during the refining process, when to use what materials, what issues might arise, and the solutions to fix these issues, everything was recorded neatly inside the jade slip.
With this jade slip in hand, refining the puppet would not be difficult even if they didn’t have someone to guide them through the process, so what more was needed when Grandmaster Ma Fan was willing to explain everything in person?
While Ma Fan was explaining the refining method for the humanoid puppet, numerous Eighth-Order Masters rushed over from various directions and handed the Space Rings in their hands to Xiang Shan before leaving once more.
As a steady stream of Eighth-Order Division Commanders came and went, the number of Space Rings that Xiang Shan was carrying gradually increased.
Xiang Shan handed these Space Rings to Li Xing, along with some instructions. Nodding lightly, Li Xing walked directly to a group of Artifact Refiners and said, “Please come to me, one at a time, to receive the necessary materials for refining the mechanical puppets.”
The Artifact Refiners quickly gathered around him upon hearing those words and soon surrounded him tightly.
Yang Kai did not go immediately and instead walked towards Ma Fan and asked, “Grandmaster, the Division Commanders issued an order earlier to gather some materials. Are those the materials needed for refining the mechanical puppets?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded, “That’s right.”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “What’s the point of refining so many of these things?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan answered patiently, “I’m not too sure about the exact details either. I simply received a request from Army Commander Xiang Shan to teach the refining method of these puppets. As for what he plans to do with them, that’s up to his own considerations. However, the refining method of these puppets is something I learned on a whim when I was younger. Although they seem quite realistic from a distance, they aren’t much use in reality. According to my guess, these puppets can only be used as a distraction at most.”
Yang Kai seemed pensive.
On the other side, Xiang Shan spoke up once most of the Artifact Refiners had received the supplies, “After receiving the materials, please refine them carefully. Do your best to refine as many puppets as possible.”
Everybody nodded in acknowledgement.
Yang Kai guessed that he had been summoned here because he was now decently proficient in Artifact Refining. Since he already knew the reason behind this matter, there was no need to continue staying here. The other Artifact Refiners had to wait to receive their supplies, but he did not; therefore, he turned around and rushed towards Dawning Light after informing Grandmaster Ma Fan about his intentions.
Upon returning to Dawning Light, Yang Kai began refining the humanoid puppets right on the deck. The members of Dawn watched his movements curiously at the beginning, but they lost interest and went back to their own affairs as time passed.
Three days later, the Army set off again and continued to sail towards the Great Evolution Theatre. The marching speed of the Army was neither fast nor slow.
Another few days later, Yang Kai’s refining process came to an end. It was not difficult to refine the humanoid puppets as the process was easy to master as long as one had the standards of a Great Master, and Yang Kai was already a Grandmaster.
After the various components were refined, one simply needed to assemble them together. In that way, a mechanical puppet could be completed in just seven or eight days.
A group of Dawn members gathered on the deck and observed the finished product curiously. They were rather familiar with puppets as each of them had more or less seen similar objects throughout the journey of their growth.
From the external appearance, the humanoid puppet that Yang Kai refined did not look particularly special. It could even be said to be rather ugly. Although it had a humanoid frame, anybody who was not blind could see that it was not a living thing at a glance.
Yang Kai made the final checks to ensure that nothing was missing from the puppet he refined before nodding.
Shen Ao rubbed his chin as he muttered, “Say, why do the higher-ups want to refine these puppets?”
Qi Tai Chu thoughtfully suggested, “Maybe they will be used to increase the combat power of our Great Evolution Army? Speaking of which, how much strength can this puppet exert upon activation?”
Feng Ying shook her head, “They are probably not meant to strengthen the combat power of the Army. The Dao of Puppetry is profound and mysterious, so even if you refine a puppet, you will need to master special Puppet Arts in order to bring out their full strength. There are a few cultivators in Blue Sky Pass who are proficient in the Dao of Puppetry, so they might be able to make some use of these puppets, but with such a large number being produced, it’s obvious that these puppets were not prepared for them. Besides, most of them didn’t even come along on this campaign.”
“If they are not meant to strengthen our combat power, then what are they for? Are they meant to be nothing more than ornaments?” Ning Qi Zhi laughed, “Don’t tell me the higher-ups are planning to use these puppets to scare the Black Ink Clan away?”
“I don’t know whether they can scare the Black Ink Clan away, but these puppets probably aren’t meant to just be ornaments,” Yang Kai, who was busy working, suddenly interjected.
Feng Ying inquired, “Squad Leader, do you know what they are for?”
He shook his head, “I don’t. The higher-ups did not state their intentions clearly, they simply asked us to refine as many of these puppets as we could. Be that as it may, the resources consumed during the refining process are not particularly valuable and can even be considered common items. The refining method is not too advanced either, so even if these puppets were given to those who cultivated the Dao of Puppetry, they would not be able to play a significant role in battle. Any random Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman would be able to destroy one of these puppets in a single blow.”
During the conversation, he finished doing the final checks and confirmed that there were no issues with the puppet. According to the instructions written in the jade slip given by Grandmaster Ma Fan, only the final activation step was left. If there were no problems with this final step, then the refinement of the puppet could be considered a success.
Activating the puppet was simple, one only needed to inject World Force into the puppet. Needless to say, after consuming the injected World Force, the puppet would stop moving. This was typically why the power source of a puppet would generally be something other than a cultivator’s own strength. There was no need for Yang Kai to worry about these details though as his job was simply to refine these puppets. The higher-ups would make their own arrangements when the time came.
Raising his hand, Yang Kai pressed his palm against the chest of the puppet, circulated his World Force, and poured it into the puppet. As the World Force entered the puppet, the patterns on the body of the puppet lit up. Immediately after that, the puppet seemed to come alive and radiated a vibrant aura.
He immediately sensed an inexplicable connection forming between him and the puppet in front of him. This connection came from the World Force he poured into the puppet earlier. In other words, he could now easily control the puppet.
Be that as it may, what shocked everybody was that the puppet exuded the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after being activated by Yang Kai!
Shen Ao was so shocked that he blurted out, “Are you serious!? Fifth-Order!?”
The puppet that Yang Kai spent seven or eight days to refine had the aura of a Fifth-Order Master! If it could exert the strength of a Fifth-Order Master as well, then that would be beyond astonishing! After all, the Human Race would only need to refine these puppets on a large scale and send them into battle to never have to worry about the casualties again!
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai seemed thoughtful, “The aura is realistic, but it’s just the aura.”
Thanks to the inexplicable connection between them, he had a deeper understanding of the puppet. The mechanical puppet developed by Grandmaster Ma Fan had a slightly different approach to the norm. Generally speaking, any puppet could exert a certain amount of strength when powered and controlled properly. Unfortunately, this puppet seemed to only imitate the aura of a Master and couldn’t actually utilize much strength at all. Its greatest use would be to frighten and mislead others.
With a simple thought, the puppet immediately began moving around on the deck. It could jump, run, and walk with ease. Judging by its posture, it was not very different from an actual person in terms of mobility, with its movements being agile and fluid.
Next, Yang Kai controlled the puppet to throw a punch.
As soon as the puppet punched out, the anticipation and excitement overflowing from the members of Dawn immediately turned into bitter disappointment. This couldn’t be helped though as in their eyes, the punch was so weak that it was practically powerless. None of them would even need to block this blow as they could simply stand there and take it without suffering any damage.
Sure enough, it was just as Yang Kai had mentioned earlier. The refining method for this puppet was not very advanced, and the materials used were not particularly valuable. It was not surprising that the puppet turned out so useless; hence, everybody couldn’t help feeling confused by the orders from the higher-ups. Why refine such useless puppets in such large quantities?
Having satisfied their curiosity, the members of Dawn lost interest in the useless puppets and returned to their own affairs.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai gave the puppet the order to move around freely before he began refining a second one. The refining process went much smoother than the first time, and the time he took was shortened by half a day. Everybody would go through a period of practice before they became skilled at anything after all. Yang Kai estimated that he would only need four to five days to refine another puppet to completion once he became proficient in this process.
After a series of checks, he confirmed that there were no problems with the second puppet. He then poured his World Force into it for the final activation. The puppet once again released the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, almost identical to the first puppet.
The first puppet had already been stored in his Space Ring. Since Yang Kai had not provided it with much World Force to begin with, and did not continue to provide it with more, the puppet completely stopped moving after an incense stick or so.
The Army continued to march forward slowly, and the days gradually slipped by.
During this period, Yang Kai concentrated on refining the humanoid puppets and his speed increased with practice. Half a year later, he only needed five days to finish refining one.
In addition, as he became more proficient in this process, the aura released by the mechanical puppets he created were no longer limited to the Fifth Order. Oftentimes, the puppets he refined would release the aura of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master when powered up. When his luck was particularly good, the puppets he refined would release an aura that was comparable to a Seventh-Order Master!
Unfortunately, that was his limit. Yang Kai had the feeling that if Grandmaster Ma Fan and the other Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster were the ones to refine these puppets, they might be able to exude the aura of an Eighth-Order Division Commander.
In any case, regardless of how powerful the aura the puppets exuded, their foundation remained the same. They were still weak and useless existences that would be destroyed by any random blow from a Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman.
Another half a year later, Yang Kai had refined almost 80 of these puppets. All of them had been stored inside a single Space Ring, ready to be delivered to the higher-ups at any time.
After sailing for over a year, the Great Evolution Army had finally arrived within the Great Evolution Theatre. They would be able to see Great Evolution Pass from a distance if they continued marching forward for another two or three months.
At this time, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies began to reduce the size of their formation. They used the power of various artifacts and Spirit Arrays to conceal the whereabouts of the 30,000 troops and in addition, many teams of scouts were dispatched to investigate the route ahead and prevent any possibilities that their presence might be revealed.
At the same time, the higher-ups suddenly issued another confusing order for collection. The last order for collection from the higher-ups had been to gather the various materials required for the refinement of the puppets. This time around, the order for collection was to gather spare clothing. They were neither limited to gender nor body shape or size. It was acceptable as long as the clothing could be worn.
Combined with the order to refine the puppets in large quantities, many people were starting to understand the intentions of the higher-ups. First, it was collecting the materials to refine large amounts of humanoid puppets, then it was collecting various kinds of clothing. Their intentions no longer required much explanation at this point.
Those puppets were going to be used as some kind of ruse. Every one of those puppets exuded the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and above. It was conceivable that the Puppet Army would seem extremely imposing when gathered in one place. At the right time and the right place, they would easily be able to attract the full attention of the Black Ink Clan.
Meanwhile, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies would take advantage of this opportunity to take action.
Although there were speculations about the purpose of these puppets, it was unfortunate that Yang Kai and the others could not figure out the where and how these puppets were going to be used.
Truthfully speaking, these puppets would easily be seen through if they were observed closely. While they could move around as smoothly as a real person and exude the aura of an Open Heaven Realm Master, that would only fool others when they were far away. However, just the Open Heaven Realm aura exuded by these puppets alone would likely be enough for them to be mistaken for a real Army if they were dressed in proper clothes and seen from a distance.
The Army had already stepped foot into the Great Evolution Theatre, so there was a chance of encountering the Black Ink Clan at any moment. The 30,000 troops prepared themselves for battle and conserved their energy so that they were ready for the possibility of war.
The members responsible for controlling the various Spirit Arrays and artifacts on the Squad Class Warships were carefully inspecting their weapons to ensure that there were no issues before the battle began.
The Great Evolution Army progressed through the void as silently as a phantom, exuding a chilling aura.
Upon receiving a summons from Xiang Shan, Yang Kai came to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in the middle of the Army once more. The Old Ancestor and the two Army Commanders were gathered together as though they were waiting for him to arrive.
After Yang Kai greeted them, Xiang Shan got straight to the point, “We have a mission for you!”
“Please give me your instructions, Sir!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
Xiang Shan said, “If we march forward for another two months, we will reach Great Evolution Pass. I want you to circle around ahead and search for the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies on the other side of Great Evolution Pass.”
At the moment, the Great Evolution Army had been split into two parts. One part was the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies that had gathered at Wind and Cloud Pass, while the other part was the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies that had gathered at Azure Void Pass.
There were two reasons for this deployment. The first reason was that Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass had always been besieged by larger than normal Black Ink Armies. If the Great Evolution Army assembled at both these two Great Passes, then they could easily break these sieges. The second reason was that half of the troops from the Great Evolution Army came from these two Great Passes.
Both Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass had each dispatched 15,000 troops each to cobble together the Great Evolution Army of 60,000 troops. Therefore, the Great Evolution Army was bound to depart from these two Great Passes and advance together regardless of the circumstances.
That was what Yang Kai understood. What he didn’t know was that the two Armies departing from different Great Passes had originally agreed to march towards Great Evolution Pass at full speed so that they could arrive as soon as possible and join forces to launch a coordinated attack.
However, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies had encountered the Black Ink Clan reinforcement Army from Great Evolution Pass along their march. That had given Xiang Shan the idea for a better strategy, and he quickly made various arrangements during the march.
If there were changes to the original plan, then it was only natural to inform the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies about the changes so that they were not completely blindsided by the actions of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies.
The inconvenience of communication on the battlefield could lead to extremely large losses.
Since they wanted to inform the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies about the changes, they had to choose a suitable candidate for the task. For Xiang Shan, the first person that came to mind was Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, and as a result, his speed was something that even an Eighth-Order Master would not be able to match. Even if he ran into a Territory Lord on this journey, he would not be in danger as long as he was careful.
Not to mention, Xiang Shan did not know the current whereabouts of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies even though he had a prior agreement with their Army Commanders. If he sent somebody else, they might need to spend time searching slowly.
On the contrary, the situation would be different if he sent Yang Kai on this trip. That was because all the Universe Arrays on the Purifying Black Ink Battleships of each Great Pass had been installed by Yang Kai himself. He had a unique advantage when it came to searching for the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies.
After Xiang Shan explained his reasons to Yang Kai, the latter naturally did not refuse.
“I exchanged communication artifacts with the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies in the past. As long as we are within a certain distance of each other, we will be able to contact each other. But, there’s no need to go to such trouble to search for them. The Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies brought their Purifying Black Ink Battleships along, so when the time comes, you will only need to use the Universe Transference Law to arrive directly at their side,” Xiang Shan explained.
Yang Kai nodded, “Junior understands.”
Liu Zhi Ping added, “Just in case, you should bring the communication artifact with you. Having an extra method of communication will give you an extra layer of guarantee!”
Since she had already said so, Xiang Shan did not object to her suggestion. She thus handed a Communication Bead to Yang Kai, which he carefully stored away.
“When you locate the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies, tell them that there have been changes to the original plan. The Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies will be taking action to draw the Black Ink Clan’s attention as we charge straight into the Black Ink Clan’s territory. I’m certain that the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass will receive news about the attack when the fighting breaks out. It would be great if the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass did not take any action, but that is unlikely, so, the Northern and Southern Armies need to intercept the enemy once the Black Ink Clan leaves Great Evolution Pass.”
Yang Kai was extremely surprised by those words, [Is the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies planning to attack the Black Ink Clan’s territory?]
He had always assumed that the goal of this campaign was to retake Great Evolution Pass, so he never imagined that Xiang Shan’s plan would be so bold.
Upon further consideration though, this plan was clearly more beneficial. If the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass would not be able to remain still once they received the news. They would surely head out to provide reinforcements, and at that time, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies would make their move and catch the enemy by surprise. This approach was clearly much better than attacking Great Evolution Pass directly.
Yang Kai initially had some worries regarding this matter. The Black Ink Clan had taken over Great Evolution Pass some 30,000 years ago, so they were bound to have prepared various defensive measures. If the Humans had attacked the Great Pass head on, they would surely have suffered great losses.
On the contrary, the situation would be different if they lured the snake out of its hole in this manner. Without Great Evolution Pass for protection, the Black Ink Clan would lose a huge advantage in this battle.
If the Humans could obliterate all the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass, they would be able to retake Great Evolution Pass with ease. It could even be said that if they could beat the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre half to death, then the Great Evolution Army would gain ample time to establish a stable foothold in Great Evolution Pass after they retook it.
Following the various thoughts that ran through his mind, Yang Kai vaguely understood Xiang Shan’s plan and couldn’t help admiring the foresight of the Army Commander.
“Inform them that there’s no need to provide aid to the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. They only need to keep the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass contained and kill as many enemies as possible to ensure we aren’t attacked from the rear.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai acknowledged the order.
“If you don’t have anything to prepare, then please set off immediately.”
It was true that Yang Kai had nothing to prepare, but the hundred or so puppets that he refined previously were still inside his Space Ring, so he immediately took it out and handed it to Xiang Shan. Then, he cupped his fist in farewell, “Junior will depart right now.”
“Be careful, and stay safe!” The Old Ancestor, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly urged.
Yang Kai nodded and flashed out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
There was no need to inform Dawn. Even without him as the Squad Leader, Feng Ying and the others would be perfectly fine; after all, they were all people who had spent hundreds, if not thousands of years on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Manipulating Space Principles, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and disappeared out of sight. When he looked back again, he could no longer see the Great Eastern and Western fleets. There were various artifacts and barriers to conceal their whereabouts, so it was impossible to discover them unless one was close enough.
Yang Kai did not linger. Making use of Instantaneous Movement over and over again, his figure flashed through the void without pause.
According to the information given by Xiang Shan, the marching speed of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies was probably faster than that of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies.
Yang Kai guessed that the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies were about to arrive in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass; however, they would never carry out any rash actions before receiving contact from the Eastern and Western Armies. Hiding in the shadows and observing the situation was definitely the safest method.
What he needed to do at this moment was circle around Great Evolution Pass, locate the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies, and deliver Xiang Shan’s message.
After Yang Kai departed, the conversation continued inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, with Liu Zhi Ping saying, “It’s almost time. We should act according to the plan.”
Xiang Shan nodded, “Collect all the puppets.”
The order was conveyed to the others and soon, all the Artifact Refiners delivered the puppets they refined during the past year to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. The puppets were personally inspected and counted by Ma Fan himself.
There were more than 1,000 Artifact Refiners, including two Great Grandmasters and 50 Grandmasters, so the results of the past year could be said to be extremely bountiful. As many as 70,000 puppets had been refined!
Yang Kai alone had refined more than 100 puppets with the other Grandmasters achieving similar results. The two Great Grandmasters had refined even more. Although the number of puppets refined by the Great Masters was slightly lower, refining 70,000 puppets in this timeframe was a terrifying feat nevertheless.
That was a number that was accumulated from piling up various materials, but the preparations did not end there. Every puppet also needed to be charged and activated, which was another huge expense.
It was fortunate that the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies had brought enough supplies with them when they first set off on this journey to support such profligacy.
It took several days to install energy sources for the tens of thousands of puppets. Afterward, the puppets were divided into five portions and stored into five separate Space Rings. These five Space Rings were carried by five Eighth-Order Division Commanders, who jointly set off in the direction of Great Evolution Pass.
Following the departure of these five Eighth-Order Division Commanders, the huge fleet that had been marching straight towards Great Evolution Pass since they first set sail changed course.
It was also on this day that Zhe Chong Territory Lord, who had been fleeing for more than a year, finally arrived back at Great Evolution Pass.
The reason he was able to arrive at Great Evolution Pass two months earlier than the Great Evolution Army was that he had been acting alone, so it was only natural that his movements were less restricted. He had mustered all his strength to escape back then and subsequently continued to run for his life for the next whole month.
On the other hand, the Great Evolution Army had to maintain their formation, so it stood to reason that their speed could not compare to a lone Territory Lord. Be that as it may, it was the exact situation that Xiang Shan had been anticipating. It was crucial for Zhe Chong to return to Great Evolution Pass ahead of them so that the Black Ink Clan had enough time to make some arrangements.
Zhe Chong was a Territory Lord, but even his complexion was a little haggard at the moment. Travelling through the void for a year was no big deal for a Master in his Realm, so the reason he looked so disheveled was mainly due to the mental stress he had suffered. For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his pursuers were right behind him.
When Zhe Chong was only a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass, he was ambushed by a Human Race Army. The 300,000 troops of the Black Ink Army had been completely annihilated, and all other Territory Lords other than him had lost their lives.
However, fleeing for the past year had taken a huge toll on him. He felt as though there was an overwhelming sense of crisis pressing down on him, giving him the illusion that he was constantly being chased. Be that as it may, there were no signs of pursuers no matter how many times he checked his surroundings.
Seeing the majestic Great Pass in front of him once more, Zhe Chong felt as though he had never found a more welcoming sight in his entire life. His tense nerves finally relaxed as soon as he stepped into Great Evolution Pass.
More than 30,000 years had passed since the Black Ink Clan conquered Great Evolution Pass. The troops that generally departed from here to provide reinforcements to the two adjacent Theatres had always been defeated after arriving at Wind and Cloud Pass or Azure Void Pass. There was never once when they were ambushed and completely annihilated by the Humans along the way.
During his escape, Zhe Chong had been wondering about something. He simply could not understand how the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass could gather the manpower to prepare an ambush in that place.
Logically speaking, the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass should have been overwhelmed by the siege of the Black Ink Clan Army by now.
After much thought, a possibility occurred to him, one that left him feeling very uneasy.
Great Evolution Pass was originally one of the Great Passes under the Human Race’s control. It had taken countless generations of blood, sweat, and tears from the elites of Great Evolution Paradise to build up the Great Pass little by little. More than 30,000 years ago, this place was not that different from the other Great Passes. Tens of thousands of Human troops had protected this place under the leadership of their Old Ancestor and prevented the Black Ink Clan from taking one step across the boundary.
However, the entire Great Evolution Pass was now shrouded in a layer of dense Black Ink Strength. There was also an enormous Black Ink Nest standing tall in the middle of Great Evolution Pass’ Central Square.
The Black Ink Nest resembled a pitch-black flower bud that was on the verge of blooming. Whenever it contracted and expanded slightly, large amounts of thick Black Ink Strength leaked out from within.
This particular Black Ink Nest was thousands of metres tall, and its base practically occupied the entire Central Square. Looking at it from a distance, it resembled a towering black mountain. It was clearly a Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest.
Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. The presence of a Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest here indicated that this was now the home territory of a Territory Lord. In other words, there was a Territory Lord guarding this place at all times.
This situation was nothing out of the ordinary. Great Evolution Pass was the first and only Great Pass to be conquered by the Black Ink Clan in history, so it was impossible for the Black Ink Clan to neglect it. Even if only to boost morale, a Territory Lord was always standing guard here.
Furthermore, the Territory Lord stationed here was the strongest Territory Lord in the entire Theatre, Hong Di!
It was rumoured that this Territory Lord was only one step away from becoming a Royal Lord. Unfortunately, the rumour had been circulating for tens of thousands of years yet there were no signs of Hong Di advancing so far.
Although there were no signs of his breaking through, it was true that Hong Di Territory Lord was very diligent in his cultivation. Even though he was stationed at Great Evolution Pass, he basically stayed within the Black Ink Nest and borrowed its power to cultivate. All the Black Ink Clansmen under his command believed that he was trying to overcome the last step to become a Royal Lord.
Of course, Hong Di was not the only Territory Lord stationed at Great Evolution Pass after the Black Ink Clan first conquered it. There were also several others besides him. That was because they had been wary of the Human Race trying to retake Great Evolution Pass.
However, more than 30,000 years had passed since then. The Human Race seemed to have little regard for Great Evolution Pass and never showed signs of trying to retake it; therefore, the Black Ink Clan no longer took this matter too seriously. Except for the most powerful Hong Di, who was ordered to remain here, all the other Territory Lords returned to their respective territories.
Leaving the strongest Territory Lord at Great Evolution Pass was part of the precautions taken by the Black Ink Clan. They knew that the Humans would eventually attempt to retake the Great Pass, but they did not know when the counterattack would come.
In this way, Great Evolution Pass became Hong Di’s personal territory. Nevertheless, this place remained very lively since the reinforcement Armies for the Black Ink Clan in the Azure Void Theatre and the Great Evolution Theatre generally gathered and departed from this place.
Roughly three years ago, an Army of 300,000 troops had set off in the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass; hence, Hong Di was very surprised when Zhe Chong suddenly appeared at Great Evolution Pass.
He was not surprised by the fact that Zhe Chong had returned so quickly though, but by the fact that Zhe Chong had returned at all. As the person in charge of Great Evolution Pass, he could easily obtain various pieces of information with the help of Great Evolution Pass.
Likewise, Zhe Chong was also rather taken aback. That was because he basically never saw Hong Di even though he had been to Great Evolution Pass on many occasions. Hong Di had always been in a state of secluded cultivation after all. Many Territory Lords had maliciously speculated about him, wondering whether he had died inside his Black Ink Nest since they had not seen him in so many years.
The two Territory Lords met inside a Grand Hall. Compared to the travel-weary Zhe Chong, Hong Di was undoubtedly full of vigour.
There were no rules for courtesy like those among the Human Race, so after they each took a seat, Hong Di glanced at Zhe Chong and asked probingly, “Did you encounter anything worthy of attention during your deployment?”
He did not ask where the Army of 300,000 troops had gone or why Zhe Chong was the only one out of a dozen Territory Lords to appear here. Just by looking at Zhe Chong’s miserable appearance, Hong Di had a guess as to what happened. His question was simply to confirm his speculations.
Zhe Chong quickly nodded, “Among a field of universe fragments located only a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass, we were ambushed by the Humans. They were led by a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor and had some 50 to 60 Eighth-Order Masters with them! Our Army was no match for them, and almost everyone was slaughtered on the spot. I was the only one to escape alive!”
Hong Di nodded lightly at those words and revealed an expression that seemed to indicate he had expected as much. The Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 troops had almost zero chance of survival against such a line-up from the Human Race. Zhe Chong was very lucky to escape and return alive.
Zhe Chong was stunned, “You knew?”
Hong Di waved his hand in denial, “I didn’t know anything, but I did receive news from the Wind and Cloud Theatre approximately one year ago. It was said that an additional Old Ancestor had appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass, along with hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. In the end, even the Royal Lord was severely injured and forced to escape back to the Royal City. The Territory Lords suffered massive casualties, and the Army of several million under their command was all but wiped out. It will be difficult for them to recover without at least a thousand years of recuperation.”
Zhe Chong was shocked to hear the news. He had thought that he was very unlucky, but compared to the fate of his clansmen at Wind and Cloud Theatre, he could be considered quite fortunate.
The Black Ink Clan had originally been suppressing the Human Race in the Wind and Cloud Theatre, but an additional Old Ancestor and hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. How could the Black Ink Clan of the Wind and Cloud Theatre possibly withstand such a force?
[Have the Humans gone insane!? Why did they gather so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in one place? Did they abandon the other Great Passes!?]
“Was the Old Ancestor you encountered a woman from the Human Race?” Hong Di asked.
Zhe Chong nodded solemnly, “Indeed!”
Although it was only a brief glimpse at the time, Zhe Chong had definitely seen the appearance of the Human Old Ancestor.
Hong Di said, “In that case, it has been confirmed. The Old Ancestor you encountered is most likely the one who suddenly appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass. The Royal Lords have conferred with each other and confirmed that this woman was originally the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master protecting Yin-Yang Pass.”
Zhe Chong raged, “If she is the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass, then why did she suddenly appear at Wind and Cloud Pass!? Are they planning to ignore and disregard the Royal Lord at Yin-Yang Pass!?”
He was lucky to have escaped the notice of that Ninth-Order Master, which allowed him to survive by a narrow margin, but what if he had not been so lucky? He would have suffered the same fate as the other dozen Territory Lords and become nothing more than severed limbs and hashed meat floating about in the void by now.
Zhe Chong had no place to vent all the bitterness and panic he felt while fleeing for his life; furthermore, thinking about how a Territory Lord like him had never been in such a wretched position before and learning that the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was somebody from the distant Yin-Yang Pass, he forgot to be mindful of his speech in his annoyance.
“Watch your tongue!” Hong Di glared at Zhe Chong. The prestige of a Black Ink Clan Royal Lord was not something a mere Territory Lord could disparage.
Zhe Chong immediately shrunk his neck. In the end, he heaved a heavy sigh.
Taking pity on Zhe Chong, Hong Di explained the situation, “To tell you the truth, there’s a reason why that Ninth-Order woman from Yin-Yang Pass appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass. It’s because a new Ninth-Order Human has appeared at Yin-Yang Pass. That’s why she could leave with peace of mind.”
Zhe Chong was stunned, “The Human’s gained an additional Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?”
The Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords were the strongest combatants among the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. The addition or loss of even one of them was something that could shake the entire Black Ink Battlefield. That was why Zhe Chong lost his composure when he heard that there was an additional Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at Yin-Yang Pass.
Hong Di nodded, “When news that the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass, the Royal Lord in the Yin-Yang Theatre probed the situation at Yin-Yang Pass and confirmed that there was a Ninth-Order Master there. It seems that one of the Army Commanders at Yin-Yang Pass broke through.”
Zhe Chong immediately gritted his teeth in fury, “The Human Race sure is cunning!”
When a Human advanced from the Eighth-Order to the Ninth-Order, the disturbance caused was extremely large. If they had chosen to advance in the Black Ink Battlefield, then the Black Ink Clan would have known about it a long time ago. Seeing as they suddenly gained a new Ninth-Order Old Ancestor out of nowhere, it could only be assumed that the newly-advanced Master had not chosen to advance on the Black Ink Battlefield.
The Humans had been planning this from the beginning! They secretly nurtured a new Ninth-Order Old Ancestor, which led to the complete defeat of the Black Ink Clan at Wind and Cloud Pass. Zhe Chong had simply gotten involved by extension.
“That can’t be right!” Hong Di suddenly seemed to realise something, and his expression changed slightly, “Zhe Chong, did you say that you were ambushed by the Human Race Army when you were a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass?”
Zhe Chong nodded, “En.”
“In other words, you encountered each other on the road.”
“Naturally,” he secretly thought to himself, [Why is Hong Di asking such nonsensical questions?]
Hong Di’s expression changed drastically. He had not been surprised by what happened to Zhe Chong because he had already heard about the situation beforehand. The Black Ink Clan Army had suffered a crushing defeat at Wind and Cloud Pass, so he naturally assumed that the reinforcement Army led by Territory Lords like Zhe Chong had also been defeated on that battlefield.
Therefore, he had been slightly surprised to see that Zhe Chong had returned alive. Many Territory Lords had perished in that battle, so Zhe Chong was very lucky to have survived.
Be that as it may, it turned out that the reinforcement Army had not participated in the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass.
It was impossible for the Humans to know about the reinforcement Army dispatched from Great Evolution Pass and set up an ambush in the middle of their route. In other words, it was because Zhe Chong and the others were unlucky that they were ambushed in the first place. They had encountered the Human Race Army that had departed from Wind and Cloud Pass.
But why would an Old Ancestor lead a Human Army out of Wind and Cloud Pass?
“This is bad!” Hong Di abruptly jumped to his feet, “They are coming to attack Great Evolution Pass!”
Zhe Chong frowned, “Do you have evidence?”
The truth was that he had considered this possibility while on the run for his life, but there was no evidence to back up this speculation. Although he had encountered the Human Race Army outside of Wind and Cloud Pass, he could not say that they were planning to attack and retake Great Evolution Pass. That was a huge claim to make, so Zhe Chong had not dared to voice his opinion even though this idea had crossed his mind.
Zhe Chong had originally planned to use the Black Ink Nest at Great Evolution Pass to report his encounter to the Royal Lord; at the same time, he planned to mention his conjecture despite the lack of evidence.
Unfortunately, there were various pros and cons to be considered. If his conjecture was true, then the Black Ink Clan would have time to prepare themselves in advance; however, if he was wrong, then he would definitely be punished. There was also the fact that he had fled the battlefield during his encounter with the Human Race Army. He was bound to suffer horribly if he was simultaneously condemned and punished for both crimes.
Seeing that Hong Di had the same suspicions, Zhe Chong felt a sense of relief. It would save him the trouble of informing the Royal Lord himself.
Hong Di quickly said, “If you consider the timing, you probably encountered the ambush from the Human Race Army after the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass ended. It was also after the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass that the Royal Lord sent me a message, telling me not to enter retreat for the time being. I couldn’t understand why he issued such a strange order at the time, but it would seem that he already anticipated this turn of events!”
The Royal Lord had indeed anticipated this situation.
Hong Di was stationed at Great Evolution Pass, so the only information he could receive was the information circulating within the Great Evolution Theatre. It was also information that the Royal Lord could access, but unlike Hong Di, the Royal Lord had a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. The Royal Lord could communicate with the other Royal Lords with their High-Rank Black Ink Nests and obtain information from the other Theatres.
Hong Di was only aware that the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass had significantly increased the number of their troops. They also seemed to have welcomed an additional Old Ancestor. However, he was not aware that the Humans at Azure Void Pass had seen a similar increase in troop strength. Although they did not have an Old Ancestor among them, they had mobilised hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Black Ink Clan at Azure Void Pass had suffered a crushing defeat as a result.
The Human Race at the two Great Passes neighbouring Great Evolution Pass had shown strange movements at the same time, that was a clear indication that they were plotting something. It was only natural for the Royal Lord to have some guesses. Hence, he immediately sent a message to Hong Di, telling the latter not to enter retreat for the next few years. That was also why Zhe Chong could meet with Hong Di at this moment.
“This is an urgent matter. I must report this information to the Royal Lord immediately.” After saying that, Hong Di rushed out. It was evident that he wanted to borrow the power of the Black Ink Nest to report the information he just received.
Seeing that, Zhe Chong naturally had no reason to stop Hong Di, so he stood up and said, “I’ll go with you.”
There was no telling what the Royal Lord might ask; therefore, it would be easier for him to answer the questions if he were present.
A short while later, Hong Di stood inside the Black Ink Nest and communicated with its consciousness to report all the information he received so far. He originally thought that it would take some time before he received a response, but contrary to his expectations, the Royal Lord responded immediately.
Another short while passed before Hong Di withdrew his consciousness with a solemn expression.
Zhe Chong asked, “What did the Royal Lord say?”
He had wanted to report his experience to the Royal Lord himself, but who could have imagined that the Royal Lord had no intention to question him whatsoever? Zhe Chong did not know what the Royal Lord had said to Hong Di.
Hong Di quickly said, “Our Clan suffered a crushing defeat at Azure Void Pass after the Humans dispatched a large number of reinforcements there. As a result, nearly half the Territory Lords were killed or gravely injured. Although the Royal Lord is safe, he won’t be able to take action within a short period of time.”
Zhe Chong was shocked, “Are you saying that something similar happened at Azure Void Pass too!?”
Hong Di nodded heavily, “So, the Royal Lord speculates that the Humans might be coming to retake Great Evolution Pass! Zhe Chong, the Royal Lord commands you to return to your territory as soon as possible and gather an Army in order to reinforce the defences at Great Evolution Pass!”
“Are they really coming?” Zhe Chong felt a little faint. For more than 30,000 years, the Humans had been ignoring the loss of Great Evolution Pass; even so, the Black Ink Clan had always known that the Humans would never abandon Great Evolution Pass entirely. They would come back to retake the Pass one day, but the Black Ink Clan never expected the wait to last 30,000 years, “I understand. I will return to my territory immediately.”
A short while later, Zhe Chong’s figure transformed into a small Black Ink Cloud that sped off into the void. He secretly rejoiced that he had returned quickly. According to his estimations, it would still take some time for the Human Race Army to arrive even if they were coming to attack Great Evolution Pass; therefore, he would have enough time to make preparations. In fact, all the Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre would have ample time to prepare themselves for the difficulties ahead.
At the same time, inside Great Evolution Pass, Hong Di issued various orders to his subordinates. Numerous Black Ink Clan squads scattered across the void in two separate directions, tasked with searching for possible movements of the Humans from Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass.
Unfortunately, this endeavour not only took time, but also required a touch of luck. If the Humans intended to retake Great Evolution Pass, they were bound to act with utmost secrecy. It would not be easy to discover their whereabouts.
Great Evolution Pass was not the only place to take action. All the Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre had received orders from the Royal Lord. They had been tasked with gathering the Armies under their command in the shortest time possible. As such, all the Black Ink Clansmen in the Great Evolution Theatre took action almost immediately. The ominous feeling that a storm was approaching enveloped the entire Theatre.
Hong Di initially thought that it would be difficult to receive news about the Human Race Army, but contrary to his expectations, it only took the Black Ink Clan search teams that he previously dispatched six days to return with intelligence to report. They had mysteriously lost contact with one of the Black Ink Clans squads that set off in the direction of Azure Void Pass.
The loss was not great, just a single Feudal Lord along with some High-Rank and Low-Rank Clansmen. Nevertheless, this anomaly quickly caught Hong Di’s attention.
It was impossible for a search party he sent out to disappear for no reason. For the past 30,000 years, the Black Ink Clan had never encountered any enemies in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass. The only possibility was that the Black Ink Clan squad had discovered the hiding place of the Human Race Army and were eliminated as a result. Therefore, he sent out more people to investigate the region where the first team had gone missing and simultaneously reported this information to the Royal Lord.
At a place located several days away from Great Evolution Pass in the direction of Azure Void Pass, a large fleet concealed the traces of their whereabouts and quietly remained hidden in the void with the help of various artifacts and arrays. The method of concealment they deployed was very clever and sophisticated, so as long as nobody came within 1,000 kilometres of the various artifacts and arrays, they would remain invisible.
However, there was nothing they could do if the Black Ink Clan came too close. Unlike with individual cultivators, it was not easy to conceal the whereabouts of such a large-scale fleet; after all, a lone cultivator could at least use some obscure Secret Techniques to conceal themselves, whereas a giant group of Warships could not be missed.
This fleet was none other than the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies that had departed from Azure Void Pass.
Just as Xiang Shan had expected, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies had marched at a faster pace compared to the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. They arrived in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass half a month ago. Needless to say, they would never act rashly before they made contact with the Eastern and Western Armies. That was why they stopped at a location approximately three days away from Great Evolution Pass to wait for news from Xiang Shan.
This location was neither too close nor too far from the Great Evolution Pass. Under the premise that they could effectively conceal their whereabouts, this distance would also allow them to easily communicate with the Eastern and Western Armies.
Unfortunately, the Northern and Southern Armies had extremely terrible luck. Their large fleet was carefully hiding in the void when a Black Ink Clan squad suddenly barged into their defense perimeter. The void was so vast that 1,000 kilometres was truly not far; therefore, the two Army Commanders of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies simply could not understand how the Black Ink Clan could randomly bump into them. They didn’t even know whether to consider those Black Ink Clansmen lucky or unlucky.
Needless to say, a mere squad of Black Ink Clansmen led by a lone Feudal Lord was nothing to the Northern and Southern Armies. They weren’t even capable of filling the gaps between the Army’s teeth.
After swiftly annihilating the Black Ink Clan squad, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies deliberately changed their location just to be safe, shifting the fleet’s hiding spot to a place several million kilometres away. Be that as it may, they just received another report from the patrols that another Black Ink Clan team had stumbled upon their location again.
The Southern Army’s Army Commander, Ou Yang Lie, the Northern Army’s Army Commander, Mi Jing Lun, and several other Eighth-Order Division Commanders gathered together aboard the main Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
It was clearly not a coincidence for them to be found by two Black Ink squads in succession. There were no such coincidences in the world.
“What do you think?” Ou Yang Lie was a red-haired old man. Just from his name alone, one could tell that he had a fiery personality. Moreover, there was a hint of impatience colouring his brow while he was speaking.
How could the others not know the reason for his impatience? The main reason was that the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies were already in position, but there was still no news from the Eastern and Western Armies. There was no way to tell where the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies were currently located.
Ou Yang Lie could not wait to attack Great Evolution Pass, so he was naturally impatient at this delay.
An Eighth-Order Division Commander spoke up, “According to the scouts who were previously dispatched, there seems to have been an increase in the number of Black Ink Clansmen in the vicinity recently. Moreover, they seem to be searching for something.”
Ou Yang Lie coldly snorted, “What else can they be searching for? Clearly, they’re looking for us. It looks like the news that our Human Race Army is planning to retake Great Evolution Pass has been exposed.”
The Great Evolution Northern Army’s Army Commander, Mi Jing Lun, had a scholarly appearance. He had a feathered helmet on his head and a feather fan in his hand. Although he was not young, he had the appearance of a fair-skinned youth. Anybody who saw him for the first time would never associate him with the post of Army Commander.
He smiled lightly, “It’s within our expectations. The movements at Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass were not small after all. It’s only natural for the Black Ink Clan to guess our intentions.”
Ou Yang Lie raged, “I want to know where Xiang Shan led the Eastern and Western Armies. We’ve already been here for some time, so why are they nowhere to be seen!? Are they planning to give up on Great Evolution Pass!?”
Mi Jing Lun persuaded earnestly, “Please calm down, Brother Ou Yang. Judging by the number of days, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies should have arrived in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass by now. I’m sure somebody will come and contact us soon.”
He knew that Ou Yang Lie was upset that the Old Ancestor had appointed Xiang Shan as the Great Evolution Eastern Army’s Army Commander. Combined with the current situation, Ou Yang Lie couldn’t hide his contempt for Xiang Shan in his words.
“What we need to do right now is to wait. But, since the Black Ink Clan has taken precautions, it isn’t safe for our Northern and Southern Armies to remain here. This place is just three days away from Great Evolution Pass, which if the enemy is alerted is clearly too close. We should withdraw to a position further away.”
Ou Yang Lie said nothing, so a Division Commander inquired, “Senior Brother Mi, how far back do you think we should retreat?”
Mi Jing Lun pondered for a moment, “We should retreat another two day’s distance, so that we are five days away from Great Evolution Pass; otherwise, the Northern and Southern Armies may not be able to respond in time if the Royal Lord decides to take action.”
The other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders who were participating in the strategy meeting nodded in agreement. Then, Mi Jing Lun glanced at Ou Yang Lie.
Ou Yang Lie said, “We’ll do as you say. Although the Army can withdraw, we will still need to send somebody to approach Great Evolution Pass in order to better monitor the movements there.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded at those words, “Your words make sense, Brother Ou Yang. Do you have any candidates in mind?”
Ou Yang Lie stood up and said, “I’ll go myself.”
Mi Jing Lun heaved a sigh in his heart, knowing that he could not dissuade the other party. Ou Yang Lie had a rather irritable personality, and the more one tried to dissuade him, the more counterproductive it would be. In any case, it was not dangerous for him to go in person. He was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so it would not be difficult for him to conceal his presence, unlike a large fleet that could not remain hidden no matter what they did.
Even if Ou Yang Lie went to scout in person, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies would still have Mi Jing Lun in command, so nothing would go wrong. It was just that Ou Yang Lie could not be allowed to go alone. There was no saying what trouble he might cause with his violent temper otherwise.
For that reason, Mi Jing Lun said, “You should bring your Disciple with you, Brother Ou Yang. That way, you can send him back to inform us if you discover anything.”
Ou Yang Lie immediately turned to look at Mi Jing Lun, “What’s wrong? Are you afraid I might cause trouble? Are you trying to get my Disciple to watch over me?”
Mi Jing Lun burst out laughing, “How could I possibly dare to do something like that?”
Although he said that, it was obvious he had that exact intention in mind.
Ou Yang Lie considered the suggestion for a moment and coldly snorted, “Fine. I’ll bring him with me.”
Honestly speaking, Mi Jing Lun was not the only one who was worried that he might cause a ruckus, Ou Yang Lie was worried that he might cause a ruckus too. Under normal circumstances, his strength as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would have prevented anything too troublesome from occurring even if he kicked up a storm; however, things were different this time. The Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies had not gotten in touch with the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies, so they had yet to discuss their deployment strategy to retake Great Evolution Pass in detail. If he were to stir up trouble at this time, his actions would affect many other people as a whole. In the worst-case scenario, he might even disrupt the plans of the entire Army.
If he brought his Disciple along with him, then his Disciple would act as a constraint. Ou Yang Lie would first need to carefully weigh his actions before he caused any trouble.
“Brat, did you hear? Come take a walk with your Master.” He turned to look to the side.
There was a young man leaning against a nearby pillar, with his arms folded in front of his chest. The two Army Commanders and several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders in charge of deciding the movements of the Army were currently in deep discussion with each other. In contrast, this young man looked extremely bored and almost seemed as though he was about to fall asleep while listening to their discussion. He would yawn widely from time to time until his eyes were watery.
This young man was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so logically speaking, his cultivation should have allowed him to break free from the constraints of ordinary mortals. It should be impossible for him to feel sleepy or yawn. Be that as it may, he not only yawned, but also yawned without stopping. He looked so drowsy that he might fall asleep at any moment.
Everybody else in the hall was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he was the only Seventh-Order Junior present.
Mi Jing Lun and the other Eighth-Order Masters were not surprised by this youth’s behaviour though. Rather, it could be said that they had long gotten accustomed to it.
Speaking of which, Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple were definitely a pair of weirdos. The Master had a fiery personality, and his general behaviour was rather impulsive even though he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Therefore, it was rather surprising for him to take in such a lazy Disciple who seemed so laid back and apathetic to almost everything.
Their personalities could be said to be complete opposites of each other, but Ou Yang Lie had very high expectations of this Disciple of his and usually spoiled him rotten. It was for these reasons that he always brought his Disciple along with him whenever he felt that he might act recklessly and get into trouble. That was because he would constantly remind himself to act extremely carefully so as not to cause any trouble when his Disciple was by his side; after all, his Disciple might also get dragged into the mess if he caused a ruckus!
The young man stared blankly ahead and yawned as usual. Meanwhile, Ou Yang Lie did not receive a reply to his question.
Mi Jing Lun smiled bitterly, [The bad habit of Brother Ou Yang’s Disciple, who cultivates the Divine Wandering, is another problem in itself! Is it really okay for the two of them to act together?]
“Martial Nephew Gong, your Master is speaking to you,” one of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders reminded helplessly.
“Disciple is awake!” Gong Lian hurriedly straightened up and lowered his head, “Honoured Master, what orders do you have for me?”
“Bullshit! What orders!?” Ou Yang Lie became impatient and walked out in large strides. When he walked by Gong Lian, he simply grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him along, “Come with me!”
Afterward, he left the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in quick steps, Ou Yang Lie’s voice drifted over from a distance, “Brother Mi, please just act according to plan. If this Old Master obtains any information, I will send my Disciple back to inform you.”
Mi Jing Lun and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders exchanged a glance with each other and shook their heads helplessly.
After a while, the huge fleet retreated slowly as previously discussed. They moved back by another two days’ distance in order to prevent any unexpected incidents.
In the void, Ou Yang Lie used various Secret Techniques to conceal his and Gong Lian’s auras. Be that as it may, his speed was not slow in the slightest as he headed in the direction of Great Evolution Pass.
Meanwhile, Gong Lian neither resisted nor struggled. He simply allowed himself to be carried in that manner and did not look disgruntled at all. In fact, judging by his expression, he seemed accustomed to such behaviour. For him, it was great that he didn’t need to use his own strength to travel. What did it matter even if he was in an unsightly posture?
Fortunately, he did at least ask a single question, “Honoured Master, where are we going?”
“We are going to spy on the Black Ink Clan,” Ou Yang Lie replied.
Gong Lian grunted in response and said nothing else.
While Ou Yang Li and his Disciple were travelling through the void and quickly approaching Great Evolution Pass, Yang Kai was also charging through the void from the opposite side.
Yang Kai’s journey required him to cross Great Evolution Pass and head towards its opposite side to search for the whereabouts of the Northern and Southern Armies and report Xiang Shan’s intentions to them.
There were two possible routes in order to cross Great Evolution Pass. One was to go around from the front, and the other was to go around the back.
According to the map of the entire Black Ink Battlefield that Ding Yao had shown him back at Blue Sky Pass previously, the boundary between the Black Ink Battlefield and the 3,000 Worlds was connected by a single path. This path was none other than the No-Return Pass guarded by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans!
With the No-Return Pass as the centre, the Human Race had established more than 100 Great Passes to form an outer defence perimeter. The distribution of these Great Passes in the Black Ink Battlefield resembled an inverted semi-circle that encompassed the No-Return Pass at its centre. In other words, the No-Return Pass was located behind all the Great Passes. If one were to set off from any of the Great Passes and travelled in the direction of the 3,000 Worlds, they would eventually arrive at the No-Return Pass.
More than 30,000 years ago, the area covered by the semi-circle was regarded as an absolutely safe area for the Human Race. That was because this area was located at the rear of every Great Pass. As long as the Great Passes stood strong, it was impossible for the Black Ink Clan to set foot in the area within the semi-circle.
After Great Evolution Pass was captured by the Black Ink Clan though, the Black Ink Clan finally had the opportunity to experience the noble bearing of the No-Return Pass. However, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass no longer dared to target the No-Return Pass again after suffering heavy losses from multiple attempts. Even though they remained active around Great Evolution Pass, in the direction of the No-Return Pass, their numbers were few and they generally did not venture too far away from the Pass.
Needless to say, Yang Kai chose the easier option to get around Great Evolution Pass.
The area within the semi-circle was relatively safer as there was a much lower chance of encountering the Black Ink Clan there. If he went around the front of Great Evolution Pass instead, he might run into various troubles as a result.
At a sudden moment, Yang Kai abruptly came to a halt and turned his head to look in a certain direction. There seemed to be a mysterious force coming from that direction that called to him and made him burn with excitement. Even the Dragon Vein in his body seemed to boil, and his blood began to flow at a faster rate than usual.
Yang Kai immersed his mind into the feeling and perceived the situation. It didn’t take long for him to understand what was happening. The source of that mysterious force was the place where the Dragon Altar was located! Thanks to the Dragon Vein in his body, Yang Kai naturally formed a connection with the Dragon Altar.
More importantly, the No-Return Pass was also located in that direction! The No-Return Pass was guarded by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. Could it be that the Dragon Altar was at the No-Return Pass?
Ever since he came to the Black Ink Battlefield, Yang Kai had always wanted to visit the Dragon Clan. After all, he had a Dragon Vein in him, and there were also many other Dragon Clan members in Void Land. If he could locate the Dragon Clan on this side, he would be able to cultivate his Dragon Vein better in the future. Unfortunately, his wish had yet to come true.
All the public knew was that the Dragon Altar was part of the 36 Cave Heavens, but they did not know where it was located. According to the rumours, the Dragon Altar was an ethereal place that was impossible for anybody to enter unless they were part of the Dragon Clan.
The Elders of the Cave Heavens and Paradises most likely knew the secret of the Dragon Altar and the No-Return Pass. Be that as it may, they would never publicise this knowledge.
Yang Kai once visited the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven, where he was able to experience the past and witnessed an ancient battle. In that ancient battle, the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress of the time had joined forces to seal and suppress the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. He also obtained the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure known as the Crystal Palace in the Black Ink Sealing Land.
However, there were no Dragon Clan members or pure-blooded Phoenix Clan members in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. The Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land didn’t even know anything about the ancient battle that took place all those eons ago. It was possible that the Dragon and Phoenix Clans had left the Ancestral Land after that great battle to guard the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai had failed to sense the existence of the Dragon Altar back at Blue Sky Pass because the distance between them had been too great. Now that he had deliberately taken a large detour around the rear of Great Evolution Pass though, he finally had the opportunity to perceive the Dragon Altar. It was just that his current position was very far from the No-Return Pass, so the resulting connection he felt was not that strong.
Glancing in the direction of the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai suppressed the excitement boiling in his Dragon Vein and continued on his journey. The Dragon Altar was a place he was bound to visit one day, but now was not the time! He had more important things to do right now.
His journey went smoothly without encountering any Black Ink Clansmen; hence, he boldly travelled by manipulating Space Principles without fear of being discovered.
On the other side of Great Evolution Pass, Ou Yang Lie carried his Disciple, Gong Lian, and snuck towards Great Evolution Pass. Along the way, he found a large number of Black Ink Clan squads searching in all directions. Of course, it was not difficult for him to avoid these Black Ink Clansmen with his powerful cultivation and skills.
Gong Lian continued to yawn throughout the journey with a drowsy look in his eyes. Anybody who saw him would think that he was about to fall asleep at any moment. In reality, he had always maintained such behaviour without changing. Even though he was being carried by his Honoured Master, he did not bother to resist at all.
A few days later, Ou Yang Lie finally arrived at the periphery of Great Evolution Pass. From where he stood in the void, he could clearly see the majestic Great Pass towering upward in the void. He couldn’t help sighing when he saw the Great Pass that was completely shrouded in Black Ink Strength.
This place used to be part of the territory that belonged to the Human Race, but it was now dominated by the Black Ink Clan, which made him feel indignant. As a result, he was tempted to rush over and attack the Black Ink Clan in order to reclaim the Pass and wash away the shame of losing it.
Nevertheless, it was just a thought. No matter how rash his personality, Ou Yang Lie knew that nothing good would happen if he attacked the Great Pass alone. They would only stand a chance to reclaim Great Evolution Pass if the entire Army took action.
While this position was considered quite close, he had yet to reach the limits of his ability. Ou Yang Lie was about to head closer when Gong Lian, who had been carried all this time, abruptly reacted. Gong Lian widened his eyes in surprise, the usual lethargic expression on his face vanishing in an instant. More importantly, he involuntarily shuddered in fear.
Ou Yang Lie had been carrying Gong Lian all this while, so he immediately noticed the sudden change in his Disciple. Just as he was about to inquire about the situation, he heard Gong Lian sending a Divine Sense transmission to him, “Honoured Master, I suddenly feel a little scared.”
He frowned, “Are you certain?”
Gong Lian nodded solemnly.
Ou Yang Lie’s expression immediately turned serious.
There was no denying that his Disciple had extremely outstanding aptitude as Gong Lian had advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even among the Cave Heavens and Paradises, he was a rare talent with the hope of reaching the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm one day. Why else would Ou Yang Lie value him so much?
What’s more, Gong Lian’s cultivation speed was astoundingly fast. It had been less than 1,000 years since he advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, but he had already reached the peak of the Seventh-Order and was only one step away from the Eighth-Order.
Although his cultivation was one step lower than Ou Yang Lie’s, he had a unique ability, and that was that his perception of danger was much more acute than ordinary people. His perception was not so much a skill as an innate talent; therefore, it was impossible for others to imitate. Gong Lian might not know what triggered it, but he could always predict approaching danger in advance. The greater the crisis he faced, the stronger the perception he experienced.
Similar incidents had occurred in the past and Gong Lian had relied on his innate talent to avoid many dangers along his cultivation path; however, there had never been an incident where his perception of danger had caused him to panic.
Being aware of his Disciple’s innate talent, Ou Yang Lie immediately knew that something was very wrong when Gong Lian trembled in fear and claimed that he was scared. Between the both of them, one of them was in the peak of the Seventh-Order and the other was in the Eighth-Order. Even if they encountered the Black Ink Clan Army, they would be able to escape alive as long as they were not completely surrounded by the enemy.
For that reason, the source of danger that Gong Lian sensed was most likely the Royal Lord! Only the Royal Lord, who was comparable to a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor in terms of strength, could frighten him so badly.
Ou Yang Lie did not sense the aura of the Royal Lord, but he did not hold any doubts towards his Disciple’s ability; hence, he immediately sought a hiding spot. It just so happened that there were some asteroids of varying sizes nearby, so he quickly sped towards one and hastily set up a Spirit Array to conceal their auras.
Similarly, Gong Lian stopped being lazy and lent a hand in the preparations.
Thanks to the joint efforts of both Master and Disciple, they completed a Spirit Array in less than half cup of tea’s time. Ou Yang Lie swiftly activated the Spirit Array after they slipped inside without delay.
Almost at the same time, a majestic Will swept past their hiding place and spread out into the distance at a rapid rate. It was immediately followed by a gigantic cloud of darkness that came from the depths of the void and rushed past them, no more than 10,000 kilometres away from their hiding spot.
Ou Yang Lie lowered his eyes and did not look in that direction; then, he stealthily sent a transmission, “What do you see?”
In stark contrast to Ou Yang Lie’s cautious actions, Gong Lian’s current behaviour could only be said to be extremely bold and reckless. Gong Lian squinted his eyes slightly, his gaze slowly becoming slack again as he watched the gigantic figure rushing into Great Evolution Pass.
From beginning to end, the gigantic figure did not show any reaction whatsoever despite being watched so fixedly. This could be said to be another of Gong Lian’s unique abilities. If anybody else were watching that figure, it would have been difficult for them to escape notice even if they were in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm; however, Gong Lian was different as he could practically reduce his presence to the point where he seemingly didn’t exist.
“It’s the Royal Lord!” Gong Lian replied via transmission.
Both Master and Disciple would not have avoided the Royal Lord’s perception if Gong Lian had not warned Ou Yang Lie in time; in fact, they would likely have been exposed immediately. There was no doubt that they would be killed on the spot if they were seen.
“Tsk…” Even though he had already formed a guess in his heart, Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help clicking his tongue in frustration when he heard Gong Lian’s reply and he scolded irritably, “Xiang Shan’s blunder has caused us to miss a great opportunity to win this battle!”
The Royal Lord had come from deep within the Black Ink Clan’s territory; in other words, there was no Royal Lord guarding Great Evolution Pass previously. If the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies under Xiang Shane’s command had arrived just a little sooner and joined forces with the Northern and Southern Armies, they would have been able to retake Great Evolution Pass easily with the additional support of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor.
Now that the Royal Lord had arrived to guard Great Evolution Pass personally, it would not be easy to retake Great Evolution Pass anymore. Moreover, the Black Ink Clan Army would not be far behind since the Royal Lord had already arrived at Great Evolution Pass.
Sure enough, Black Ink Clan troops were not far from Great Evolution Pass.
Just half a day after the Royal Lord’s arrived at Great Evolution Pass, a Black Ink Clan Army of 20,000 to 30,000 rushed over under the leadership of a Territory Lord. It didn’t take long for many other Territory Lords to arrive in quick succession with their respective troops.
Over the course of three days, Ou Yang Lie watched as dozens of Black Ink Clan Territory Lords arrived with their private armies. At this point, there were as many as 300,000 to 400,000 enemies gathered.
Ou Yang Lie’s expression became solemn as the more prepared the Black Ink Clan was, the harder it would be for the Human Race Army to retake Great Evolution Pass. However, there was still no news about the whereabouts of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies led by Xiang Shan.
Several days passed, and during that time, more and more Black Ink Clansmen had gathered in Great Evolution Pass. The busy figures of random Black Ink Clansmen could be seen flitting around Great Evolution Pass at all times. They were setting up various deployments inside the walls in preparation to confront the Human Race Army.
Ten days later, Ou Yang Lie and Gong Lian counted almost 800,000 to 900,000 Black Ink Clansmen at Great Evolution Pass. In addition, there were dozens of Territory Lords and even a Royal Lord assuming command. It could be said that the Black Ink Clan’s deployment at Great Evolution Pass practically left it impenetrable to attack.
“Honoured Master, the situation is not looking good for us!” Even Gong Lian, who often spent his time cultivating the Divine Wandering, could see that the current situation was not good for the Human Race.
Ou Yang Lie remained silent with a sullen expression. The communication device he carried with him to contact the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies could be used as long as both parties were within a certain distance of each other; however, there had been no contact even up until now.
[Just what is going on with the Eastern and Western Armies!? Why haven’t they contacted me? Could it be that something has happened to them? But, they have the protection of an Old Ancestor, what can possibly happen to them?] Ou Yang Lie simply could not understand the situation.
At Great Evolution Pass, many Territory Lords had gathered together inside the spacious Grand Hall. There was a throne at the highest position, a hideously shaped one made entirely from bones. Even after countless years, the bones continued to exude monstrous ferocity.
After conquering Great Evolution Pass, the Black Ink Clan had collected the corpses of countless Human Masters and used their bones to create this throne. Only the corpses of those in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and above were qualified to be used in its construction.
The throne was immeasurably huge, so it was conceivable just how many bones from the Human Masters had been used to build it at the time. At the same time, it was also a glimpse into how many Human Masters had perished in that battle at Great Evolution Pass.
This was the Black Ink Clan’s spoils of war! Despite being placed here all this time, even Hong Di, who was in charge of overseeing Great Evolution Pass, did not have the qualifications to sit on this throne. It was an exclusive throne specifically for the use of the Royal Lord.
At this moment, the Royal Lord was sitting on this throne. Judging from his appearance alone, he was not very different from the Humans. It was just that his body was several times larger, and he had a pair of jet-black wings on his back.
He propped his face up on one hand and narrowed his eyes slightly, listening to the reports from the Territory Lords.
It was mainly Hong Di’s report. Great Evolution Pass was his home territory after all, so he had previously dispatched many Black Ink Clansmen to investigate the surroundings, so he was now reporting the information he obtained in quick succession.
“Several of our squads have gone missing in the direction of Azure Void Pass. Although I’ve sent more people to investigate their disappearance, the investigation did not reveal any clues. We are fairly certain that those Clansmen encountered Humans and were eliminated. The Human Race Army is most likely hiding somewhere there, but I don’t know their exact location. On the other hand, nothing strange has been detected from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass. All the scouts we dispatched have returned alive. There have been no losses and they did not discover any traces of an Army there. At the moment, over 30 Territory Lords have arrived at Great Evolution Pass with a force of more than 900,000 troops. The defences of Great Evolution Pass deployed over so many years would surely be enough to stop the invasion of the Human Race Army. It’s no big deal if they don’t come, but if they do, they will not leave this place alive.”
The rest of the Territory Lords cheered loudly in response. Most of them had participated in the battle to conquer Great Evolution Pass more than 30,000 years ago.
Back when the Humans still had control over Great Evolution Pass, the Black Ink Clan had suffered greatly every time they attacked the Great Pass as it acted as a huge defensive fortress. As a result, the Humans often won many battles despite their fewer numbers.
The time had finally come for the Humans to have a taste of the helpless feeling that the Black Ink Clan experienced whenever they attacked the Great Passes; thus, the Territory Lords could not wait to see that scene before their very eyes.
Needless to say, 30 Territory Lords and an Army of more than 900,000 troops were not everything that the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre could muster; in fact, that number was merely half of the troops that the Black Ink Clan could immediately mobilise.
It was not that the Black Ink Clan could not muster more troops, it was just that Great Evolution Pass could not accommodate more people despite its enormous size. An Army of 900,000 troops was more or less the limit. If they added any more troops to the mix, those troops would only become a burden instead of a boon.
That was why the Royal Lord had only ordered 30 Territory Lords and the respective Armies to assemble. As for the other Territory Lords, they were on standby and ready to support Great Evolution Pass at any time.
In reality, there should have been close to 100 Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre; however, they had been tasked with providing reinforcements to Wind and Cloud Pass and the Azure Void Pass in recent years. Almost 10 Territory Lords had died in battle on each side, leading to the loss of nearly 20 Territory Lords.
Consequently, there were only some 70 Territory Lord’s left in the Great Evolution Theatre.
This was not a large number; after all, there were reportedly 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders in the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies alone, with more than 100 Eighth-Order Masters in the entire the Great Evolution Army.
Comparing the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords, the Human Race had an absolute advantage. This decision had taken into account the dangers and risks of assaulting the Great Pass. It was impossible to reclaim Great Evolution Pass without an absolute advantage over their enemies.
After Hong Di finished his report, the Royal Lord did not respond for a long time and the Territory Lords did not dare to pester him for a response.
A long while passed before the Royal Lord commanded, “Continue investigating. Try to find a way to learn the exact location of the Human Race Army.”
What he could ascertain at this moment was that the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass; in other words, the Human Race Army coming from Azure Void Pass did not have the protection of a Ninth-Order Master.
If he could learn the location of the Human Race Army from Azure Void Pass, then he could take the initiative to attack them. In that way, it would be much easier for him to deal with the Human Race Army from Wind and Cloud Pass.
The Human Race’s decision to split the Army during their march towards Great Evolution Pass would result in their complete defeat. The Black Ink Clan Royal Lord was full of confidence towards this upcoming battle; after all, the situation today was not the same as 30,000 years ago.
“Yes!” Hong Di responded and relayed the orders to his subordinates. It didn’t take long before even more Black Ink Clan squads came out from Great Evolution Pass and split into two directions to investigate and obtain information on the movements of the Human Race Army.
In the void, Yang Kai’s figure flickered constantly as he moved forward rapidly. The huge void was vast and silent with no suitable objects to be used as a reference for the Universe Chart; therefore, he did not know his exact location. It was truly fortunate that he could still use the Universe Array.
Under normal circumstances, those who left behind their Imprint at the Universe Array could use the Universe Transference Law to create a connection to it as long as both were located in the same world. In that way, they could directly teleport themselves back to the Universe Array. It was just that the difference in the teleporting distance would lead to a difference in the pressure that one faced when teleporting themselves. If the pressure was too great, they might end up in an awkward situation where their body is torn apart.
A few days ago, Yang Kai started to use the Universe Transference Law to determine the position of the Universe Array and correct his direction accordingly. Unfortunately, the distance between them was still too large. Even for him, it would be difficult to withstand the burden of teleporting over such a large distance; hence, he had been working on getting closer towards the Universe Array.
All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks and formed hand seals to activate the Universe Transference Law. A huge array bloomed beneath his feet a moment later, forming a vague connection with something a long way away. It was the place where the Universe Array was located. More importantly, the location of the Universe Array corresponded to none other than the location of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship belonging to the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies.
Yang Kai quietly perceived the situation. His current location was still quite far from the location of the Universe Array. An ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would not be able to teleport themselves over such a distance safely. Only an Eighth-Order Master could pull off such a feat.
Be that as it may, this was no longer an issue for Yang Kai as he was a Master of the Dao of Space, he thus relaxed his mind and allowed the intangible pulling force to wrap around him. Following a burst of bright light, his figure vanished out of sight.
The Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies were currently hiding in an area filled with universe fragments. This place was located a full 10-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass!
Ever since their location was first discovered by the Black Ink Clan, the large fleet had changed its hiding spot several times. Unfortunately, it would not take long before their new location was discovered again.
In order to learn the whereabouts of the Human Race Army, the Black Ink Clan had dispatched many search teams as though casting a wide net in the direction of Azure Void Pass.
As a result, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies were forced to retreat again and again until they reached their current position. If they were discovered again, then they would be forced to withdraw even further; after all, they did not have the protection of an Old Ancestor and would be defenceless if the Royal Lord suddenly attacked them. Therefore, it was better for them to stay as far away from Great Evolution Pass as possible for safety’s sake.
On the deck of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Mi Jing Lun stood quietly at the bow of the ship with his feather fan in hand as he stared outward in the direction of Great Evolution Pass.
Nearly 10 days had passed since Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple headed towards Great Evolution Pass to spy on the situation. There had been no news from them since their departure, so Mi Jing Lun did not know anything about the situation over there.
What puzzled Mi Jing Lun in particular though was the movements of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. According to the original plan, the Eastern and Western Armies should have arrived in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass and made contact with the Northern and Southern Armies by now. However, there had been no news from the other side so far.
The communication device was in Ou Yang Lie’s possession, and he was currently located in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass. If the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies wanted to contact him, then they would be able to do so directly.
Without the cooperation of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies, it would be difficult to achieve victory with the 30,000 troops of the Northern and Southern Armies alone.
It was a pity that there was nothing Mi Jing Lun could do at the moment. He could only do his best to conceal the whereabouts of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies and wait patiently.
At that moment, an unfamiliar aura suddenly appeared on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and was immediately followed by an uncertain inquiry, “Who are you?”
Mi Jing Lun abruptly turned to look in that direction.
That was where the Space Array was located. Moreover, this Spirit Array was linked to the secret room where the Universe Array was arranged on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
If one of the soldiers returned to the Black Ink Battleship with the help of the Universe Transference Law, they would immediately be teleported into the secret room with the Universe Array. It was just that the Purifying Light was sealed inside the secret room, so there was another Space Array inside the secret room that allowed them to be teleported back to the deck of the ship without wasting any Purifying Light.
For that reason, a special guard was tasked with monitoring the corresponding Space Array on the deck. The one who asked the question earlier was none other than the person guarding the Space Array.
[Somebody arrived on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship via the Universe Array!] Mi Jing Lun immediately snapped back to his senses and sent a transmission to the guard, “Quickly bring that person over.”
The guard responded affirmatively and brought a young man to Mi Jing Lun a short while later.
Needless to say, the person who arrived was Yang Kai. Looking at the person with a scholarly appearance in front of him, Yang Kai immediately recognised him and cupped his fist in greeting, “Junior greets Senior Mi!”
Mi Jing Lun was slightly surprised, “Do you know me? I don’t believe we’ve met, have we?”
Yang Kai replied, “No! But, this Junior is familiar with the names of the two Army Commanders of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies. Senior Ou Yang’s name sounds like it belongs to a hot-tempered person, so he would never dress like you. Since you are not Army Commander Ou Yang, then you must be the other Army Commander.”
Mi Jing Lun smiled, “So that’s how it is. You must be Yang Kai, right?”
This time around, it was Yang Kai’s turn to look surprised, “Do you know me, Sir?”
Mi Jing Lun explained, “Since you appeared on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, it’s obvious that you’ve left your Imprint on the Universe Array. Be that as it may, you are not a soldier from the Northern or Southern Armies. Throughout the various Great Passes, there is only one person who has left their Imprint on all the Purifying Black Ink Battleships; after all, you were the one who arranged them on the Purifying Black Ink Battleships.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Mi Jing Lun’s expression turned solemn, and he directed the conversation to the main topic, “Did you come because you have a report for me?”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “I came here under orders from Army Commander Xiang Shan to inform the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies that there has been a change to the original plan.”
Mi Jing Lun raised his hand to interrupt, “Please wait a moment!”
His Divine Sense surged for a moment before he beckoned towards Yang Kai, “Come with me.”
A short while later, Yang Kai followed Mi Jing Lun into the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and soon arrived at a conference hall.
It didn’t take long for the Eighth-Order Division Commanders who received the news to arrive in quick succession. Many of them were surprised to see an unfamiliar face and wondered why this Seventh-Order Junior was here. Most just assumed that Yang Kai was part of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies; after all, the Great Evolution Army was composed of people who came from various Great Passes. It was impossible for the Division Commanders to recognise every single soldier in the Army.
However, there were actually a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had met Yang Kai before and recognized him.
Back when Blue Sky Pass first spread the refining method of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, every Great Pass had constructed four Purifying Black Ink Battleships. Afterwards, the Great Passes dispatched an Eighth-Order Master to bring the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to Blue Sky Pass so that Yang Kai could install Universe Arrays and seal Purifying Light within them.
Needless to say, the Eighth-Order Masters who met Yang Kai before were the ones who went to Blue Sky Pass back then.
Upon seeing Yang Kai standing here, these Eighth-Order Masters were slightly surprised but soon became delighted. That was because they remembered that the troops from Blue Sky Pass had been dispatched to the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. In other words, Yang Kai’s arrival indicated that he brought news from the Eastern and Western Armies.
The Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies had been waiting for this day for a long time; hence, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were filled with anticipation when the news secretly spread out among themselves.
It didn’t take long before all the Eighth-Order Division Commanders arrived. Mi Jing Lun then got straight to the point, “Yang Kai came from the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. He has a report for us, so please give him your attention.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and bowed in greeting, “Yang Kai greets Seniors. I have come under orders from Army Commander Xiang Shan to inform the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies that there have been changes to the original battle plans!”
He did not know what the original plans discussed by the higher-ups of the Great Evolution Army were, but it must have been something along the lines of gathering the strength of the four Armies to attack Great Evolution Pass. However, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies seemed to have new ideas after their encounter with the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcement during their journey.
“What’s going on?’
“Why have there been changes?”
“If there have been changes to the original plans, then what are we supposed to do now?”
…
The Eighth-Order Masters went into an uproar. It was not that their hearts were not strong enough, but rather that such important military matters concerned both the recovery of Great Evolution Pass and the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Therefore, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies’ unilateral announcement about changes to the original plans had caught them by surprise.
Mi Jing Lun raised his hand to suppress the noise and only then did the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters calm down. Turning to look at Yang Kai, Mi Jing Lun inquired, “Did the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies encounter an unexpected incident?”
Yang Kai replied succinctly, “There were no unexpected incidents, but we did encounter a Black Ink Clan reinforcement Army heading towards Wind and Cloud Pass a few days after our departure. Although the enemy had 300,000 troops, it was an easy victory for our side under the leadership of the Old Ancestor.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly.
A force of 300,000 troops might sound like a lot, but they were simply the reinforcements dispatched by Great Evolution Pass to Wind and Cloud Pass. It was obvious that they did not have many Territory Lords among them, so it was not difficult to defeat them with the strength of the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies.
“What did Senior Brother Xiang say?” He probed further.
Yang Kai continued, “The Army Commander said that the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies would figure out a way to attract the attention of the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass and use this opportunity to charge straight into the Black Ink Clan’s territory. When the news reaches Great Evolution Pass, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass will surely make a move. If they dispatch their Army back to reinforce their territory, he hopes that the Northern and Southern Armies will intercept them so that the Eastern and Western Armies do not get attacked from the rear.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the Eighth-Order Masters who had fallen silent earlier showed signs of causing a commotion again. Although the orders that Yang Kai delivered were exact and accurate, there were many puzzling points too.
Mi Jing Lun frowned, “The Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies planning to draw the attention of the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass? How will they achieve that?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before responding, “During the march, the Army Commander summoned all the Artifact Refiners who came along with the Eastern and Western Armies and gathered large amounts of materials to refine an extremely unique type of puppet. These puppets are humanoid in shape and although they did not have great combat abilities, they can exude the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and above once they were activated. It should be enough to confuse them for real people from a distance after dressing them up a bit with the spare clothing that was later collected.”
“Puppets?” Mi Jing Lun was slightly taken aback.
Collecting materials for refining and spare clothing while on the march indicated that the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies came up with the plan on the fly. It was not something that was premeditated; otherwise, they would not have left the Northern and Southern Armies in the dark.
Besides, Xiang Shan should have known that the Army was supposed to proceed forward with great caution. Rashly changing the original plans could only mean that he had a better plan in place.
Although Yang Kai was only explaining what the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies had done during their march and did not provide any speculations of his own, just hearing the words ‘puppets’ and ‘clothes’ was enough to make most people come to the same conclusion. The Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies clearly wanted to use these refined puppets to draw the eyes of the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass.
“How many of these puppets did you refine?” Mi Jing Lun’s question hit the nail on the head again.
A small number of puppets would not achieve any effect. They would only attract the attention of the Black Ink Clan if they refined an astounding number of them.
“I refined more than 140 puppets myself, and there were 1,000 or so Artifact Refiners who came along with the Eastern and Western Armies. Considering that each person’s attainments in the Dao of Artifact Refining is different and the number of puppets that they could refine is also different, this Junior conservatively estimates that around 50,000 puppets were refined. The number might be even higher than that.”
“50,000!?” One of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders immediately frowned in response.
That was not a small number. If every single puppet could exert the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or above, then their might would indeed be very imposing if they were gathered together in one place. It was just that the resources required to refine so many puppets would also be equally staggering. Besides, they would surely need to prepare large amounts of energy sources inside the puppets in order to activate so many at once.
[Xiang Shan, you spendthrift…]
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were not the only people who were secretly feeling distressed. Not much time had passed since things began looking up for the Human Race on the Black Ink Battlefield, but they were already starting to splurge on resources. It was one thing if these 50,000 puppets could play a decisive role in battle, but it would be a total waste if they could not bring out any real potential.
An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commander asked, “If the puppets can exert the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and above, what about their true strength?”
If these puppets could also exert the strength of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and above, then the 50,000 puppets alone would be enough to teach the Black Ink Clan a harsh lesson.
Yang Kai replied honestly, “That’s the peculiarity of these puppets. Although the aura they can exert is not weak, they are not very useful in reality. Moreover, their flaws are very obvious since they were refined in a rush. While there is no risk of these flaws being noticed from a distance, the Black Ink Clan will be able to see the truth at a glance once they get close enough.”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fell silent. It would seem that they could not place their hopes on the puppets; they could only be dispatched as bait for the Eastern and Western Armies at most. But, what was the use of such bait for Xiang Shan to refine so many of these puppets without regard for the cost?
While the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were pondering these questions, Mi Jing Lun fanned himself with the feather fan in his hand. There was a pensive look on his face, and his eyes constantly flashed with an unusual light. Those were the signs that indicated he was thinking with all his might.
The East-West Army refined these puppets on the march, which meant it was an impromptu decision. Otherwise, these puppets would have been prepared in advance before Wind and Cloud Pass even formed such a large Army.
What could have led the East-West Army to make such a choice? It was impossible for such a change to occur for no reason in this world, especially when it was related to a matter as significant as the recovery of Great Evolution Pass. Xiang Shan knew better than to be so irresponsible.
What’s more, there was an Old Ancestor overseeing the East-West Army. If Xiang Shan failed to convince the Old Ancestor, then it would have been impossible to make changes to the original plans.
Mi Jing Lun suddenly raised his head to look at Yang Kai, “Did he order the refinement of the puppets before or after they encountered the reinforcements from the Black Ink Clan?”
“After,” Yang Kai replied, “Right after defeating the reinforcements from the Black Ink Clan, Army Commander Xiang Shan began to gather materials to refine the puppets. To this end, the Army even took several days to rest and recover before proceeding.”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were speechless when they heard that, [The East-West Army even took several days to recover and reorganise?]
It had to be said that the North-South Army had departed from Azure Void Pass with all haste, for fear of missing the opportunity to strike while the element of surprise was on their side. In comparison, the East-West Army’s actions were simply unimaginable.
The Black Ink Clan reinforcements only consisted of 300,000 troops, so with an Old Ancestor and 60 Eighth-Order Masters, the East-West Army could have wiped out the enemy without much effort. Why would they need to rest and reorganise?
Mi Jing Lun suddenly nodded, “So that’s how it is.”
One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who was fairly close to Mi Jing Lun asked, “Brother Mi, what have you realised?”
Listening to Yang Kai talking about the East-West Army’s behaviour during the march had left these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters scratching their heads over the reason why Xiang Shan had made changes to the original plans; however, Mi Jing Lun now claimed that he understood everything.
Leaving aside these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, even Yang Kai who came from the East-West Army could not understand what Xiang Shan was planning, he only knew that the puppets must play a special role in the grand scheme of things.
Mi Jing Lun smiled slightly, “Brother Xiang is planning to lure the tiger out of the mountain.”
“What do you mean?” One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters asked humbly.
Mi Jing Lun did not explain immediately. On the contrary, he glanced at Yang Kai and inquired, “If my guess is correct, did the East-West Army deliberately allow one of the Territory Lords to escape when they wiped out the 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “This Junior does not know.”
When the war began, both he and Dawn had focused on killing their enemies. There was no time for them to pay attention to other things.
“Then, how many Territory Lords did the East-West Army kill in that battle?”
He replied, “11! This disciple detected the aura of 11 Territory Lords vanishing during the battle.”
“Exactly. In general, a Territory Lord will command between 20,000 and 30,000 troops in battle. For an Army of 300,000, there should have been 10 to 12 Territory Lords in total. Since only 11 Territory Lords lost their lives, then one of them must have escaped.”
Yang Kai frowned in confusion. There was an Old Ancestor overseeing that particular battle, so even if one of the Territory Lords had escaped, she would not have failed to notice him escaping. Putting it that way, it was just as Mi Jing Lun said. The Old Ancestor must have deliberately allowed that Territory Lord to escape.
Thinking back now, the East-West Army had set up an ambush in a hurry, and before the entire Black Ink Clan Army had entered the ambush zone, they had been exposed, so the battle began in haste. It was true that some of the Black Ink Clan had escaped the encirclement and survived as a result. In addition, a large ship under one of the Territory Lords seemed to have been left behind.
At the time, Yang Kai had assumed that the Territory Lord on that ship had been killed, but it would now seem that there was a high possibility that the enemy had escaped instead. Nevertheless, it was an undeniable fact that the auras of 11 Territory Lords had disappeared during the battle.
Mi Jing Lun continued, “Azure Void Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass both underwent great changes, with a second Old Ancestor even appearing outside Wind and Cloud Pass. Such news would not remain a secret for long, and would surely spread throughout the entire Black Ink Battlefield very quickly. If the Royal Lord at Great Evolution Pass learned about this incident, he would undoubtedly become vigilant and wonder whether the Human Race was trying to recover Great Evolution Pass. However, such thoughts are nothing more than conjectures without evidence. There would be no way to prove his suspicions until the Humans actually launched an attack.”
“Be that as it may, the East-West Army deliberately allowed a Territory Lord to escape. If this Territory Lord returned to Great Evolution Pass and reported his experience to the higher-ups, then the Royal Lord will be at least 80% certain his conjectures are correct.”
“Our North-South Army has repeatedly been discovered by the Black Ink Clan because they are already aware of our presence. Therefore, it is not a secret to the Black Ink Clan that the Human Race is trying to recover Great Evolution Pass anymore.”
The Eighth-Order Masters listened quietly. Likewise, Yang Kai was also listening. He felt as though he had received the answers to the various questions in his heart thanks to Mi Jing Lun’s explanation.
“If my guess is correct, then the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass are not only searching for the location of the North-South Army but also trying to figure out where the East-West Army is. The area around Great Evolution Pass is most likely filled with scouts of the Black Ink Clan. Under these circumstances, the Black Ink Clan will surely deploy their troops ahead of time to garrison Great Evolution Pass in order to prevent any unexpected occurrences.”
Having said this, Mi Jing Lun’s eyes flashed brightly, “At this moment, the defences deployed around Great Evolution Pass will be practically impregnable. Not to mention, the Royal Lord will definitely come to Great Evolution Pass in person to confront our Ninth-Order Old Ancestor.”
“If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean we have lost the opportunity to fight back? How can Great Evolution Pass be retaken?” An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master frowned.
Mi Jing Lun shook his head slowly, “The East-West Army is intentionally trying to alert the enemy to their presence. In that case, it stands to reason that they have no intention to storm Great Evolution Pass. That’s also the reason why they made changes to their original plans. These puppets are enough to attract the attention of the Black Ink Clan for a long time. Using this opportunity, the East-West Army will be able to head straight into the Black Ink Clan’s territory.”
“Now that the troops of the Black Ink Clan have gathered at Great Evolution Pass, the defences of the Black Ink Clan’s territory should be relatively thin, and without the presence of a Royal Lord acting as a restraint, the Old Ancestor will be able to act without restraint. If a battle breaks out and news reaches Great Evolution Pass, the Black Ink Clan will not be able to remain calm once they realise that they have been tricked and will surely deploy their troops stationed at Great Evolution Pass to reinforce their lines. At that time, the North-South Army will be able to deal a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan if they can find the right opportunity. Fighting in the void will reduce many of the risks that come with attacking the Great Pass.” Seeming to realise something all of a sudden, Mi Jing Lun’s eyes brightened. He struck his fan closed against his palm and exclaimed, “Amazing! Brother Xiang is a genius, how absolutely admirable! I can’t believe he saw that far into the future!”
“Brother Mi, your explanation is so obscure that we look like fools in comparison,” one of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t resist complaining.
Many people chuckled in response.
Even Mi Jing Lun smiled slightly, “To put it in another way, if we followed the original plans, the North-South Army and the East-West Army were supposed to launch a quick, decisive strike. We should have joined forces nearly a month and a half ago, then subsequently launched an attack on Great Evolution Pass. Our current Great Evolution Army is mighty, and the Royal Lord was not in Great Evolution Pass back then. The only troops stationed there would have been a few Territory Lords and their respective Armies, so it would not have been difficult to recover Great Evolution Pass.”
Everybody nodded in understanding. Recovering the Great Evolution Pass with a swift and sudden strike was the original plan formulated by the higher-ups. There was no nuance to the plan, only an emphasis on speed. In other words, they had planned to conquer Great Evolution Pass before the Black Ink Clan had time to react.
“After recovering Great Evolution Pass, we would surely need to rely on its strength to defend against the Black Ink Clan Army’s inevitable counterattack. Although the Great Evolution Army is mighty and consists of more troops than any other Great Pass, we would not have much time to prepare ourselves once we took Great Evolution Pass. Hence, we would not be able to exert most of Great Evolution Pass’ power when the Black Ink Clan Army arrived and could only meet them head-on. The Black Ink Clan Army would have endless reinforcements coming to their aid, while we would be few in number and our reinforcements would come from afar, if they came at all. Without any foundation to rely on, we would surely suffer great casualties. In the worst-case scenario, Great Evolution Pass would be retaken by the Black Ink Clan; however, there would be nothing we could do to stop them.”
“But, things will be different if we act according to Brother Xiang’s plans,” Mi Jing Lun explained excitedly, “The East-West Army will charge into the Black Ink Clan territory and reduce the Black Ink Clan’s strength as much as possible. Simultaneously, the North-South Army will be able to restrain the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass. It’s not a big deal if they do not come out, but if they do, we will find a way to ambush them and weaken their strength. If things continue in this manner, then the Black Ink Clan will eventually be overwhelmed and run out of troops. At that time, we will have enough time to build up our strength after conquering Great Evolution Pass. When we regain a firm foothold in Great Evolution Pass, why would we need to fear the trivial Black Ink Clan!”
The realisation dawned upon them after listening to his explanation. They had originally felt unhappy with the East-West Army for making unauthorised changes to the original plan. Nevertheless, looking at the current situation, the new plan was indeed much better than the original one.
To put it simply, Xiang Shan’s plan was to ignore Great Evolution Pass for now. Be that as it may, their end goal was still to recover Great Evolution Pass. In the long term, this plan had a higher chance of success, which was why Mi Jing Lun fully endorsed it.
Since they had a better plan than before, it stood to reason that the North-South Army would cooperate.
After some consideration, Mi Jing Lun suddenly asked, “Yang Kai, how long did it take for you to travel here from the East-West Army?”
“About 20 days or so,” Yang Kai replied.