Fang Tian Ci’s indifferent voice rang out, “If one day Big Brother’s consciousness falls asleep once again, who do you think should take control of Big Brother’s body, you or I?”
Thunder Shadow immediately fell silent…
Inheriting Yang Kai’s mastery of Grand Daos was also beneficial. If one day Yang Kai’s consciousness was disturbed once again, it would naturally be better for Fang Tian Ci to take over his physical body, because he would be able to bring out more of Yang Kai’s strength.
Back then, Thunder Shadow took over Yang Kai’s body first only because of an accident. At that time, Yang Kai had suddenly fallen into a coma and Thunder Shadow was the first to awaken, so taking over Yang Kai’s body was only natural.
Fang Tian Ci’s consciousness only woke up after Thunder Shadow had lost Mo Na Ye. If Fang Tian Ci had woken up first, Mo Na Ye might not have had a chance to escape.
That was why Yang Kai felt that Mo Na Ye was a scourge who could last for thousands of years and was not fated to die at that time.
“Second Brother, don’t jinx it!” After remaining silent for a moment, Thunder Shadow finally squeezed out a sentence, “Be careful in the future, it may not happen again.”
“There is always a chance for anything to happen. This has already happened before, we have to be on guard against it!”
“How could there be so many chances…”
As the two kept quibbling in his mind, Yang Kai couldn’t help but burst into laughter as he listened. He didn’t feel frustrated or anything, rather, he had a sense of novelty.
Over these years, whether he was facing powerful enemies or exploring foreign lands, Yang Kai had often been alone, without anyone to rely on. Now that he had a Human Self and a Monster Self by his side, he would not feel too lonely.
Leaving them to their own devices, Yang Kai calmly observed his surroundings.
When he first stepped into the Universe Furnace World, he found that this place was extremely rich in Shattered Dao Essence. The amalgamation of Shattered Dao Essence gave birth to all kinds of terrains and even condensed into the Infinite River. It also gave birth to extremely unique native creatures like the Chaos Spirit Clan.
However, after the Grand Dao had undergone several evolutions, the omnipresent Shattered Dao Essence had become extremely thin, and was replaced by order and stability. At this moment, the environment of the Universe Furnace World was only slightly different from the 3,000 Worlds.
[Why does the Grand Dao evolve inside the Universe Furnace? What does the evolution of the Grand Dao mean?]
When he first received information from the Human Race cultivators about this phenomenon, Yang Kai began to ponder the issue. Every time the Grand Dao evolved, he would carefully perceive the changes in his surroundings, hoping to find some kind of rule behind it; but unfortunately, he had not been able to gain anything.
It wasn’t until he went deep into the Infinite River and comprehended the mysteries of the evolution from Chaos to the 10,000 Grand Daos that he finally had some guesses, but it was extremely hard to verify them.
The Universe Furnace lived up to its name as the most Supreme Treasure. Just the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills it produced were a fantastic opportunity. The Universe Furnace World was a World of its own, and the Chaos Spirit Clan bred inside it was an extremely large and diverse group while the Chaos Spirit Kings strengths were not inferior to that of a Ninth-Order Master or Royal Lord.
However, Yang Kai had a faint feeling that the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was not the greatest opportunity inside the Universe Furnace. The Universe Furnace itself was the real opportunity, and if he could find its true location, that would really be the biggest harvest.
But since ancient times, no one had ever seen the true body of the Universe Furnace, let alone reached it.
Yang Kai wanted to find the true body of the Universe Furnace. If he could accomplish this feat, it would definitely be of great help to the Human Race. At the very least, there would be no need for them to compete for Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills in the future.
Of course, he knew that this was a daunting task and he too might not be able to accomplish what many Great Experts had failed to do throughout the ages.
Regardless, he could only do his best and leave the rest to the Heavens!
According to the information Yang Kai had gathered so far, the Infinite River was the biggest hint. The Infinite River stretched across the entire Universe Furnace World, so it must have some kind of connection to the Universe Furnace itself.
As for the evolution of the Universe Furnace’s Grand Dao, it was nothing more than the process of the Chaos evolving into the 10,000 Grand Daos. It was just that the profound process was divided into nine steps by the Universe Furnace, allowing one to feel it more clearly and intuitively!
Yang Kai had a vague feeling that the intrinsic quality of the Universe Furnace was perhaps the profound mystery of Chaos evolving into 10,000 Grand Daos. As for the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill and the Chaos Spirit Clan it gave birth to, they were just side-effects of the process.
“Big Brother, Second Brother has ulterior motives, he wants to take over your body!” Thunder Shadow didn’t bother to haggle with Fang Tian Ci and simply pleaded his case to the higher-ups.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh, but just as he was about to speak, a look of surprise appeared on his face as he looked in a certain direction, “Found it!”
Saying so, he activated Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability and flew in that direction.
In his mind, the two were still engaged in a verbal spat, but after a moment, Fang Tian Ci, who had noticed the strangeness, shouted, “Shut up and focus.”
“Ah,” Thunder Shadow suddenly became silent, but after a moment, he indignantly stated, “Look, it’s my Innate Divine Ability!”
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t bother to argue with him any further.
A moment later, Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out again, “This Chaos Spirit King really isn’t very smart. Why did it suddenly come back here? It’s as if it’s afraid that others won’t be able to find it.”
Thunder Shadow had a sense of familiarity when it laid eyes on the scenery before him. It was the exact same location where the Black Ink Clan had fought with the Chaos Spirit King over the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill previously, where the colony of the Chaos Spirit Clan was.
At that time, Xiao You had pinned down the Chaos Spirit King while he tasked a Pseudo-Royal Lord to snatch the pill, but Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow beat them to it, leading to a chase. As Yang Kai was seriously injured after, he had no choice but to escape into the Infinite River with Thunder Shadow.
When Yang Kai re-emerged, he used the Open Heaven Pill to lure away the Chaos Spirit King in order to alleviate the Human Race’s crisis. Afterwards, the Human Race and Black Ink Clan engaged in a horrific battle and no one paid any attention to the whereabouts of the Chaos Spirit King. In the end, Yang Kai found the Chaos Spirit King back here.
“Big Brother, did you know this guy would return here?” Thunder Shadow asked.
As Yang Kai quietly approached like a shadow, he casually replied, “As you said, it’s not very smart, so it was worth a shot.”
As they were communicating inside Yang Kai’s head, leaving no traces, no one outside could hear and detect them.
Although he had said so, Yang Kai was actually quite confident in his hypothesis; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come straight here.
The intelligence of the Chaos Spirit Clan was truly dismaying, even the strongest Chaos Spirit Kings were no exception.
At this moment, a large number of Chaos Entities were gathered as the colony of the Chaos Spirit Clan spread as far as the eye could see. There was also a smaller number of Chaos Spirit Clan members who had already taken on physical forms.
These Chaos Spirit Clan members happened to be gathered around in a large sphere with a certain Chaos Entity at their center. Furthermore, one could vaguely make out the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill within that flowing mass of Chaotic Force.
In addition, the Chaos Spirit King happened to be standing nearby.
Apparently, the Chaos Spirit King was extremely vigilant as it had suffered a loss once already. Its powerful Divine Sense was constantly sweeping through the void, and even the slightest oddity or movement would draw its attention.
To be honest, if it weren’t for Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, Yang Kai could forget about sneaking into this place, and even with the help of Thunder Shadow’s mastery of the Dao of Concealment, Yang Kai was still being extremely cautious.
Bit by bit, Yang Kai slowly approached, trying his best not to leak even a hint of his aura.
Having reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai naturally didn’t fear this Chaos Spirit King, but he also had no intention of fighting it. The opposite party wasn’t a part of the Black Ink Clan and he would not gain anything by defeating it. It would be even worse if he lost, which was entirely possible. It could even be said that Yang Kai would be on the losing end if they fought, no matter the outcome.
Therefore, Yang Kai had already made up his mind to simply snatch the pill and flee!
The Chaos Spirit King’s thoughts were simple, [If you eat my pill, you must spit it out. I found it first, so it’s mine!]
Stealthily approaching, Yang Kai pushed Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to its utmost limit.
At some point, the Chaos Spirit King who was observing the surroundings suddenly turned its head, looking in the direction Yang Kai was hiding.
In front of someone as strong as this Chaos Spirit King, and a vigilant one at that, there was no such thing as a perfect concealment technique. When the distance between them reached a certain limit, Yang Kai’s existence was ultimately discovered.
Yang Kai was already prepared for this though. The moment the Chaos Spirit King noticed that something was wrong, Yang Kai surged his Space Principles and stepped forward, instantly arriving at the place where the Chaos Spirit Clan members were gathered. The next moment, loud splashing sounds rang out as he summoned the Space-Time River.
Just like last time, the enormous river carried away everything, engulfing the Chaos Entity refining the pill and the several nearby Chaos Spirit Clan members into it.
Immediately after, a violent roar mixed with a fearsome chaotic blast rushed into Yang Kai’s mind.
The Soul Warming Lotus promptly responded, radiating colourful light and blocking the Soul attack.
“Damn it…” Thunder Shadow cried out in alarm, but he didn’t make another move. Obviously, he had been dazed by this roar.
Fang Tian Ci also found it extremely unbearable. The Chaos Spirit King hadn’t even made a move yet, but his voice was already so powerful. It just showed how strong it was.
Suppressing his discomfort, Fang Tian Ci grabbed Thunder Shadow’s Soul and rushed into the Soul Warming Lotus.
While the two were protecting themselves, the Chaos Spirit King’s attack was already upon Yang Kai while Yang Kai had just finished sweeping the Chaos Spirit Clan members into the Space-Time River and was about to escape.
An earth-shattering Chaotic Force suddenly blasted Yang Kai, shattering the Void around him. A muffled grunt escaped Yang Kai’s lips before he promptly summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it towards the Chaos Spirit King.
In this brief confrontation, Yang Kai’s figure was sent flying while the Chaos Spirit King had to take a few steps back.
The next moment, Yang Kai grabbed the Space-Time River and instantly surged his Space Principle again. As he took a step forward, he disappeared and reappeared in the distance.
An enraged roar came from behind him as a powerful aura rushed over at extreme speed. Obviously, the Chaos Spirit King was already chasing after him.
Yang Kai finally experienced how helpless Xiao You felt. Being chased by such a strong existence was not a good experience, but what made him feel even more helpless was that he couldn’t really fight back against the Chaos Spirit King.
While he was fleeing, he shook the Space-Time River, and under the impact of the various Dao Strengths, the Chaos Entity and Chaos Spirit Clan members that were caught up in the river quickly dissolved.
After a short while, Yang Kai plucked out a pill, stored it away, and fled.
Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, the two passengers felt sluggish. A look of lingering fear could be found on Thunder Shadow’s face as he muttered, “That Chaos Spirit King is strong! But, it is quite unlucky to have encountered you, Big Brother.”
Twice, the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill had been snatched away by Yang Kai. The Universe Furnace had appeared so many times, but it was unlikely that such a thing had ever happened before. From this point alone, this Chaos Spirit King was truly unlucky.
Regardless of whether the Chaos Spirit King was unlucky or not, its anger was obvious at this moment. The last time it had lost its pill, it had relentlessly chased after Xiao You. As a result, Xiao You had to spend a great deal of effort to escape from it. From this, it could be seen just how persistent the Chaos Spirit King was towards the Supreme Grade Pills.
As for Yang Kai, now that he got his hands on the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, it wasn’t difficult for him to escape from this Chaos Spirit King. How could he not be able to do what Xiao You could? All he needed to do was use his Instantaneous Movement a few times and this Chaos Spirit King wouldn’t be able to find him.
However, he didn’t do so; rather, he kept the Chaos Spirit King at arm’s length, occasionally using his Space Secret Techniques to increase the distance between them. Sometimes, he even exposed his aura so that the other party could pursue him.
Thunder Shadow couldn’t understand what was going on and asked, “Big Brother, what are you trying to do with the Chaos Spirit King?”
If he was not planning anything, why would he lead it on? He could have easily shaken it off by now.
Before Yang Kai could answer, Fang Tian Ci understood and explained, “It’s to prevent others from running into this Chaos Spirit King and suffering some kind of mishap.”
The Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace World had suffered great losses in the last battle. Of the two Royal Lords, one was dead and the other was seriously injured. Even the Pseudo-Royal Lords who managed to escape were mostly heavily wounded.
As long as the Human Race Masters were careful enough, even if they ran into the Black Ink Clan, they would not be in any kind of grave danger.
The only ones that could pose a serious threat to the Human Race were beings like this Chaos Spirit King, especially the one who was chasing after Yang Kai. This Chaos Spirit King happened to be enraged, so if Yang Kai were to shake it off now, and if any other Human were to encounter it, they would be doomed!
That was why Yang Kai stayed within the range of its senses so that it wouldn’t escape his control. This was also a form of protection for other Humans.
So long as it was within his power, Yang Kai would naturally do it. In any case, it wouldn’t hinder him from doing other things.
After listening to Fang Tian Ci’s explanation, Thunder Shadow finally understood, “Big Brother is very thoughtful.” He couldn’t help but mutter, “You Humans are really prudent”
Most Monster Race on Myriad Monster World were bold and vicious. They only had one principle when they encountered a crisis, overcome it by any means necessary. If they got into an argument, they would immediately resort to their teeth and claws; so, how could they have such deep and complex thoughts?
No wonder the Early Ancient Era Monster Race met with a downfall and the Human Race had gradually risen.
Ignoring this criticism, Fang Tian Ci suddenly asked, “Big Brother, did you notice something strange?”
Yang Kai instead asked back, “What is it?”
“There seems to be something wrong with the number of Chaos Spirit Kings inside the Universe Furnace.”
“You think so too?” Yang Kai raised his brow. He had also noticed this problem before, but he hadn’t given it too much thought.
“What’s wrong with the number of Chaos Spirit Kings?” Thunder Shadow interrupted, totally confused.
Fang Tian Ci simply continued, “According to Big Brother, nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were formed when the Universe Furnace opened this time. Including the one in Big Brother’s possession, six of them have already been accounted for, leaving only three which are missing.”
“That’s right.” Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, a thoughtful look appeared on Thunder Shadow’s face.
“The Universe Furnace has undergone eight Grand Dao evolutions, so the ninth one should be happening soon. After nine Grand Dao evolutions, the Universe Furnace will be closed,” Fang Tian Ci added.
Thunder Shadow nodded again.
“Once the Universe Furnace is closed, the three missing pills will neither fall into the hands of the Human Race nor the Black Ink Clan, but will instead belong to the Chaos Spirit Clan. It can even be said that the three pills are currently in the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan, but we don’t know where they are.”
Thunder Shadow looked at him, furrowing its brow as a befuddled look appeared on its face, “What are you trying to say?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Second Brother is saying that since these three pills are now in the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan, shouldn’t three Chaos Spirit Kings have been born by now?”
“You mean… they haven’t?” Thunder Shadow’s voice gradually became feebler and feebler.
Fang Tian Ci further added, “Three Chaos Spirit Kings should be born with the opening of the Universe Furnace this time, but what about the past? Each time the Universe Furnace opens, some Chaos Spirit Kings should have been created. But how many Chaos Spirit Kings have we seen since we entered the Universe Furnace?”
It was just one!
But according to Fang Tian Ci’s speculations, there should be a lot more Chaos Spirit Kings in this Universe Furnace, at least a few dozen.
Except, judging by the current situation, this Universe Furnace World definitely didn’t have that many Chaos Spirit Kings, otherwise, they wouldn’t have encountered only one until now.
“Perhaps there are other Chaos Spirit Kings, it’s just that we haven’t discovered them yet. But there are definitely not that many Chaos Spirit Kings in this Universe Furnace World,” Fang Tian Ci concluded.
Thunder Shadow thought for a moment before asking, “What does this have to do with the current situation?”
Fang Tian Ci chuckled wryly, “It doesn’t matter, we were just casually discussing.”
Thunder Shadow couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, thinking that these two were talking about something he hadn’t realized. He always believed that he wasn’t stupid…
Yang Kai then stated, “Perhaps the effects of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill on the Chaos Entities aren’t as great as we think. Even if those mindless Chaos Entities can refine pills, they may not be able to immediately become a Chaos Spirit King. Rather, they may just become a relatively powerful Chaos Spirit!”
The Chaos Spirits also varied in strength. Some were as strong as Eighth-Order Masters while others were only as powerful as Second or Third-Order Masters. The gap between them was enormous.
It might be also because of this that not many Chaos Spirit Kings had been born even after so many Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills fell into the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan!
As for the exact truth, Yang Kai didn’t dare to jump to conclusions, but this conjecture was likely close to correct.
Thunder Shadow asked, “Then, the Chaos Spirit King is relentlessly chasing us all the way just for this pill that might not even help a Chaos Entity under him advance to become a Chaos Spirit King?”
Yang Kai laughed, “In the end, we were the ones who snatched it. If it wants to pursue us, let it.”
Saying so, he suddenly turned and flew off in a certain direction. The Chaos Spirit King also pursued right behind him like a shadow.
In that direction, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, who happened to be flying through the void, suddenly tensed up as a sense of crisis gripped his heart. A moment later, a powerful and fearsome aura locked onto him.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord suddenly turned his head and saw a streak of light shooting straight towards him from a distance. That streak of light happened to be flickering and the Void around it was rippling.
Sensing that familiar and shocking aura, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s soul nearly left his body as he shouted in panic, “Yang Kai!”
[Damn my rotten luck!]
This Pseudo-Royal Lord couldn’t figure out how he had encountered this killing star in this place!
In the last battle, after Mo Na Ye fled, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a crushing defeat, and the Black Ink Clansmen had scattered in all directions.
Fortunately, the Human Race didn’t have enough manpower to wipe them out. He happened to be quite lucky as he was not targeted by Yang Xue at that time, giving him a chance to escape that disaster with his life. He had been on the run ever since and had not stopped for a moment. Even if he ran into some Humans along the way, he would try his best to conceal himself so as to avoid exposing his whereabouts.
According to the information he had obtained from the Black Ink Disciples, the Universe Furnace would close soon. He had entered the Universe Furnace World from the Barren Territory; so, as long as he waited for the Universe Furnace to close, he would be able to safely return there. By then, the Human Race would not be able to do anything to him, no matter how many Ninth-Order Masters they had gained.
His journey had been smooth and uneventful so far, and after a long period of safety, he believed that the storm had already passed.
But much to his horror, he ran into the most difficult Human to deal with.
He had also suffered injuries in the last battle, but his wounds weren’t that serious. So, at this moment, his strength had not suffered that much. After a brief moment of fear, the Pseudo-Royal Lord became solemn and roared, “Come!”
In front of such a Human who was proficient in the Dao of Space, escaping was an unrealistic dream. The Pseudo-Royal Lord immediately made the most appropriate response, taking up an offensive stance to let Yang Kai know that even if he killed him, he would have to pay a huge price!
A Pseudo-Royal Lord was also a Royal Lord, only slightly weaker than a true Royal Lord. How could he allow himself to be trampled upon?
Seeing the Pseudo-Royal Lord in front of him assume an aggressive posture, Yang Kai was slightly surprised, but he did not take it too seriously. While the other party let out an angry roar, Yang Kai quickly closed the distance between them. After reaching a certain critical point, he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion, causing Dao Strengths to undulate around him.
The next moment, the Space-Time River gushed out with crashing sounds. The enormous river was like a whip, one end held in Yang Kai’s hand as it lashed straight towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord.
For the Black Ink Clansmen who had participated in the last battle, the Space-Time River was still fresh in their memories. A Pseudo-Royal Lord got swept into the river at that time before Yang Kai had even broken through. Yang Kai then dove into the river and slaughtered that Pseudo-Royal Lord within a few breaths.
Although Yang Kai had only managed to kill that Pseudo-Royal Lord at that time due to a sneak attack, it still showed how strange this river was.
Mo Na Ye also suffered a great loss inside this strange river.
Seeing Yang Kai summoning this enormous river once more, the Pseudo-Royal Lord immediately became vigilant. He let out a furious roar as Black Ink Strength surged around him before he punched straight towards the river.
The great river was shaken and monstrous waves rose and fell one after another. The impact almost blew the river in half.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s face lit up with joy, but the next moment, his expression took a turn for the worse, because although it looked like that river was about to snap in half, it ultimately didn’t. The river was like a whip, it bent a few times before ruthlessly lashing out at him again.
Dao Strengths surged violently as the Grand Daos evolved and developed. The Pseudo-Royal Lord was struck so hard that it knocked the senses out of him. In an instant, he lost his consciousness as a whip-like river wrapped around him.
Caught off guard, the Pseudo-Royal Lord was engulfed by the Space-Time River. The enormous river seemed to contain an extremely strange power while destabilizing his mind and perception.
He immediately understood why his companion had been killed by Yang Kai, who had yet to break through at that time. After having fallen in this strange river, his strength must have been greatly suppressed, making it difficult for him to display his full power.
He wanted to struggle his way out, but an irresistible force swept over and dragged him along.
“Off you go!” Yang Kai shouted, and with a flick of his wrist, the Pseudo-Royal Lord who was bound by the whip-like river was sent flying. Afterwards, Yang Kai flew off at an extremely high speed without even looking back even once.
In the rear, the Pseudo-Royal Lord looked completely dumbfounded. He was unable to understand what had just happened. Did Yang Kai come here just to humiliate him? If not, why had he not killed him?
In that kind of situation, he knew that there was no way he could escape from Yang Kai’s hands. Perhaps if he fought to the death, he could make Yang Kai pay a price, but it definitely wouldn’t be too high.
[Unexpectedly, this killing star only teased me a little and quickly fled, but why…]
The next moment, he understood.
As soon as he stabilized himself, he felt an extremely sharp and ferocious aura rapidly closing in on him from behind. Furthermore, this aura happened to be even stronger than the Ninth-Order Yang Kai.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord hurriedly looked back, and instantly saw a figure charging towards him. He had felt this aura and had also seen who it belonged to from a distance in the past. Now that he came face to face with it, it was even more terrifying.
“The Chaos Spirit King!?” He was struck with panic.
In the blink of an eye, the Chaos Spirit King was already upon him. The Chaos Spirit King’s anger was as fierce as an erupting volcano, but it didn’t pay any attention to this Pseudo-Royal Lord who was blocking his path. It just casually threw a light punch at him as if it was pushing aside a blockade. It then brushed past him and went chasing after the killing star.
“Pu…” The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s figure doubled over and he spurted out a mouthful of black blood. At the same time, his aura fiercely declined as Black Ink Strength started uncontrollably dissipating.
Even though it was just a casual punch, the power behind an enraged Chaos Spirit King’s attack could still not be underestimated. In addition, the Pseudo-Royal Lord had just been dazed by Yang Kai’s whip and was not able to defend himself properly. He was caught off guard and seriously injured in one blow.
When he looked up, he saw the Chaos Spirit King’s figure gradually disappear from his sight. He was delighted at the sight of this and could not help but laugh, taking pleasure in his enemy’s misfortune despite the tremendous pain he was in.
[Yang Kai is being chased by the Chaos Spirit King! No wonder he didn’t have time to pay attention to me.] At this moment, an old saying of the Human Race flashed in his mind, ‘The wicked will be punished by the wicked!’
[Yang Kai, aren’t you amazing? Haven’t you already broken through to the Ninth Order? So what if you’re strong!? In the face of that damn Chaos Spirit King, all you can do is flee!]
He immediately prayed in his heart that the Chaos Spirit King could put in some more effort and kill Yang Kai!
However, a smile had just bloomed on his lips when it suddenly froze.
Ripples suddenly appeared one after another in the Void right before him, just like when a stone is thrown into a calm lake. As these ripples spread outward, a figure materialized out of thin air.
In just one step, the figure was standing right before him.
“You…” The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s expression suddenly changed for the worse. At this moment, he realized he had made a mistake.
“You seem quite happy,” Yang Kai, who had just returned, looked at the Pseudo-Royal Lord with curiosity.
The other party didn’t answer, he just quickly turned around and fled.
Had he fought Yang Kai to the death when they just met, he would have been able to bite off a piece of his flesh before dying. But now that he had been seriously injured by the Chaos Spirit King, this notion had already been quashed.
He was not this killing star’s opponent even at his peak, so how could he resist when he was seriously injured.
[He did it on purpose! This killing star definitely did this on purpose! He used the Chaos Spirit King to weaken me so he could circle back using his Space Secret Technique to easily finish me off. He never had any intention of letting me live!]
“Where do you think you’re going?” Yang Kai shouted impatiently. The Chaos Spirit King had noticed his aura and had already changed directions to chase after him. If he didn’t want to fight with the Chaos Spirit King, he had to end this battle quickly.
As soon as Yang Kai spoke, he manipulated Space Principles, causing the surrounding void to become viscous, like a swamp, making it difficult for the Pseudo-Royal Lord to move.
Yang Kai already had his spear in hand, which he fiercely thrust towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord.
The next moment, a ferocious aura shot straight towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord from behind, forcing him to turn around and face it head-on. The last thing that entered his eyes was a rapidly expanding spear tip!
Pitch-black blood splashed out as the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s head blew apart. The two figures brushed past each other, but Yang Kai didn’t stop even for a moment and continued moving ahead, leaving the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s corpse behind him that still maintained a defensive posture.
A few breaths later, the pursuing Chaos Spirit King once again passed by this place and casually waved its fist. The corpse blocking its path blew into smithereens.
Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, Thunder Shadow muttered to Fang Tian Ci, “Big Brother is too sinister.”
Fang Tian Ci earnestly stated, “In battle, there’s no such thing as being too sinister.”
It wouldn’t be difficult for Yang Kai to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord with his current strength, but he would still need to fight for a while to achieve that. A Pseudo-Royal Lord could barely be considered an existence on par with a Royal Lord, but because they were made using a Black Ink Clan’s Source Fusion Technique and were not true Royal Lords, it was difficult for them to display the full might of a Royal Lord.
With an existence like the Chaos Spirit King chasing after him, it was naturally not wise to fight with a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
On the other hand, Yang Kai could easily eliminate his opponent after weakening the Pseudo-Royal Lord by using the Chaos Spirit King, then circling back to eliminate him.
This was an example of lifting a heavy weight using borrowed strength. The chaser had unknowingly become Yang Kai’s accomplice, and if Yang Kai got the chance to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord without any effort, why should he not take it?
Of course, it was only because the Chaos Spirit King’s intelligence was not high enough that this was possible. If it was any other Master with normal intelligence, Yang Kai’s plan would not have worked at all.
Just like before, the chase continued.
Their chase flipped the Universe Furnace World upside down.
Yang Kai didn’t have a set direction. In any case, he was just leading the Chaos Spirit King on a wild chase around the Universe Furnace World.
If he ran into someone from the Black Ink Clan, he would kill them right away, but if he encountered a Human, he would take a detour and warn them in advance, lest they get caught up in this storm.
Yang Kai might be slightly weaker than the Chaos Spirit King, but if he were to focus on escaping, the Chaos Spirit King would not be able to do anything to him. As luck would have it, the Chaos Spirit King’s sentience wasn’t very developed. It was certain that Yang Kai had snatched the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, so it kept chasing after him relentlessly.
The number of Black Ink Clan survivors Yang Kai encountered started to decrease over time. Of course, it might have been because they had been killed, but the bigger reason was that the survivors had gone into hiding.
Right now, things were extremely unfavourable for the Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace World. The Human Race had four Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had split up to hunt down any Black Ink Clansmen they could find. On the other hand, the only Royal Lord on the Black Ink Clan’s side was heavily injured and was nowhere to be found.
So, how could the Black Ink Clan still have the strength to resist the Humans in this kind of situation? Naturally, they used all kinds of means to hide themselves, waiting for the Universe Furnace World to close.
Although most of them knew that another bloody battle would break out when the Universe Furnace closed, they did not have much choice in the matter.
As time passed, Yang Kai became slightly disappointed.
There was no trace of Mo Na Ye, nor was there any trace of the other three Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills.
The Universe Furnace World was quite vast. Perhaps there were some places he had yet to explore, or perhaps the three pills had already been refined, or perhaps they had fallen into the hands of some Black Ink Clansman or Human. Everything was possible.
As for Mo Na Ye, if he was Hell-bent on hiding, it wouldn’t be easy to find him.
Yang Kai was in no rush though. He could end Mo Na Ye once the Universe Furnace closed.
During this trip to the Universe Furnace, the Human Race had not only dealt the Black Ink Clan a severe blow, they had also gained four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Yang Kai also got his hand on another Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill which he could bring back and give to Mi Jing Lun. In short, this trip was worth it.
At some point, the Grand Dao within this World suddenly started undulating before the last remnants of the Chaos rapidly disappeared.
The ninth Grand Dao evolution was finally taking place!
After this evolution, the Universe Furnace would soon close.
As for the Chaos Spirit King who had been chasing after Yang Kai all this while, it seemed to have also noticed this and became even more agitated, pushing its speed even higher.
Be that as it may, it had never been able to close the distance between them from the moment it had started chasing Yang Kai. No matter how hard it tried, it was useless.
“Second Brother, take the helm!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted.
Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, the corner of Fang Tian Ci’s mouth twitched.
[What does Big Brother think of his body?] But after giving it another thought, he realized that it was quite appropriate to address his physical body as a ship on which the three Brothers were riding.
Without further thought, Fang Tian Ci immediately took control of the body.
However, he didn’t have full control over it, mainly because Yang Kai was still occupying the majority of his physical body, so he was unable to control it too smoothly.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai was on guard against him, but rather that he needed to focus on something else. Fang Tian Ci only needed to control the body to escape the Chaos Spirit King’s pursuit, which didn’t require much fine control.
The handover between them was extremely smooth. From an outsider’s point of view, it was impossible to spot any change in Yang Kai. He was still fleeing, and the Chaos Spirit King chasing after him was completely helpless.
But at this moment, Yang Kai was completely focused on sensing the changes in the surroundings.
When the Universe Furnace World underwent its ninth Grand Dao evolution, the Grand Daos in this World started undulating as the Chaos completely evolved into 10,000 Grand Daos. After the ninth evolution, the Universe Furnace World would finally reach perfection.
At this moment, Yang Kai also summoned his own Space-Time River and urged his Dao Strengths, churning them and studying the endless mysteries that appeared.
Inside the small Space-Time River, all Dao Strengths converged, and under Yang Kai’s control, various Dao Strengths constantly blended and fused, devouring and evolving before finally transforming into Five Elements Dao Strengths.
The Five Elements Dao Strengths mutually restrained and supported each other, rapidly transforming into Yin and Yang.
As Yin and Yang circled around each other, Time and Space became twisted and ultimately evolved into Chaos.
All Dao Strengths converged into one, and ultimately became Chaos!
This was a mysterious process Yang Kai had comprehended from the Infinite River; and at this moment, he had thoroughly confirmed this point using his own Dao Strengths’ evolution.
At this moment, the Space-Time River circling around him was no longer the Space-Time River, but a Chaos River.
The moment this Chaos River completely stabilized, a sudden change occurred.
As if a drop of water had been poured into a sizzling oil, the Dao Strengths of the entire Universe Furnace World began to violently undulate, and the Infinite River that ran through the World also began to violently surge, sending waves as high as the sky everywhere, sweeping across everything.
While the Grand Dao of the Universe Furnace World started evolving for the ninth and final time, whether it was the Humans who were searching for the traces of the Black Ink Clan or the Black Ink Clan who were hiding themselves, everyone had already gotten used to it.
After all, this kind of thing had already happened eight times before. Besides the first time when there was some surprise and confusion, everyone completely disregarded it from the second time on. This was the profound mystery of the Universe Furnace, there was no need to pay too much attention to it.
Except, this ninth evolution appeared to be different from any of the previous ones. Under the surging Grand Daos, the entire Universe Furnace World was shaking. At this moment, it was as if something was changing, but no one could see it clearly, nor could they explain it.
The Infinite River that ran through the entire Universe Furnace World, from shallow to deep, contained the mysteries of Chaos evolving into 10,000 Grand Daos.
Every evolution of the Grand Daos was also a manifestation of the mysteries of Chaos giving birth to 10,000 Grand Daos.
The Universe Furnace seemed to be demonstrating the truth of the Grand Dao to all living beings, the essence of the world itself.
When the last Grand Dao evolution occurred, Yang Kai used his own Space-Time River as a foundation and prompted the 10,000 Grand Daos to revert to Chaos. By doing just the opposite, it was no different from erecting a different flag amid this surging tide.
Vaguely, he seemed to have touched something.
At this moment, Yang Kai felt an inexplicable pressure on him from all directions, causing the Space-Time River around him to violently shake, almost collapsing it.
If one followed the Heavens, they would achieve twice the results with half the effort, but if one defied the Heavens, the opposite would happen.
What Yang Kai was currently doing was tantamount to opposing the natural order of the Universe Furnace World. When the last Grand Daos’ evolution was taking place, any act of rebellion would naturally be suppressed by this World.
The speed at which he was fleeing suddenly slowed down, but the Chaos Spirit King chasing after him didn’t appear to be affected by it at all; it was quickly closing the distance between them.
Fang Tian Ci, who had taken control of a portion of Yang Kai’s body, and was running for his life, was greatly alarmed. He might not have any idea about the exact cause behind this sudden change, but he knew that it had something to do with his main body.
Gritting his teeth, he quickly prompted Space Principles and executed Instantaneous Movement, but he didn’t teleport too far.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was completely focused on maintaining his own Space-Time River. The exploration of the Infinite River had allowed him to glimpse at some things, but he was unable to thoroughly understand them. If he wanted to verify his theory, he could only rely on this method.
He had been meaning to do this for a long time, but the Chaos Spirit King that was chasing him right now had become a potential threat. There was nothing he could do about it either. When he snatched back the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, it was destined that he would not be able to shake off this Chaos Spirit King, otherwise, others would definitely suffer because of him.
The long river around Yang Kai kept shaking. It appeared to be on the verge of collapse, but Yang Kai continued to persevere, and soon, a look of joy overtook his face.
Because the Grand Dao evolution, which should have started and ended in a flash, had not disappeared, and was instead showing signs of intensifying.
This was undeniable proof that his actions had some effect. Although he was going against the entire World with his might alone, as the saying went, even a single rat dropping could ruin a pot of porridge.
The current Yang Kai was that dropping that had fallen into this Universe Furnace World.
The Grand Daos undulated even more fiercely, shaking the Universe Furnace World non-stop. Whether it was the Human Race or the Black Ink Clan, all of them were shocked and confused, not knowing what was happening.
At this moment, Fang Tian Ci’s voice rang out, “Big Brother, I can’t hold on much longer!”
From the start, he had only been in control of a small portion of Yang Kai’s body, and Yang Kai’s actions made his job even more difficult. Even if he used a Space Secret Technique, he was unable to teleport far. Meanwhile, the Chaos Spirit King kept relentlessly chasing after them, closing the distance to a dangerous degree!
In a moment, he might fall into the range of the Chaos Spirit King’s attacks. If that really happened, Yang Kai would not be able to do anything, he might even possibly put himself in danger.
Fang Tian Ci shouted his plea, but Yang Kai did not give any answer. It remained unknown whether he heard him or not.
Yang Kai also felt like he couldn’t hold on any longer. In the Universe Furnace World right now, when Chaos was giving birth to 10,000 Grand Daos, filling every step of this place, he could only rely on his own strength to go against it. So, he was really under intense pressure.
He didn’t even know if his actions were meaningful or not, but he had indeed caught a glimpse of some things in the Infinite River. If he didn’t verify his speculations now, he might never have another chance in his life.
He didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity, so he had no choice but to persevere.
Fortunately, his Divine Dragon Body had become stronger than ever after he had broken through to the Ninth Order. Had he still been in the Eighth Order, it would have been difficult for him to hold even this long.
At this point, every single breath felt like millions of years.
Suddenly, a fearsome attack came flying at him from behind. Apparently, the Chaos Spirit King had already reached the range it could begin attacking him.
It was also at this moment that Yang Kai, who was fully focused on circulating his strength, suddenly saw a massive, winding river.
Naturally, this was the legendary Infinite River that ran through the entire Universe Furnace World!
As a matter of fact, although this river ran through the entire Universe Furnace World, it wasn’t everywhere. Yang Kai was still quite a distance away from the Infinite River.
However, he noticed that the Space inside the Universe Furnace World had become unstable at this moment.
He wasn’t the only one who noticed this. At this moment, all the surviving Humans and Black Ink Clansmen saw this enormous river appear, flowing from an unknown source towards the end of this World.
The great river happened to be shaking, and beside it, tributaries that had never been seen before and had never been detected by any living being rapidly appeared one after another. If the massive river was a giant tree, then these tributaries that had suddenly appeared were branches…
It was difficult to calculate how many branches there were, as there were too many to count.
These tributaries flowed continuously and quickly filled the entire Universe Furnace World like a spider web. In these tributaries, what flowed was the 10,000 Grand Daos after they had evolved!
This was a remarkable sight to behold!
All the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen stared at this sudden sight in a daze. Some of them even reached out to touch a tributary close at hand, but their hands went right through it as if they were touching something illusory. There was no resistance at all.
The Universe Furnace World had undergone momentous change, but no one knew the cause behind it.
At this moment, Yang Kai, the architect behind this chaos, was coughing up blood. The Chaos Spirit King’s attack was extremely powerful and even he was unable to withstand it.
However, no anger could be seen in his eyes, rather they were shining brightly.
The moment these tributaries appeared, he knew that his previous speculations were correct!
The Universe Furnace truly existed and was hidden somewhere in this World. Its profoundness lay in its ability to derive all the Grand Daos from Chaos. Whether it was the nine Grand Dao evolutions, or the existence of the Infinite River, they were the undeniable proof.
Finding the true body of the Universe Furnace, on the other hand, was a whole other problem.
Since ancient times, every appearance of the Universe Furnace drove generations of Great Experts to enter it. Did they not think of searching for the real body of the Universe Furnace? Of course, they did!
But no one had ever found it.
Yang Kai also was not sure if he could find it, but all he could do was give it a try. If he found it, it would naturally be a reason to rejoice, but if he couldn’t find it, he wouldn’t suffer any losses either. The only problem hindering him was the Chaos Spirit King that was chasing after him. It was a nuisance!
Fortunately, now that his strength had dramatically increased, it wasn’t that troublesome.
Now the only issue before Yang Kai was how to go about his search.
Since he had managed to glimpse the mystery of how the Universe Furnace derived all the Grand Daos from Chaos, he figured he should do the opposite to create a kind of interference that would hopefully reveal some clues he could trace. With this plan in his mind, Yang Kai let himself loose.
No one had ever done such a thing before, or even mastered so many Grand Daos like him.
As the saying went, ‘When in doubt, it’s better to take a step back. Who knows, you might see the situation clearly’.
Going against the tide of the entire Universe Furnace World was equal to going against the Heavens’ Will, but it also allowed one to see more clearly.
When the tributaries appeared, the Space-Time River around Yang Kai’s body started shaking. To others, the enormous Infinite River might seem like an illusory river, but it looked completely different to Yang Kai, who was surrounded by his own Space-Time River.
Flowing in these tributaries were the 10,000 Grand Daos that were born from Chaos.
Whereas his current Space-Time River was the amalgamation of 10,000 Grand Daos returning to Chaos. The two were completely opposite to each other.
If these tributaries were like closed doors, then the Space-Time River was the key to opening them.
The next moment, the Space-Time River surged before it carried Yang Kai into the nearest tributary.
Right then, another fearsome attack shot towards Yang Kai. The Chaos Spirit King had already caught up to him and naturally, when it saw Yang Kai rush into the tributary, it refused to give up. However, no matter what it did, it was unable to harm Yang Kai in the slightest and it couldn’t even enter the tributary either. All it could do was helplessly watch Yang Kai rapidly drift away following the tributary’s flow.
The Chaos Spirit King chased after him for a while longer before finally losing sight of Yang Kai. Boundless anger surged within it as it let out a long roar, unable to contain its rage!
Inside the tributary, Yang Kai, who was protected by the Space-Time River, seemed to have transformed into an undercurrent, drifting along the flow, surrounded by extremely rich Dao Strengths.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t in the mood to refine and absorb them at this moment, mainly because he had obtained ample benefits from the Infinite River; refining and absorbing them now wouldn’t have much effect.
Furthermore, he even had a large amount of Dao Strengths sealed in his Small Universe, ready to be refined by him or others.
He had no idea where he was going, but if his guess was right, then the end or source of the tributary should be the location of the Universe Furnace.
Also, it was completely unrealistic to go against the current as the resistance was too high. He had no choice but to follow the flow.
Just as Yang Kai entered the tributary, the Universe Furnace World suddenly underwent a great change, folding the various Spaces and stacking them upon each other. The Humans who went searching for traces of the Black Ink Clan, and the Black Ink Clan who were hiding in the shadows, no matter who it was, all of them could feel that the surroundings had changed.
After a short while, every surviving outsider felt as if they had entered an independent Void. Even if they had companions nearby, they found it extremely hard to approach them. It was as if the opposite party was in a totally different Space.
“The Universe Furnace is about to close,” somewhere in the void, Blood Crow immediately frowned and warned when the Six Paths Formation he was part of collapsed for no reason. He had experienced this before, so after noticing the changes in his surroundings, he immediately understood what was about to happen.
Hearing Blood Crow’s words, the veteran Eighth-Order Masters were puzzled, “Didn’t you say that we’ll still have some time after the ninth evolution?”
Blood Crow shook his head, “It was like that last time, but it’s a little different this time. Perhaps it is different every time.”
He had participated in the appearance of the Universe Furnace only once, so how could he know if there was any kind of pattern? Judging by the current situation, the Universe Furnace would indeed be closing very soon.
At that time, all the outsiders would be expelled from this independent world and returned to their respective entrance points.
When that time came, another war would break out, and this time, the Human Race had already made preparations. They would definitely inflict heavy losses on the Black Ink Clan!
After the last battle, once the group of six had finished recuperating, they started hunting around in a Battle Formation. During this time, they had some modest gains.
Originally, they thought that there was still some time before the Universe Furnace closed, and that they would be able to make more progress, but at this moment, they decided not to ruminate too much on it.
The six Eighth-Order Masters came from the various entrances of the Universe Furnace, so once the Universe Furnace was closed, they would be forced to return to different places. Immediately, each of them cupped their fists and bid their farewells before settling down to adjust their breathing and recover their strength.
Not only them, but all of the Human Race Masters who were still active appeared to have noticed it. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and started getting ready for the imminent battle.
In comparison, the Black Ink Clansmen who were relatively well-informed were a little uneasy and restless. Although they knew that this day would eventually come, when it really did, they discovered that they had not been prepared.
The news they had received from the Black Ink Disciples had left them deeply concerned. They didn’t know what kind of terrible situation they would face after the Universe Furnace closed.
In the end, they had to return to various Great Territory Battlefields. After the Universe Furnace closed down, whether they lived or died would all depend on the outside battle situation between the Black Ink Clan Army and the Human Race Army.
Moreover, many of the Black Ink Clansmen were oblivious to this truth…
While the undercurrents were surging, Yang Kai, protected by his Space-Time River, followed along the flow of the Infinite River tributary. He had no idea where he was going or whether his actions had any meaning, but now that things had reached this point, he had no choice but to follow through.
This stream was filled with an extremely rich and pure Dao Strength, so pure that it had condensed into a liquid form that was flowing in the tributary.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. Previously, his actions had given birth to a strange change in the Universe Furnace; spiderweb-like tributaries had filled the entire Universe Furnace World in the blink of an eye. This scene had not gone unnoticed by him.
The reason he was able to enter the tributary was because he had used his own comprehension of the evolution of Grand Daos, and used Dao Strengths to stimulate the 10,000 Grand Daos to revert back to Chaos. If the tributary was a locked door, then his method was the key to opening it.
Even if others had seen these tributaries, they could forget about entering them without the corresponding means.
Although Yang Kai had used this opportunity to escape the pursuit of the Chaos Spirit King, he had no idea what would transpire next. Left with no other options, all he could do was focus on sensing the changes in his surroundings with rapt attention.
The flow of Dao Strengths was extremely fast, but when it came to the tributary, its flow was billowing and the currents violent.
Being in such a tributary, whether it was Time or Space, everything had become extremely chaotic. Although the surroundings were filled with extremely rich Dao Strengths, one’s vision was filled with impossible sights.
Yang Kai instantly understood that the Universe Furnace was about to close!
[According to Blood Crow, the Universe Furnace would close soon after the ninth evolution, but this period seems to be a lot shorter. Could it be because of me?]
At this moment, Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to think about these things. All he wanted to know was where he would eventually end up if he allowed himself to drift like this!
Perhaps the end of this tributary would allow him to discover some unknown truths!
Time and Space became even more chaotic. Yang Kai found it difficult to even calculate how long he had been inside this stream. At some point, the Space-Time River around him seemed to have suffered a huge impact, instantly shaking it and destabilizing his body. The impact was so huge that it sent his World Force and blood into turmoil.
Yang Kai’s face turned pale.
For him to suffer such an impact with his current cultivation realm meant that it was comparable to an all-out attack from a Royal Lord.
Sensing the source of the impact, Yang Kai instinctively reached out towards it. When he closed his fist, there was something in his hand.
It was a very small object, but when he opened his fist and took a close look at it, a strange expression appeared on his face.
Much to his surprise, it was a grain of sand!
Moreover, he had seen this kind of grain of sand before…
He had seen them at the bottom of Infinite River, countless of them at that, which had gathered at the riverbed.
These grains of sand were not some simple sand particles, but rather some kind of embryonic Universe World; however, because of the massive pressure and rich Dao Strength in the Infinite River, these Universe Worlds were only in their nascent form and looked like sand in a river bed.
Surprisingly, such a thing had actually appeared in this tributary…
The Infinite River that ran through the entire Universe Furnace World was the main river, and all the tributaries were part of it. Now that the grain of sand that should have existed in the depths of the main river had appeared, didn’t that mean that something inside the main river had been forced out?
Realizing this, Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly. The tributary he was in… was probably not as safe as he had imagined.
He clearly remembered that a large number of mystical Celestial Phenomena were forming inside the Infinite River. These Celestial Phenomena may have looked small and unimposing inside the Infinite River, but they were actually filled with all kinds of strange and dangerous anomalies.
[It was just a grain of sand that hit me this time, but what if it was a Celestial Phenomenon…] Yang Kai’s head immediately started spinning.
Although he was in a crisis, he was still extremely excited. The fact that things had been pushed out of the main river and into the tributary meant that the Dao Strength turbulence had swept through the entire Universe Furnace, even the Infinite River was unable to avoid it. He could not help but be excited about what astonishing discovery he would find at the end of this tributary.
Realizing that the environment he was in was not that safe though, Yang Kai became more cautious as he meticulously scanned his surroundings, lest he get pulled into some strange Celestial Phenomenon.
Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened, though quite a bit of sand was indeed flowing towards him along with the current. Yang Kai, who was already prepared for this, easily resolved the issue.
While Yang Kai was moving along the tributary towards an unknown future, the Universe Furnace World closed down amidst violently shaking, the survivors disappearing under the great repulsive force one after another.
Azure Sun Territory was a frontline battlefield where the Humans fought against the Black Ink Clan. Countless from both sides had sacrificed their lives here over the past thousands of years. There was not a single corner in this place where the blood had not been spilled and someone had not lost their lives.
But despite the numerous battles fought on this Great Territory Battlefield over thousands of years, it was still orderly and controllable.
However, a few decades ago, when the Universe Furnace suddenly appeared, a true war broke out!
No battle of that scale and intensity had been fought for thousands of years.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen fought in that battle, including a few Pseudo-Royal Lords. While on the Human Race’s side, Ninth-Order Masters, who had long been in hiding, personally stepped forward to meet the enemy.
Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but things had slowly stabilized after a large number of Masters from both sides entered the Universe Furnace.
More than half of the Pseudo-Royal Lords had entered, but the Human Race’s Ninth-Order Master had not. As such, how could the Black Ink Clan be their opponents now?
Over the next 20 years, the Human Race swept through the entire Azure Sun Territory under Luo Ting He’s leadership, setting off a one-sided massacre of the Black Ink Clan until they were completely helpless.
At present, Azure Sun Territory was basically under the Human Race’s control. Although the Black Ink Clan was still launching ambushes in some places, they were no longer a threat and would be wiped out sooner or later.
These Black Ink Clan forces also wanted to escape from Azure Sun Territory, but the various Territory Gates had already been occupied by the Humans, leaving them nowhere to run.
Originally, the Black Ink Clan believed that the Humans would launch a massive counterattack after capturing Azure Sun Territory, so massive Black Ink Clan Armies had already deployed across the nearby Great Territories, preparing for battle.
But to the Black Ink Clan’s surprise, the Human Race Army in Azure Sun Territory did not continue the triumphant march. Even the Ninth-Order Master, Luo Ting He, showed no intention of leaving Azure Sun Territory. She simply stood guard there, her thoughts a mystery.
Unable to guess the enemy’s intentions, the Black Ink Clan became a little ill at ease.
Not only was Azure Sun Territory like this, but most of the other Great Territory Battlefields were in similar situations. In Wolf Fang Territory, Wei Jun Yang, leading the Human Race Army, basically purged the Black Ink Clan before stopping.
When the news reached the No-Return Pass, Mo Yu, who was overseeing the general situation, felt both uneasy and puzzled, wondering what these two Ninth-Order Human Race Masters were up to.
At that moment he really missed Mo Na Ye. Had Mo Na Ye been here, he might have been able to see through the Humans actions. Unfortunately, Mo Na Ye had entered the Universe Furnace World, and Mo Yu did not have any other useful subordinates under him.
Except for the Great Territory Battlefields that had the two Ninth-Order Masters, where the battle already settled, war was still raging on the rest of the Great Territory Battlefields. Both the Human Race and Black Ink Clan kept investing their troops there, and large and small battles would break out almost every few days.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered massive casualties, but the Human Race’s casualties weren’t small either.
Among the many pieces of information relayed back to the No-Return Pass, there was one that Mo Yu was extremely concerned about.
And that was that no matter which Great Territory Battlefield it was, the Human Race seemed to care a great deal about the location where the Universe Furnace projection had appeared. Even if they had advantages in battle, they maintained a heavy deployment at the location of the projection Space, strictly guarding it and preventing the Black Ink Clan from approaching.
[What’s so special about those locations? Why are they specifically guarding them?]
The Human Race’s movements gave Mo Yu a bad feeling. If his hunch came to be true, then all the Black Ink Clansmen who had entered the Universe Furnace might have a disastrous end waiting for them!
Because of his hunch, he issued several orders to all the Black Ink Clansmen deployed on the various Great Territory Battlefields to pay close attention to the locations where these projections had appeared.
When the Universe Furnace’s ninth Grand Dao evolution was taking place and the Universe Furnace World started shaking, the very same scene that had occurred several decades ago reappeared. The space that was heavily guarded by the Humans suddenly became distorted and chaotic before a massive illusory phantom of the Universe Furnace manifested!
The projection of the Universe Furnace had appeared once more!
After a few decades, by the time the Universe Furnace’s projection appeared once more, the Human Race Masters on the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields were already finished making their preparations.
Not to mention Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, which had practically been conquered, even the Great Territory Battlefields where wars were still raging had Humans basically completely controlling the specific areas.
The news immediately reached the Supreme Headquarters, causing Mi Jing Lun to frown.
[It’s a little fast!]
According to the information provided by Blood Crow, the last time the Universe Furnace manifested, it took over 100 years for it to close. Of course, the 100 years was the flow of time in the outside world. If one was really inside the Universe Furnace, they wouldn’t feel that so much time had passed, because Time and Space seemed to be extremely wrapped and chaotic at the very beginning, making it difficult to determine how long they had spent inside.
But it didn’t matter.
All the necessary arrangements had been made, and the rest would depend on how effective these arrangements were.
Putting down those reports, Mi Jing Lun picked up another set.
The emergence of the Universe Furnace had triggered an all-out war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. The Human Race was not completely prepared yet, but neither was the Black Ink Clan.
Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, under the leadership of two Ninth-Order Masters, had basically been reclaimed. The Black Ink Clansmen that were present there had either been killed or had fled long ago. The Territory Gates leading to two Territories were now completely in Human hands. All that was left were some finishing touches.
Several other Great Territory Battlefields were now dominated by the Human Race.
Let alone other Great Territory Battlefields, just Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory allowed the Human Race to push forward, but Mi Jing Lun did not give the order to do so.
The Black Ink Clan Army terribly outnumbered the Human Race Army still, and the same was true when it came to top Masters. If they continued pushing on, they might not be able to achieve much while sacrificing a lot.
Once the front line was stretched too far, it would be rather detrimental for the Human Race.
If the Human Race wanted to reclaim the 3,000 Worlds, they would have to take a steady approach. They would have to sweep through the Great Territories one by one and drive the Black Ink Clan out of their homeland, where they had lived for millions of years.
As such, Mi Jing Lun was waiting for the Universe Furnace to close. Only by killing all the Black Ink Clansmen that had entered the Universe Furnace would the Human Race be free from any attack in the rear.
Otherwise, if the Human Race Masters were sent to the front lines and the Black Ink Clan were to stir up trouble in the rear, that would be quite troublesome.
And at this moment, the time had come!
What he needed to consider now was how the Human Race would proceed after reclaiming the current Great Territory Battlefields.
When the massive Universe Furnace phantom appeared, apart from Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, the Black Ink Clan in the other Great Territory Battlefields immediately took action.
Mo Yu had already passed down an order a long time ago that if anything unusual transpired in those locations where the Universe Furnace’s projection had once appeared, the Black Ink Clan Army should immediately engage. They should not hesitate to attack regardless of what the Humans were planning.
A huge battle instantly broke out, and this time it swept up all the occupied Great Territory Battlefields.
Not long after the projection of the Universe Furnace appeared, figures appeared inside the projection one after another. These figures were none other than members of the Black Ink Clan who had entered the Universe Furnace.
Most of them were still in a state of confusion as the majority of Black Ink Clansman did not know that when they left the Universe Furnace World, they would return to their original location.
While they were still reeling from confusion, powerful attacks came raining down on them from all directions!
The Human Race Masters, who had long been prepared, immediately used their strongest Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
Not only that, but the Human Race Masters who had appeared together with the Black Ink Clansmen from the Universe Furnace World also quickly assumed Battle Formations, resisting the aftershocks of the attacks from their own side, while searching for opportunities to kill the powerful enemies near them.
One after another, fearsome auras flared up before vanishing. Within moments, the Territory Lords had suffered heavy casualties and even the Pseudo-Royal Lords found it difficult to protect themselves from this barrage.
In Azure Sun Territory, Luo Ting He’s slender figure had already charged straight into the enemy lines, reaping their lives with unstoppable force. Any Territory Lord that was targeted by her was dead within three breaths.
In Wolf Fang Territory, Wei Jun Yang, dressed in golden armour and holding a long spear, went on a killing spree, leaving rivers of blood behind him.
The Territories where the two Ninth-Order Masters were stationed were basically seeing a one-sided slaughter. Only Pseudo-Royal Lords managed to hold on, but that too was only for a short while.
If things were favourable for the Human Race in some places, there would naturally be other places where they were losing ground.
Profound Nether Territory Battlefield was a Great Territory Battlefield that was once personally overseen by Yang Kai, the killing star, so the Black Ink Clan had attached great importance to it. Things had been extremely tense for Profound Nether Territory Battlefield over the past few decades. If it weren’t for the Divine Spirits’ support, Profound Nether Army would have already been lost.
Even with the Divine Spirits’ assistance, however, it was still difficult for Profound Nether Army to secure another victory. The main reason was that the enemy had deployed a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords. Fortunately, after a series of large and small battles, the Profound Nether Army had managed to firmly control the area around the Universe Furnace projection.
But when the Universe Furnace projection appeared once more, and the Black Ink Clan Army went on offence, the Profound Nether Army actually had a difficult time holding their ground.
It wasn’t that Profound Nether Army was weak. It was an Army that had Yang Kai at its helm. In name, Yang Kai was still the Army Commander of Profound Nether Army. With a leader like him, the entire Profound Nether Army was second to none whether in terms of military strength or morale.
The main reason the Profound Nether Army was losing ground was because they had deployed most of their Masters to guard the location of the Universe Furnace’s projection, thereby weakening their forces in the other areas, which the Black Ink Clan took advantage of.
When the war broke out, the Profound Nether Army, adhering to the principle of minimizing losses, fought while slowly retreating. When the report of this was sent back to the Black Ink Clan, the Black Ink Clan Army’s leader misunderstood his enemy as weak and vulnerable, which in turn ignited the Black Ink Clan’s momentum.
While things were dragging on like this, several figures appeared in the Universe Furnace projection.
Immediately after, just like the other Great Territory Battlefields, the prepared Human Race Masters fired their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at the Black Ink Clansmen who had suddenly appeared.
Right then, a fearsome aura suddenly appeared, shaking Heaven and Earth before a furious roar resounded throughout the entire Profound Nether Territory, “Ou Yang Lie has come! Bastards of the Black Ink Clan! Come suffer death!”
A few decades ago, Ou Yang Lie had entered the Universe Furnace through Profound Nether Territory’s entrance!
“Ninth Order!” In the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, the Pseudo-Royal Lord Commander’s face drastically changed as he started shaking.
When he noticed that Ou Yang Lie’s aura had reached the Ninth Order, he knew that things were looking bleak for the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory.
While the Black Ink Clansmen were in a state of panic, the Human Race were in high spirits!
Before Yang Kai had taken charge of Profound Nether Army, Ou Yang Lie was well known for his rampages in Profound Nether Territory; so, he was quite famous here.
At this moment, many old Eighth-Order Masters were both envious and gratified after hearing him announce his name and feeling the awe-inspiring might of his Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, [Ou Yang Lie has advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm! He must have obtained a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill in the Universe Furnace!]
At this moment, the sudden appearance of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would definitely play a decisive role in the battle.
Ever since Yang Kai started cultivating his Human Self and went into retreat, the Profound Nether Army had been lacking a central pillar to rally around. Fortunately, the war hadn’t been too intense thanks to the peace treaty, so it didn’t matter if Yang Kai was present or not.
Now that Ou Yang Lie had returned even stronger than before, his presence would undoubtedly breathe new life into the entire Profound Nether Army!
Profound Nether Army’s morale soared and their momentum rose to a whole new level as they swept through the Great Territory!
On another Great Territory Battlefield, a Pseudo-Royal Lord shouted at the top of his lungs, “Xiang Shan has broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
Right across him stood Xiang Shan with a gaping wound on his body and blood all over, but he still had a stoic look on his face as he sent a punch towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord who had been seriously injured by him, coldly snorting, “You talk too much!”
Just one punch sent the Pseudo-Royal Lord into a fit of coughing blood.
In just a few dozen breaths, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura who was fighting Xiang Shan perished under his torrential attacks!
This was the first Pseudo-Royal Lord that had fallen in this Great Territory, but it would definitely not be the last.
Killing a Pseudo-Royal Lord was entirely possible for Xiang Shan with his current strength, but to kill him so quickly was only possible because he caught his opponent off guard.
This Pseudo-Royal Lord was also quite unlucky. Just as he led the Black Ink Clan Army over, he spotted Xiang Shan who had just appeared. He happened to have fought with Xiang Shan many years ago, and very well knew just how powerful Xiang Shan was.
But at that time, he was just an Innate Territory Lord. Now that he was a Pseudo-Royal Lord, he immediately had the urge to finish off Xiang Shan.
Except, he was taken aback the moment they exchanged blows.
He had indeed become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but Xiang Shan had advanced to the Ninth-Order Master!
Moreover, Xiang Shan, a Ninth-Order Master, kept pressing the Pseudo-Royal Lord and ruthlessly injured him at the cost of getting himself injured.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was already caught off guard, and now that Xiang Shan was putting his life on the line, coupled with the gap between their strengths, how could the Pseudo-Royal Lord be his opponent?
Xiang Shan did not stop after killing this Pseudo-Royal Lord and instead charged at the second Pseudo-Royal Lord. The sight of Xiang Shan coming straight at him scared the Hell out of the Pseudo-Royal Lord. He immediately turned tail and fled, not caring if this action would affect the morale of his Army.
The sudden appearance of two Ninth-Order Masters and their act of eliminating the strongest enemies right off the bat had stabilized the situation of the two Great Territories. It was quite foreseeable that these two Great Territories would come under the Human Race’s complete control very soon, and the Black Ink Clansmen present in these territories would either be killed or driven away.
Aside from the Great Territories under these four Ninth-Order Masters, neither side had any obvious advantages or disadvantages in others. Even if one side had a slight edge, it was not able to affect the overall situation.
But as time passed, this situation quickly changed.
With the Universe Furnace closed, the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen returned to the entrance they entered from, and when they did, the Humans, who had obviously made preparations for this a long time ago, caught them off guard and attacked the returning members of the Black Ink Clan. This led to the end of many Territory Lords and even some Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Additionally, the Humans in every Great Territory saw the return of a large number of Eighth-Order Masters. Many of these Eighth-Order Masters had only been Seventh-Order Masters when they had entered the Universe Furnace, but when they appeared today, they had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was all thanks to the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills which were relatively easy to find inside the Universe Furnace compared to Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills.
Thanks to these Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills, nearly 90% of the Seventh-Order Masters that entered and survived had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. As for those who failed to advance, it was because of their lacking foundation.
Many Territory Lords fell in quick succession, while many Eighth-Order Masters joined the Human Army’s ranks. Owing to these conditions, the scales of victory and defeat were slowly tilting in the Human Race’s favour.
Wars broke out on all the Great Territory Battlefields and raged like a wildfire.
Elsewhere, a large number of Black Ink Clansmen returned to the Barren Territory. As it had always been under the Black Ink Clan’s complete control, the Humans couldn’t intervene. As such, there were no ambushes here.
But compared to the number of members who had entered the Universe Furnace through the Barren Territory, the number of Black Ink Clansmen who had returned was undoubtedly quite low.
A huge Army of millions of Black Ink Clansmen had entered the Universe Furnace from the Barren Territory back then, with many Territory Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords among them.
But now less than a million had managed to return, that was all…
It was a catastrophic loss!
The main reason was that after the great battle in the Universe Furnace, the Human Race had searched every nook and cranny for them, killing any Black Ink Clansmen they came across. Those who were lucky enough to survive had been hiding all this while until today.
Outside the No-Return Pass, figures similarly appeared one after another at a certain location in the void.
One of them was none other than Mo Na Ye, whom Yang Kai had failed to find. He had fled right after the battle, and no one knew where he had gone or where he was hiding.
The moment he appeared, he instantly surged his Black Ink Strength and activated some Secret Technique, transforming into a Black Ink Cloud and quickly escaping.
Some Territory Lords called him out from behind, but he paid no heed to their calls.
After running for a while, he felt a little puzzled, wondering where Yang Kai was.
He didn’t spot him anywhere!
According to Xiao You’s report, when the Universe Furnace closed, all outsiders who entered it would return to their original positions. In other words, they would return to the very same spot from where they had entered the Universe Furnace.
Although he had been hiding well these past few days and hadn’t exposed his whereabouts, Mo Na Ye had been constantly preparing and was always on guard because Yang Kai had entered the Universe Furnace from the same location as him. In other words, once it was closed, whether he wanted to or not, he would definitely meet Yang Kai again.
Yang Kai had already reached the Ninth Order and his strength was no longer the same. Although Mo Na Ye had also become a Royal Lord, he had suffered serious injuries in their last battle and only managed to survive thanks to luck. It was extremely difficult for him to recover in the Universe Furnace World, and once he met Yang Kai, it would not end well for him.
As such, he fled the moment he emerged from the Universe Furnace, fearing that he would fall into Yang Kai’s hands.
However, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen at this moment. Instead, some Territory Lords had appeared.
Mo Na Ye was unable to figure out what was going on, but he couldn’t bother to waste too much time pondering about it. He just kept fleeing in the direction of the No-Return Pass. Only by escaping to the No-Return Pass and obtaining the support of Royal Lord Mo Yu could he have a chance to survive!
He did not know why Yang Kai wasn’t here, but he was thankful all the same.
Meanwhile, another war had broken out outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Thousands of Suppressing Black Ink Army soldiers stood on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, fending off the Black Ink Clan’s attacks again and again, using the power of their artifacts and the defences of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. Be that as it may, some Black Ink Clansmen would get close enough to cause some chaos from time to time.
Fortunately, Divine Dragon Fu Guang was still here. He was even stronger than an ordinary Ninth-Order Master and thanks to him personally overseeing things, plus the powerful support of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was having a hard time breaking through their defences.
However, according to Wu Kuang’s report, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had become a little unstable; after all, this was a Grand Restriction that Cang and the other Martial Ancestors had deployed millions of years ago. Even with Wu Kuang personally presiding over it now, it was still difficult for him to reproduce its peak strength.
Especially after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been opened twice, which had a significant strain on its integrity. This allowed the Black Ink Clan to easily find weak points in the Grand Restriction and continue to break it down.
What particularly worried Wu Kuang was that he could faintly feel undulations of Mo’s aura.
During the last crusade, when the Black Ink Clan Army and the Human Race Army waged war just outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Cang had fallen after using Mu’s final trump card to force Mo into a deep sleep. This was the primary reason the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction could be maintained until now.
The Grand Restriction was more than capable of sealing ordinary Black Ink Clansman in, and could even stop Royal Lords with ease, but it was definitely not capable of sealing Mo in its current condition.
The day it was fully awake would be the day the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction collapsed.
Wu Kuang had been monitoring Mo’s movements for thousands of years, and he had not noticed anything unusual all this time. But recently, Mo’s still and tranquil aura had begun fluctuating, which was undoubtedly a bad sign.
The Human Race was able to deal with the invasion of the Black Ink Clan Army, they were able to deal with Royal Lords as well, but right now they had no means to restrain an ancient existence like Mo.
When the Universe Furnace’s projection appeared once again, it triggered a battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Two Royal Lords forced their way out of the gap Wu Kuang had opened all those years ago, not hesitating to endure the pressure of the Grand Restriction. Seeing this, Fu Guang promptly charged straight towards them, fighting one against two, with him not faltering in the slightest.
But with Fu Guang pinned down by two Royal Lords, Innate Territory Lords took advantage of the situation and besieged the Suppressing Black Ink Army. In a flash, the battle became extremely intense.
Seemingly because Mo was showing signs of awakening, the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction became even more active. Over the past few years, their attacks had become more and more frequent, so the Suppressing Black Ink Army had no choice but to constantly fight. This high-intensity and prolonged battle had left all extremely exhausted, but none of them had the time to rest.
While everyone was locked in a heated battle, a number of powerful figures appeared from the projection of the Universe Furnace one after another.
Back when the Universe Furnace had appeared, the Suppressing Black Ink Army had sent 50 Eighth-Order Masters inside, but only less than 40 managed to return.
Clearly, the battles inside the Universe Furnace were no less dangerous than the battles outside. The Black Ink Clan had suffered tremendous casualties, but so had the Human Race. The Eighth-Order Masters of the Suppressing Black Ink Army had lost more than 20% of their original number.
The return of nearly 40 Eighth-Order Masters undoubtedly made the Suppressing Black Ink Army breathe a sigh of relief though, and when they sensed that one aura among these returnees was extremely powerful, it further boosted their morale!
Someone had broken through to the Ninth Order!
Soon, someone confirmed who had broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“It’s Xue’er! Xue’er has advanced to the Ninth Order!” Shan Qing Luo’s pleasantly surprised cry rang from a Warship cruising through the battlefield, waiting for an opportunity to kill more enemies.
Yu Ru Meng, Su Yan, and the others, who were standing beside her, were both surprised and gratified.
In fact, back when the Suppressing Black Ink Army had arranged for Eighth-Order Masters to enter the Universe Furnace to search for opportunities, Fu Guang basically tried to arrange for all of them to enter. Naturally, this was because of Yang Kai, and Fu Guang had his own considerations as well.
Nonetheless, the Wives came to a unanimous decision to give this opportunity to Yang Xue. Although they were women, they had killed a fair share of powerful enemies in their lives. Even if their Husband had made great contributions to the Human Race, they weren’t willing to take advantage of his reputation.
Everyone yearned for a chance to grab the opportunities presented by the Universe Furnace, so if all of them were to enter, they would easily become the target of criticism.
If just Yang Xue was to enter, it would not be an issue, but considering Yang Xue’s safety, Yang Xiao was also allowed to enter; otherwise, Yang Xiao, as a member of the Dragon Clan, would never have had the chance to enter the Universe Furnace.
Now that Yang Xue had reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she had lived up to everyone’s expectations and efforts.
[Our dear Husband has only one Sister, so we should dote on her. I wonder if he knows that Xue’er has advanced to the Ninth Order? If he comes to know, it will definitely make him very happy.]
Just as they were thinking this, a voice drifted into their ears. It was none other than Yang Xue.
“Big Brother has broken through to the Ninth-Order in the Universe Furnace, Sister-in-Laws, there is no need to worry!”
The women were stunned for a moment before a beautiful smile bloomed on their faces.
“He always manages to achieve miracles,” Su Yan smiled, not too surprised.
Everyone thought that the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm was Yang Kai’s limit, even the Black Ink Clan; however, as people who had shared their lives with Yang Kai for so many years, these women always believed that he would not resign himself to his fate and would definitely try to break through to the Ninth-Order.
And now, he had done it!
Because it was him!
The Warship continued to shuttle back and forth as the women aboard it seamlessly cooperated with each other, releasing their Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities one after another, forcefully paving a path filled with fire and blood on the battlefield.
The sudden appearance of a Ninth-Order Master had instantly turned the situation around. Black Ink Clansmen were being slaughtered at an incredible rate, and by the time the two Royal Lords who were fighting Fu Guang noticed that the things were not in their favour and wanted to flee back to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was already too late.
Yang Xue, holding her sword, stood before the gap, blocking it. She hesitated for a moment before allowing the first Royal Lord to rush back into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and then joining forces with Fu Guang to attack the second.
After an intense battle, the Royal Lord fell!
Many Royal Lords had pushed their way out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction over the years, but under Fu Guang’s personal supervision, they were rarely able to do anything.
Vice versa, it was now very difficult for Fu Guang to kill a Royal Lord. Most of the time, these Royal Lords would flee back to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at first notice of things not in their favour, and Fu Guang was simply powerless to do anything, despite his fearsome strength.
But this time, with the addition of Yang Xue, a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and thanks to her act of letting one Royal Lord escape, the remaining Royal Lord lost any chance of surviving.
Finally, they managed to win after a hearty and delightful battle, but the Suppressing Black Ink Army did not rejoice. Instead, they silently regulated their breathing and started preparing for the next battle!
At the same time, Fu Guang and Yang Xue also received a piece of bad news.
This news came straight from Wu Kuang, who was presiding over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
As the reincarnation of Shi and a Ninth-Order Master himself, Wu Kuang was now able to control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to a great extent. All these years, the Black Ink Clan kept coming out of it, partly because of the Black Ink Clan’s efforts and partly because Wu Kuang was intentionally controlling it, relieving the pressure inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
After all, he wasn’t the true Shi and the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been in a state of disrepair for many years. Its internal pressure was too high. If he didn’t find a way to relieve it, he wouldn’t be able to control it in his current state.
Every time the Black Ink Clan came out, there would only be one or two Royal Lords, which was thanks to Wu Kuang’s careful control. Had he not been regulating the Grand Restriction, the number of Royal Lords that would manage to come out would have been far greater. The Suppressing Black Ink Army only had so many people, so even with the help of a powerful weapon like the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, they would not be able to deal with so many Black Ink Clansmen.
Once the number of Black Ink Clansmen exceeded the limit of what the Suppressing Black Ink Army could endure, they would surely be destroyed.
And now, even though Wu Kuang’s strength was increasing by the day, he was slowly losing control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The next time the Black Ink Clan tried to break out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, they would be accompanied by a few Royal Lords. He could not say for sure whether it be two or three, or even more. All he could do was do his best and ask Fu Guang and Yang Xue to make preparations.
Pure Dao Strength coursed through Yang Kai’s body, leaving him disoriented. Helpless, he had no choice but to follow the flow.
According to his speculations, the source or end of the river was bound to have some grand secrets. Going against the current was too difficult, even for Yang Kai, who had already reached the Ninth Order, so he could only go along with it.
It was a strange feeling, as if he was really in a real river, flowing into the distant unknown, sometimes calm and sometimes surging.
After an unknown period, Yang Kai felt the flow around him become faster, like a river flowing down a slope. Moreover, the size of the tributary suddenly increased and the Dao Strength around him became even denser.
He immediately understood that the tributary he was in had merged with the other tributaries.
After a while, it merged with a few more tributaries, and the flow of the river became even faster.
As he continued to merge with the other tributaries, the tributary became bigger and stronger, forcing Yang Kai to use his Space-Time River to protect himself from external forces.
At one point, Yang Kai was hit with a sense of weightlessness, as if he was falling from a waterfall. Fierce water was swirling around him and no matter how hard he tried, he could not maintain his balance.
Amid the intense Dao Strength fluctuations, Yang Kai found it difficult to even maintain the Space-Time River around him. Then, at some point, he felt like he was spewed out from somewhere.
This kind of feeling was quite odd…
By the time he somehow managed to stabilize himself, the tributary was nowhere to be seen. Without any external forces acting on him, Yang Kai stood quietly in place, furrowing his brow.
[Is this the end of the tributary? Where am I?]
He turned his head and started looking around, but the next moment, he froze and gawked in a daze.
In his sight was a massive furnace, rapidly disappearing into the distance. This furnace was simple and unadorned, and covered in complex patterns. An incredibly ancient aura was radiating from it.
“The Universe Furnace!” Suddenly, Thunder Shadow’s voice rang in his mind, seemingly shocked by this sight.
Yang Kai’s recent actions had left him somewhat confused, but now he finally understood that Yang Kai’s purpose was to explore the mysteries of the Universe Furnace.
And now, the greatest mysteries of this World had truly appeared before his eyes.
The massive furnace flying through the void before them was no different from the one that had been projected onto the various Great Territory battlefields. If it wasn’t a Universe Furnace, what was it?
The only difference was that the projection was illusory, while the one in front of them was real and tangible!
Yang Kai was awoken from his daze by Thunder Shadow’s cry of surprise, and just when he was about to chase after the furnace, dazzling colourful rays spewed out from the furnace’s mouth.
As soon as these colourful rays appeared, they scattered in all directions. Many sand-like particles suddenly expanded, transforming into the embryonic form of Universe Worlds. A strange Celestial Phenomenon suddenly expanded and occupied a vast space as rich and pure Grand Daos surged out of the Universe Furnace, filling this stretch of the void that was originally filled with Chaos.
Right then, a grain of sand came flying straight at Yang Kai. Without the pressure from the Universe Furnace, this grain of sand finally revealed its true form. As the distance between Yang Kai and the grain of sand shortened, it quickly transformed into the embryonic form of a Universe World that was no smaller than the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai hurriedly used Instantaneous Movement to dodge.
When he was exploring the depths of the Infinite River, Yang Kai had seen these grains of sand and knew that they were not ordinary. Now that they had left the Universe Furnace, they had finally revealed their true appearance.
As they were just the embryonic forms of the Universe World, they were barren and devoid of vitality, but as long as the conditions were right, they would gradually become complete and give rise to living creatures in the future.
The Universe Furnace was still rapidly advancing as more colourful rays continuously shot out of its mouth.
Yang Kai finally understood how he happened to have arrived at this place. Apparently, he was spat out by the Universe Furnace after he entered the tributary and followed it back to its source.
The flow of the tributary was only because the Universe Furnace was erupting.
This was not the 3,000 Worlds, nor was it Black Ink Battlefield, but a place he had never set foot in before.
Having lived and cultivated for so many years, Yang Kai could be considered an experienced and knowledgeable man, but what he was seeing right now was far beyond anything he had ever imagined.
After having calmed himself down, Yang Kai continued chasing after the Universe Furnace, occasionally avoiding the suddenly expanding celestial bodies and Celestial Phenomena that came flying at him.
Since he reached the Outer Universe, Yang Kai had always had a nagging doubt in his mind.
How did the Great Territories, Universe Worlds, and strange yet magnificent Celestial Phenomena come to be? Rumour had it that when Chaos was first split into Heaven and Earth, it gave birth to many Great Territories and Universe Worlds, but who or what could have possessed such great power to accomplish such a feat?
Even if the world itself evolved, it should still have a source!
The exploration of the Infinite River had allowed Yang Kai to witness the sand grain-like embryonic forms of the Universe Worlds, as well as the exquisite Celestial Phenomena in their nascent state. Although he had gained some insights, they were vague and incomplete.
But at this moment, everything became clear!
The source of everything was here, the Universe Furnace!
The 3,000 Worlds, the Universe Worlds, and even the remnants of the Celestial Phenomena on the Black Ink Battlefield, they all originated from the Universe Furnace, brought about by its eruptions since the dawn of existence.
What he was seeing right now was the true process of how Heaven and Earth split apart!
It was an awe-inspiring sight.
In his mind, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow were also staring fixedly at this scene. Even the usually noisy Thunder Shadow had stopped talking.
It was a scene that no ordinary person would ever see in their lifetime.
Perhaps, since ancient times, no one at all had ever witnessed this!
What Yang Kai was currently feeling was hard to describe. He wasn’t excited about being able to see the true nature of this world, but rather, he was at a loss.
“The Chaos Spirit King!” Thunder Shadow’s shout suddenly rang in his mind.
Yang Kai immediately activated Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to conceal his figure and aura.
The next moment, a fearsome aura emerged all of a sudden, gushing out along with dense Dao Strengths. Surprisingly, it was a Chaos Spirit King.
And it was not just a Chaos Spirit King, many other Chaos Spirit Clan members also came gushing out of the Universe Furnace, arriving at this void.
Yang Kai had thought it was the Chaos Spirit King who had a grudge with him, but when he took a closer look, he found that it was not the case.
Whether it was the appearance or figure of this Chaos Spirit King, Yang Kai had never seen it before. Its aura was still not as firm and stable as the previous one, and its physique even bore some resemblance to the Black Ink Clan.
“This should be a newly born Chaos Spirit King,” Fang Tian Ci stated.
For this opening of the Universe Furnace, three Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were still unaccounted for. There was a high chance they had fallen into the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan, so it wasn’t surprising for a new Chaos Spirit King to be born.
This should be the newly-born Chaos Spirit King.
Seeing this Chaos Spirit King appear here, Yang Kai roughly understood how it had been spat out. The other party seemed to be a little unaccustomed to the outside world, but after a brief pause, it quickly flew off into the distance and soon disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight.
A large number of Chaos Spirit Clan members followed after it.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai continued chasing after the Universe Furnace while concealing himself.
More and more embryonic Universe Worlds and Celestial Phenomena appeared, with occasional Chaos Spirit Clansmen and Chaos Spirit Kings among them. Yang Kai even saw the one who had a grudge against him, but thanks to Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, the other party didn’t notice him.
Like the first Chaos Spirit King, this Chaos Spirit King also quickly fled in a seemingly random certain direction and soon disappeared.
“So that’s how it is,” Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out in his mind, “No wonder we didn’t see many Chaos Spirit Kings inside the Universe Furnace. It seems our previous speculations were wrong. It’s not that the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills can’t create Chaos Spirit Kings rapidly, but that most of these Chaos Spirit Kings were spat out and not in the Universe Furnace.”
“That should be the case,” Fang Tian Ci also agreed with him.
Previously, when they were discussing the number of Chaos Spirit Kings inside the Universe Furnace with Yang Kai, they had some doubts. Logically speaking, since the Universe Furnace had opened so many times, there should have been many Chaos Spirit Kings inside, dozens of them at least. But from beginning to end, they had only seen one Chaos Spirit King.
At the time, Yang Kai had speculated that the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills might not be completely effective for the Chaos Spirit Clan and could not create Chaos Spirit Kings right away, only slightly stronger Chaos Spirit Clan members.
But by the looks of it, his speculation was incorrect. A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill had a high chance of producing a Chaos Spirit King. It just turned out that when the Universe Furnace closed, sand grain-like Universe Worlds, as well as the Celestial Phenomena and even Chaos Spirit Clansmen were spewed out by it.
This was equivalent to a purge.
The one who had formed a grudge with Yang Kai was probably one of the survivors from the last great purge.
While chasing the Universe Furnace, Yang Kai kept an eye on everything happening along the way; wherever the Universe Furnace passed, the Universe seemed to be reborn, though everything was primitive and desolate.
Perhaps after countless years, this stretch of the Universe would be filled with vitality, but right now, it was destined to be filled with nothing but death and silence.
After an unknown period of time, the Universe Furnace’s eruption gradually weakened, as if it was nearly finished spewing out everything inside. Finally, nothing gushed out of the Universe Furnace.
“Chaos!” Yang Kai suddenly whispered.
“What?” Thunder Shadow asked.
“Chaos!” Yang Kai repeated, “The edge of the Universe is Chaos!”
As a matter of fact, Yang Kai had already noticed it when he was first spewed out of the Universe Furnace. It was filled with nothing but Chaos, just like when he had first entered the Universe Furnace.
There was no order inside the Chaos, everything was extremely chaotic.
However, after the Grand Daos inside the Universe Furnace had evolved nine times, the Chaos had evolved into order.
And after everything inside the Universe Furnace had been expelled into this void filled with Chaos, it had washed away the disorder. Especially the rich and pure 10,000 Grand Daos, which seemed to neutralize the Chaos.
But no matter what, it was still a place filled with Chaos.
Before the Black Ink Clan’s invasion, the 3,000 Worlds were flourishing and each Great Territory had its own unique style. The Great Territories were connected by Territory Gates, forming an extremely complicated yet interconnected Great World.
The Human Race had lived in such a Great World for countless years, ultimately dominating it; however, there was also a Black Ink Battlefield outside this Great World, which was originally the frontline battlefield against the Black Ink Clan consisting of various Great Passes made by the Human Race’s Ancestors.
The Black Ink Battlefield was vast and boundless.
The deepest region that the Human Race had reached now was the location of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Yang Kai might have gone a bit farther when he was chased by the Royal Lord and fled deeper into the void, eventually hiding inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
But what was behind the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?
What was further behind the Celestial Phenomena Sea?
Where was the end of the Universe?
Yang Kai had thought about these questions before, but he could not find any answer to them.
Until today, when his actions allowed him to see the real body of the Universe Furnace, allowing him to find the answer to his question.
The edge of the Universe was Chaos!
It could even be said that the Universe had no end, because Chaos itself was disorderly and chaotic.
If the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield were considered a single entity, then this whole entity should be surrounded by endless Chaos.
The eruption of the Universe Furnace was slowly transforming this Chaos into a part of the Universe, expanding its borders without limit.
Realizing this, Yang Kai failed to stop his laughter, [No wonder no one has been able to find the true body of the Universe Furnace all these years. It does exist, but it is at the very edge of the Universe. Who would have even thought of coming here to search for it?]
[And so what if I found it?]
Yang Kai had previously considered whether he would have a chance to refine the Universe Furnace if he could find its true body, but looking at it now, he understood that this idea was completely impossible.
Such a treasure was not something the Human Race could control. It was the Source of the Universe, of everything. Trying to refine it would be akin to trying to refine the Universe itself. Compared to such an endeavour, finding a way to kill Mo would be child’s play.
Just as Yang Kai’s thoughts were racing, the Universe Furnace that was flying through the void underwent another change.
All of a sudden, a powerful suction came from the furnace, devouring the Chaos in the nearby void in a flash.
The massive and majestic Universe Furnace seemed to have transformed into a bottomless pit. It only seemed to draw in Chaos however, while whatever it had spewed out, whether it was the embryonic Universe Worlds, various Celestial Phenomena, or even the invisible and formless Dao Strengths, they were completely unaffected.
Furthermore, the devouring force became stronger and stronger, so strong that an enormous vortex visible to the naked eye had appeared at the mouth of the Universe Furnace.
Watching this from afar, Yang Kai was stunned, but not too surprised.
When he was in the Universe Furnace World, Yang Kai had discovered that whether it was the Infinite River that flowed across the entire Universe Furnace World or the nine Grand Dao evolutions of the Universe Furnace, all of them involved the mysteries of the Chaos evolving into 10,000 Grand Daos.
When he first entered the Universe Furnace, it was also filled with Chaos, and it was in that Chaos-rich environment that all kinds of strange things were born, even the Chaos Spirit Clan.
But the key question was where did the Chaos in the Universe Furnace come from?
It came from here!
The Universe Furnace was located at the edge of the Universe and swallowed Chaos to fill itself. Whenever it reached its limit, it would convert this Chaos into 10,000 Grand Daos.
And when the Universe Furnace had been filled to its limit, it would appear once more!
When the Chaos inside the Universe Furnace had completely evolved into the 10,000 Grand Daos, the Universe Furnace would close and everything inside would be spewed out, expanding the Universe further.
This was a true Samsara…
It could be said that regardless of whether it was the world the Human Race had explored or the world they had not set foot on, both had been created by the repeated Samsara of the Universe Furnace.
This process had been going on for countless years, and perhaps it would continue until the Chaos was completely consumed by the Universe Furnace.
It was like a painting that was being painted from ancient times to the present, grand and magnificent. Compared to this, the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan seemed so small and insignificant.
Yang Kai followed the Universe Furnace, staring at it in a daze, his heart rapidly beating until finally, after a long time, he suddenly stopped.
There was no need to follow any further. After witnessing the entire process of the Universe Furnace expanding the Universe, witnessing the cycle of the Universe Furnace devouring and expelling, Yang Kai had figured out the origin of how Worlds were created and how the Universe came to be. It could be said that many of Yang Kai’s doubts had been answered.
However, no matter how one looked at such a painting, it was still shocking.
His original intention was to find the true body of the Universe Furnace and try to refine it to see if he could use it for himself.
Yang Kai had indeed found the real body of the Universe Furnace, but he no longer had any thoughts about refining it, because after witnessing everything, he knew that was nothing but a fool’s dream.
“Big Brother, how do we go back?” After a long silence, Thunder Shadow suddenly asked a crucial question.
Yang Kai had been expelled by the Universe Furnace along with the tributary. Now that the Universe Furnace was swallowing the Chaos, it had obviously closed down. In other words, the members of the Human Race and Black Ink Clan inside the Universe Furnace had already left, so how could he return?
Even if he were to rush into the Universe Furnace now, it would be meaningless, not to mention the fact that there was still a question of whether he could. Even if he did somehow manage to get inside, there was a high chance he would be trapped and unable to escape. Then he would have no choice but to wait for the next time the Universe Furnace opened.
It was hard to say when the Universe Furnace would open again. Maybe it would open in 10,000 years, or perhaps it would be hundreds of thousands of years, no one could say for certain.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to Thunder Shadow’s question, and instead silently circulated his strength, trying to connect with the World Tree.
Even at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Yang Kai only needed to connect with the World Tree to reach it. After receiving the Old Tree’s guidance, he could then enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Unfortunately, he did not get any response this time.
Although he had expected this, Yang Kai was still a little disappointed after having gotten the confirmation.
The reason he was able to connect to the World Tree was because he had refined and saved thousands of Universe Worlds in the past. Each of these Universe Worlds had a corresponding World Fruit on the Old Tree, and through this relationship, he had formed a close connection with it.
So, whenever he wanted, he could use the World Tree’s power to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
It could be said that the World Tree itself was connected to all the remaining Universe Worlds and the 3,000 Worlds itself. Back then, Yang Kai had left behind a completely dead Universe World just outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that he could easily check up on it whenever he wanted.
However, this place was at the edge of the Universe, and the World Tree’s connection clearly couldn’t reach such a distant and mysterious location, so it was naturally impossible to reach out to it.
“If we go in the opposite direction, we’ll eventually find our way back.” Yang Kai heaved a sigh.
Perhaps it would take an incomparably long time for him to return to the 3,000 Worlds, but that was the only way.
Although he had miscalculated and this venture didn’t yield much tangible results, the fact that he was able to witness the Universe Furnace swallow and refine Chaos, giving birth to the new Universe Worlds, made this trip completely worthwhile.
This might not enhance his strength, but it would have a profound impact on his future path.
After taking one last deep look at the rapidly departing Universe Furnace, Yang Kai turned around and set off!
In his mind, Fang Tian Ci heaved a sigh, “Mo Na Ye really got it easy!”
Thunder Shadow was stunned for a moment before quickly responding, “Right, that guy’s luck is too good.”
Originally, if everything had gone as usual and nothing unexpected happened, Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye would have appeared at the same location when the Universe Furnace closed. With Yang Kai’s current strength, the heavily injured Mo Na Ye, who had not been able to recover, would not have been his opponent. Most probably, Yang Kai would have killed him on the spot, thereby eliminating a strong enemy of the Human Race.
However, Yang Kai’s actions gave Mo Na Ye a chance to survive.
The Universe Furnace was already closed and Mo Na Ye had most likely escaped back to the No-Return Pass. Yang Kai had no idea how long it would take for him to return, but by the time he did, Mo Na Ye might have already recovered from his wounds. By then, it really would not be that easy for Yang Kai to kill him.
Nonetheless, it was useless to mull over what had already happened. So long as he was strong enough, he would have a chance to kill Mo Na Ye.
Hurrying along and gazing towards the horizon, Yang Kai calmed himself. When the Universe Furnace appeared, it triggered a war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, one that should be in full swing right now.
Fortunately, the Human Race had given birth to four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Universe Furnace, him, Xiang Shan, Yang Xue, and Ou Yang Lie.
Yang Xue should have returned to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so she could not partake in the war in the 3,000 Worlds for now.
Xiang Shan and Ou Yang Lie, on the other hand, could lead an Army to fight the Black Ink Clan. Counting Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang, who had just advanced to the Ninth Order, the Human Race now had four Ninth-Order Masters to rely on.
As long as they did not make any rash moves, taking care of the Black Ink Clan shouldn’t be a problem.
Rather, Yang Kai was slightly worried about Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s side. These two had been suppressing the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in Wind Mist Territory. When the war broke out between the two sides, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would definitely not sit by and watch; there was a high chance that it would make a move.
If it insisted on escaping, there was nothing the two Ninth-Order Masters could do.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had left a trump card with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao in the past. So, even if the Black Ink Giant Spirit God managed to escape, the Human Race would still be able to contain it.
Hopefully, by the time he returned, things had not become too bad.
Thinking so, Yang Kai ordered Fang Tian Ci, “Second Brother, you take the helm.”
Fang Tian Ci promptly agreed and took control of his body, teleporting forward using Space Principles.
Had anyone else been stranded at the edge of the Universe, even if it was a Ninth-Order Master, it would have taken them an incredibly long time to make it back, but Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space. Even if he was at the edge of the Universe, he would still be able to return after some time.
Furthermore, he had Fang Tian Ci to assist him.
At this moment, while Fang Tian Ci had taken over a part of his body, Yang Kai focused on digesting the gains he had obtained from the Universe Furnace.
On the day the Universe Furnace closed, the members of the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan inside returned to the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields.
The Human Race, which had been preparing for this a long time, dealt a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan. In Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, the two Great Territory Battlefields which the Humans had basically conquered, most of the returning Black Ink Clansmen were either killed and heavily injured. Apart from a few Pseudo-Royal Lords who managed to make it out alive somehow, there were no other survivors.
Having broken through to the Ninth Order, when Ou Yang Lie and Xiang Shan returned to Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory respectively, the Black Ink Clan was caught off guard. The two went on a killing spree, killing many Black Ink Clansmen and traumatizing the survivors.
Afterwards, the Profound Nether and Blood Flame Armies gathered their entire force and attacked the Black Ink Clan’s main camps under the leadership of the two Ninth-Order Masters!
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle with blood and flesh covering the endless void.
Although the Black Ink Clan’s side had a few Pseudo-Royal Lords, their numbers were still insufficient to deal with these two newly promoted Ninth-Order Masters. For a time, the momentum of the Human Race Armies in Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory was unstoppable. The Black Ink Clan Army collapsed the moment they clashed, suffering countless losses.
At the same time, the Azure Sun and Wolf Fang Armies, who had already finished their preparations, sent troops to the nearby Great Territory Battlefields under the leadership of Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang.
The battle situation in every Great Territory Battlefield was different. In some, the Human Race occupied the advantage, and in others, the Black Ink Clan held the upper hand. Naturally, there were also those where both sides were basically evenly matched.
But despite the situations, favourable and unfavourable, the fact was that the Human Race had gained many new and powerful troops. The only thing waiting for the Black Ink Clan was defeat!
The Human Race Armies led by the Ninth-Order Masters were basically invincible!
In just three years, the Humans conquered another two Great Territory Battlefields.
At this time, the battle led by Ou Yang Lie and Xiang Shan in Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory had also come to an end. Since the Black Ink Clan did not have spare Royal Lords to send, it was extremely difficult for their Army to resist the Human’s offensive.
Of the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields, the Human Race had already reclaimed six. The Supreme Headquarters spread this news far and wide, boosting the Human Race’s morale greatly.
As the war raged, the recruitment office on the Star Boundary was also filled with a crowd eager to enlist. In fact, ever since the recruitment office was established, cultivators kept coming in a constant stream to sign up. But as the situation was unclear before, and a full-scale war had not broken out between the two races, the recruitment office had a lot of restrictions on the number of new recruits they could accept.
But now, a full-scale war had broken out between the two sides, and this was a war that concerned everyone’s survival. This war would eventually end with the total destruction of one side. As the battlefront would be extended every time the Human Race reclaimed lost territory, the requirements imposed on the recruitment office for new recruits had been lowered.
A large number of newcomers constantly passed through this place and were sent to various battlefields to fill up the numbers.
After thousands of years of accumulation, the Human Race had indeed created many Masters, especially the Star Boundary and Myriad Monster World. Many talented individuals had been born on these two Universe Worlds thanks to the World Tree clone’s feedback. The newly promoted Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters might not be able to do anything against the Black Ink Clan alone, but if they were gathered into an Army of tens of thousands, the power they could display would be unimaginable.
At the Supreme Headquarters, Mi Jing Lun was also constantly transferring various resources and personnel to various battlefields to ensure the logistics of the Army.
Fortunately, the Human Race had got their hands on quite a lot of spoils of war when they had recaptured those Great Territories. Although the Human Race was still lacking in resources, it was not to the point where they were starving.
After recapturing the six Great Territory Battlefields, the six Armies split up and moved closer to the remaining battlefields where war was still raging. They converged with the original Human Race Armies of those Great Territory Battlefields, assisting them in resisting the Black Ink Clan.
The battle became extremely fierce and the Black Ink Clan found it difficult to resist the Humans at the beginning; but soon, the Black Ink Clan responded with appropriate countermeasures.
The primary reason the Human Race held the initial advantage was the presence of several Ninth-Order Masters leading the Armies. It was difficult for the Black Ink Clan to compete with them.
Although there were some Territory Lords who had the potential to become Royal Lords, they still needed time and could not be counted on for now
But the Black Ink Clan had Pseudo-Royal Lords! Moreover, creating a Pseudo-Royal Lord didn’t require much time. It only required a large number of Innate Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
Back when the Universe Furnace had appeared, Mo Yu passed an order to gather all the uninjured Innate Territory Lords at the No Return Pass with a heavy heart, using them to create a few dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords in order to destroy any opportunities the Humans might get!
At that time, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a huge loss of manpower. It could be said that almost all of the Innate Territory Lords who had come out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at the beginning of the war were wiped out.
Nonetheless, it was worth it. The few dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords had indeed posed a huge threat and caused a lot of trouble to the Human Race.
Now, however, less than 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords were left. It was difficult for them to contend with the Human Race with just these Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Black Ink Clan needed even more Pseudo-Royal Lords!
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clan had such capital.
The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was breached years back, and around 2,000 Innate Territory Lords had escaped from it. These Innate Territory Lords had suffered heavy injuries while escaping and were unable to do anything for a while. After Yang Kai came to learn of this, he began hunting and took out many of these Innate Territory Lords. Mo Na Ye even tried to set a trap for Yang Kai using these heavily injured Innate Territory Lords as bait, but the Black Ink Clan ultimately failed and had lost many of these Innate Territory Lords.
Nonetheless, many Innate Territory Lords still managed to escape with their lives and had been recuperating at the No-Return Pass all these years!
The Black Ink Clan was not lacking in resources either, and thanks to this abundance, most of these Innate Territory Lords had already recovered from their injuries after decades of rest and recuperation.
The loss of six Great Territory Battlefields had sent Mo Yu into a rage and he once again decided to create Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Today, at the No-Return Pass, one Innate Territory Lord after another walked into the Black Ink Nests under Mo Yu’s orders before their fearsome auras vanished. Be that as it may, death was not the final outcome, the sacrifice of life was for that moment of rebirth!
The next moment, High-Rank Grade Black Ink Nests started violently shaking before collapsing one by one. Soon after, one powerful Pseudo-Royal Lord after another emerged from the collapsed Black Ink Nests.
Today, 50 Pseudo-Royal Lords were created in the Black Ink Clan!
Without any delay, these 50 new Pseudo-Royal Lords left the No-Return Pass under Mo Yu’s orders, dispatched to support the various Great Territory Battlefields.
The addition of 50 Pseudo-Royal Lords instantly put a lot of pressure on the Human Race.
Surprisingly, the Human Race Army’s ferocious advancement was stopped!
After having reclaimed four Great Territories in just three years, most Humans believed that the coming war would be as easy and smooth as the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves, but to everyone’s dismay, they once again entered a stalemate.
Every time a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm joined the battle, the Black Ink Clan would send at least three Pseudo-Royal Lords to confront him or her. It was extremely difficult for the Ninth-Order Masters to do anything in this kind of situation.
Fighting for several years, countless lives on both sides were lost, and there was no end in sight to the bloodshed.
A few years later, the Human Race ceased their offensive and instead sent out teams led by Masters to find opportunities to kill Black Ink Clansmen.
They had some results as they managed to lure a few Pseudo-Royal Lords into ambushes where they were killed in one fell swoop by the Ninth-Order Masters.
After having suffered losses a few times though, the Pseudo-Royal Lords became more cautious and no longer dared to act alone, lest the Humans take advantage of them.
Nonetheless, they failed to break the stalemate. All in all, battles of all sizes erupted from time to time, but no one was able to gain much advantage.
This situation continued for several decades!
In the last few decades, neither side was able to advance any further after the Human Race took back six Great Territory Battlefields. Everyone was filled with energy, but had nowhere to use it.
Many people had already realized what the problem was. Although the Human Race had several Ninth-Order Masters, they lacked a method to quickly kill Pseudo-Royal Lords. It could also be said that they lacked a Master who could break through the ranks of a million enemy troops and strike fear into the hearts of the Black Ink Clan.
The Ninth-Order Masters were strong enough to kill Pseudo-Royal Lords in one-on-one combat, but as the Pseudo-Royal Lords never acted alone anymore, they could not do anything to them either.
If there was a Master who could quickly kill a few Pseudo-Royal Lords in a head-on battle, the Human Race would definitely be able to break the stalemate and rout the Black Ink Clan’s forces!
Xiang Shan may have been stronger than the others, but he couldn’t accomplish such a feat.
There was only one person who could do such a thing!
The Lord of the Star Boundary, Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army in name, the one who was best at creating miracles, the one who was invincible in the same realm, Yang Kai!
When he was in the Seventh Order, he killed Feudal Lords as easily as cutting melons and chopping vegetables. When he was in the Eighth Order, he slaughtered Innate Territory Lords like chickens and dogs. Now that he was in the Ninth Order, it would be a piece of cake for him to deal with a few Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Unfortunately, no one knew where Yang Kai was right now.
The Human Race knew that Yang Kai had entered the Universe Furnace from the entrance on the Black Ink Battlefield. In other words, when the Universe Furnace closed, he should have appeared outside the No-Return Pass.
If that was the case though, he should have returned by now.
In the beginning, no one had paid much attention to this; after all, it would take some time to return from the Black Ink Battlefield, but it had now been several decades, yet there was no sign of him.
This begged the question, did something happen to him? If not, how could he have disappeared for so long?
Did the Black Ink Clan make preparations and set up an ambush near the projection space when he returned from the Universe Furnace, perhaps catching him off guard?
But the Black Ink Clan knew nothing about this. So, how could they have set up an ambush in advance? Furthermore, even if the Black Ink Clan had set up an ambush, they would have been able to kill him now that he had reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
On top of that, the Human Race was certain that Yang Kai had not been ambushed. At the very least, he had not died at the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
For thousands of years, Yang Kai’s name was a beacon of hope to the Human Race, a symbol of faith, but to the Black Ink Clan, it was synonymous with disaster, an existence they greatly hated. If Yang Kai really died at the hands of the Black Ink Clan, they would never have kept it a secret. They would have definitely made a big fuss about it and publicized it to attack the morale of the Human Race Army.
Since the Black Ink Clan had spread nothing about Yang Kai, it meant that he could not have died at their hands.
But the question was if Yang Kai was alive or not. If he was alive, where was he? It was something the upper echelons of the Human Race urgently needed to investigate.
Mi Jing Lun had also summoned many Human Race Masters who had returned from the Universe Furnace to inquire about Yang Kai.
According to the investigation, the last person to speak with Yang Kai was Ou Yang Lie. After the huge battle in the Universe Furnace World that dragged in the majority of the members from both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, Yang Kai left after recovering from his injuries.
Before leaving, he had a brief conversation with Ou Yang Lie, informing the latter that he wanted to find the remaining Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, and try to find the answers to his doubts while he was at it.
What his doubts were, Ou Yang Lie did not ask, and Yang Kai did not tell.
Since then, Ou Yang Lie did not see Yang Kai again; after all, the Universe Furnace World was massive so it was normal for them to not meet each other.
On the other hand, some Eighth-Order Masters had vaguely sensed Yang Kai’s aura fleeting past them, but Yang Kai was being chased by the Chaos Spirit King at that time, so none of them dared to approach him. Yang Kai simply flew past them, luring the Chaos Spirit King away with him.
Without any useful information, Mi Jing Lun was unable to deduce Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
[Yang Kai was pursued by the Chaos Spirit King after he had parted with Ou Yang Lie. In other words, he must have gone seeking trouble with the Chaos Spirit King and perhaps even snatched back the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill he had lost; otherwise, the Chaos Spirit King wouldn’t have reacted like that.]
[With Yang Kai’s means and strength, it should have been easy for him to throw off the Chaos Spirit King. He could have easily escaped by just using his Space Secret Technique a few times.]
[Yang Kai must have let himself be pursued on purpose, probably because he was afraid the Chaos Spirit King would start attacking the others in its fury. So, he decided to keep it preoccupied like this.]
[Even so, he wouldn’t have been killed by the Chaos Spirit King.]
In the end, the information he had was too little. Even with Mi Jing Lun’s intellect, it was difficult for him to deduce what had happened to Yang Kai. He only knew that something must have happened to him; otherwise, he would have appeared long ago.
Today, Mi Jing Lun made his way to the Star Boundary without alerting anyone and appeared inside High Heaven Palace.
When Head Manager Hua Qing Si learned of his arrival, she hurriedly came to greet him. Mi Jing Lun explained his purpose for coming, to which Hua Qing Si naturally agreed. After making some arrangements, Mi Jing Lun met Xia Ning Chang, who was staying at High Heaven Palace.
All of Yang Kai’s Wives were currently assigned to the Suppressing Black Ink Army, stationed just outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, under Fu Guang’s command, resisting the Black Ink Clan.
The only exception was Xia Ning Chang, who was proficient in Alchemy.
There was a constant need for supplies during a war, especially pills. The soldiers needed pills to cultivate and heal their injuries.
As such, the status of Alchemists had risen to unheard of heights, especially Great Grandmasters like Xia Ning Chang. They were practically indispensable to ensure the smooth progress of the war.
How could Mi Jing Lun bear to deploy such a person to the front lines? Basically, all the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners had been gathered on the safe and secure Star Boundary. Every year, a massive amount of resources would be sent to the Star Boundary, where they would be refined into pills and artifacts before being sent to the front lines.
Mi Jing Lun and Xia Ning Chang did not know each other. They had never even met before, but because of Yang Kai, and Xia Ning Chang’s attainments in the Dao of Alchemy, Mi Jing Lun still knew a little about her.
The reason he had come to Xia Ning Chang was because she was the one who was most familiar with Yang Kai.
Inside High Heaven Palace’s reception hall, Mi Jing Lun, after waiting for a short while, saw Xia Ning Chang arrive.
Although it was difficult to see her countenance because of her veil, a hint of fatigue could be seen in her eyes, which should have been bright and clear. Mi Jing Lun could smell an extremely strong medicinal fragrance wafting from her, and also noticed that although Xia Ning Chang had specially combed her hair, it was still a little messy. How could he not know that she had constantly remained inside her Pill Room? She probably had not rested for many years.
Women always paid attention to their appearance, so if it wasn’t for the fact that she didn’t have the time and could not bother to care about it, why would she not take good care of herself?
“Greetings, Supreme Commander Mi!” Xia Ning Chang elegantly bowed to Mi Jing Lung. She had naturally heard of him, the one running the Supreme Headquarters and directing the overall situation of the war, commanding the various Armies in the battle against the Black Ink Clan. She also admired him very much.
Mi Jing Lun promptly stood up and helped her up, “Madam Xia is too polite.”
After exchanging some pleasantries, both took their seats.
Mi Jing Lun was still pondering on how he should ask her about Yang Kai, but to his surprise, Xia Ning Chang was the one who asked him, “Did Supreme Commander Mi come here to inquire about my Husband?”
Mi Jing Lun was stunned for a moment before nodding his affirmation, “Indeed!” He then asked curiously, “Madam doesn’t seem worried?”
He didn’t see any sign of worry in Xia Ning Chang’s eyes. Logically speaking, as Yang Kai’s Wife, Xia Ning Chang shouldn’t have been able to remain so calm after not having heard anything about her Husband for so many years.
Under the veil, a smile seemed to have appeared on Xia Ning Chang’s lips, “How could I not be worried? It’s just that my Husband should be fine.”
Hearing her say so, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “How can you be so sure?”
He had failed to find any clues on Yang Kai’s whereabouts, so how could Xia Ning Chang confirm that Yang Kai was safe? Had it been many years ago, when Yang Kai was in control of that artifact called the Loyalty List, they could still determine Yang Kai’s situation through the life and death of the people who had left their names on the Loyalty List. But back when Yang Kai embarked on his journey to the Black Ink Battlefield, he voluntarily lifted the restrictions placed on the nine people on the Loyalty List. Yang Kai no longer had any life-and-death relationship with them.
Xia Ning Chang was silent for a moment before replying, “A feeling?”
Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but break into a fit of laughter. How could she judge such a big matter based on her feelings? It was simply too childish.
Xia Ning Chang added, “This Mistress and Husband met each other when we were still young disciples of High Heaven Pavilion. Senior Sister Su Yan was also with us. In the beginning, Husband’s aptitude for cultivation was very poor and he was almost kicked out of the Sect…”
Recalling the past, the corners of Xia Ning Chang’s eyes curled up like crescent moons. Obviously, she was fondly remembering those times.
Mi Jing Lun didn’t interrupt her and quietly listened. Only now did he realize that Yang Kai’s rise to power was no different than an insignificant character’s arduous struggle.
From being a sweeper in a small Sect in a remote backwater world, he had grown up to become a cornerstone of the entire Human Race, a symbol of faith. Such a journey required outstanding willpower, and he had clearly put in far more effort than those born with extraordinary talent.
Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but heave a long sigh, “When great waves wash away the sand, one’s spirit is revealed, and only as the ocean flows can one’s true colours be seen.”
Xia Ning Chang lifted her hand and brushed her hair behind her ear, “Husband has always accomplished great things. We Sisters have been under his wings for many years; but oftentimes, we are unable to help him. In fact, everyone is quite anxious, so whether it is Sister Ru Meng or Senior Sister Su Yan, all of them have been diligently cultivating all these years, hoping that someday, even if they cannot help Husband, they will not become a burden to him.”
Mi Jing Lun solemnly stated, “Madam Xia, there is no need to be so serious. Yu Ru Meng and the others are currently at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction under Senior Fu Guang’s command, resisting the Black Ink Clan inside the Grand Restriction while ensuring its integrity. They have been working hard for many years without anyone to rely on. Madam, you might not have been fighting on the battlefront, but you have been refining pills for the Human Race, doing your absolute best. All of you are exemplary figures of the Human Race. No one would dare to say that you are a burden.”
Xia Ning Chang continued with a smile, “The Black Ink Clan’s invasion concerns the survival of the Human Race, so we naturally must do our best. We are doing what we can, and so is my Husband. For many years, my Husband has been constantly on the move, often there are no news for many years. Back when he first entered the Black Ink Battlefield without hesitation or looking back, there had been no news of him for almost 1,000 years, but…”
She paused for a moment before her tone became firm, “But, Husband has never disappointed us Sisters. We just need to wait, and no matter where Husband is, no matter what happens, he will return to us some day.”
This was the reason why she felt that Yang Kai was fine, because many people were waiting for him! And he had never disappointed those who had been waiting for him.
Mi Jing Lun remained silent.
After a while, Xia Ning Chang stood up and left.
Mi Jing Lun also left High Heaven Palace with Hua Qing Si and flew out of the Star Boundary.
In the void, Mi Jing Lun suddenly stopped, glancing back.
Although he had come here looking for answers, he had not gained anything factual. Xia Ning Chang was undoubtedly unaware of whether Yang Kai was alive or dead, she simply expressed her absolute confidence and hope in him.
She believed that Yang Kai would return safely one day, just like how he had suddenly killed his way back from the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield, quelling the war in Profound Nether Territory in one fell swoop.
It could be said that Madam Xia had blind faith in this man, but there was nothing wrong with that.
However, as the Supreme Commander of the Human Race’s Armies, planning the movement of every soldier, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t afford to have any delusions. He had to be prepared for the worst. What would he do if Yang Kai had really met with a mishap and died in some unexplored place?
War could not tolerate any unrealistic fantasies!
The Human Race was not made up of just one man, it consisted of every Human being. Yang Kai had done more than enough for the Human Race. It was because of his actions that the Human Race had been able to steadily develop for thousands of years and build up their current strength.
If the Human Race failed to defeat the Black Ink Clan even after this, it would be because the Human Race had lacked in effort. As the favoured children of this era, they had to bear the responsibility alongside the fortune. If they couldn’t survive this crisis, they were destined to be abandoned by this era.
In the end, this era still belonged to the Human Race!
…..
Somewhere in the void, a figure was rapidly moving across. The figure was surrounded by deathly and desolate Universe Worlds, as well as all kinds of magnificent Celestial Phenomena filled with unknown dangers.
Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out, “Second Brother, are you lost?”
Fang Tian Ci gloomily stated, “Big Brother said to go in the opposite direction, and that’s where I’m going. This is the literal edge of the Universe. It should be quite far from the 3,000 Worlds. Don’t be impatient!”
“Why don’t I take the helm for a while?” Thunder Shadow suggested, mainly because he had been idling for too long and wanted to come out and stretch.
“You don’t understand the Dao of Space, so giving the helm to you will only slow things down.”
“Fine, fine, you continue.”
The war between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan suddenly became even more intense. Large and small battles frequently broke out on the raging battlefields, often lasting months before ending.
In such high-intensity battles, both the Human Race or the Black Ink Clan suffered huge casualties, especially the Black Ink Clan. Although they far outnumbered the Humans, it was precisely because of their numbers that their casualties in each battle were so horrific.
Nonetheless, the upper echelons of the Black Ink Clan would never feel distressed about this. The Black Ink Clan was different from the Human Race. The Human Race needed a lot of time and resources to cultivate even one Open Heaven Realm Master, but the Black Ink Clansmen were all spawned from Black Ink Nests. So long as they had enough resources, they could endlessly raise more troops.
Essentially all the Black Ink Clansmen below Feudal Lord rank were cannon fodder. In any battle, they were often the first to be dispatched to exhaust the strength of the Human Race.
A war had broken out in Great Storm Territory. A fleet of numerous Human Race Warships split on the battlefield, outflanking the Black Ink Clan Army. Meanwhile, the battle on the main front raged like a wildfire.
Furthermore, the higher-ups of the both sides had also established a battlefield away from the main battlefield where the Eighth-Order Masters fought with the Territory Lords, and the Ninth-Order Masters faced the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
To a certain extent, the battle between the top Masters from both sides would directly affect the outcome of the battle on the main battlefield, because once the powerhouses of one side gained the upper hand, they would be able to suppress the enemy on the main battlefield.
In Great Storm Territory, two Human Race Armies happened to be fighting against the Black Ink Clan Army. One was the Azure Sun Army under Luo Ting He’s command, while the other was the original Great Storm Army of Great Storm Territory.
After reclaiming Azure Sun Territory, the Azure Sun Army had converged with the Army of this Territory, greatly bolstering their strength.
Originally, it would not have been difficult to reclaim Great Storm Territory, but with the birth of a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords and their addition to the Black Ink Clan Army, it made the war far less predictable.
A mere Pseudo-Royal Lord was indeed no match for a Ninth-Order Master, but there were far too many Pseudo-Royal Lords.
This was not the first time the two sides were fighting. Both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had clashed with each other multiple times over the past few years, enough to already become familiar with each other.
But this time, something different and unexpected happened.
When the battle started, a fearsome aura suddenly appeared out of thin air somewhere on the battlefield, and immediately after, they could sense the death of a Pseudo-Royal Lord from that direction.
This sudden turn of events left many of the Black Ink Clansmen bewildered, thinking that another Ninth-Order Master had been born. However, when they recognized that it was none other than Xiang Shan, they actually felt relieved.
No new Ninth-Order Master had been born in the Human Race, Xiang Shan had simply come to lend support.
The Black Ink Clan wasn’t completely unprepared for this. The Black Ink Clan Master, who was commanding the Black Ink Clan Army this time, instantly dispatched several Pseudo-Royal Lords to intercept Xiang Shan, while also passing on this news up the chain of command.
Xiang Shan’s appearance in Great Storm Territory meant that the Great Territory Battlefield he was originally in charge of had no Ninth-Order Master at this moment. This happened to be a good opportunity for the Black Ink Clan; perhaps they could use it to deal a heavy blow to the Human Race.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered a huge loss in this battle. Furthermore, with Xiang Shan and Luo Ting He teaming up, the lives of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were hanging by a thread.
But in the end, it still amounted to nothing!
Ultimately, Xiang Shan could not stay for too long. He immediately returned to the Great Territory Battlefield where the Blood Flame Army was stationed after the battle had come to an end. A battle had also broken out there, and without a Ninth-Order Master overseeing the situation, things were definitely not good for the Blood Flame Army.
The same tactic was continuously used in other Great Territory Battlefields as well. The Armies of both sides fought back and forth, reducing every Great Territory into a meat grinder.
Although the Human Race’s fierce offensive had failed to recover their lost territory, it had caused unimaginable losses to the Black Ink Clan. Not to mention anything else, just the amount of cannon fodder on Black Ink Clan’s side had decreased a lot by the next battle.
If nothing unexpected happened, this dire situation would likely continue for many years until one side was no longer capable of continuing.
Unfortunately, something unexpected happened; the awakening of a Royal Lord.
At the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye, who had returned from the Universe Furnace World and was slumbering inside a Black Ink Nest, had finally recovered after nearly 100 years.
The first thing he did was pay a visit to Royal Lord Mo Yu and inquire about the current battle situation. After learning that the Human Race had already reclaimed six Great Territories and was currently going toe to toe with the Black Ink Clan in the remaining Great Territory Battlefields, Mo Na Ye was slightly taken aback.
When they were in the Universe Furnace, four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had emerged in the Human Race, along with quite a lot of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. As the Human Race’s strength had greatly increased, it was not surprising for them to achieve such results in the battle.
What took him by surprise was that the Black Ink Clan was able to defend the remaining Great Territory Battlefields without losing any ground.
Originally, he had thought that the Black Ink Clan would have lost all the Great Territory Battlefields by now.
“Sir, which battlefield is Yang Kai on?” Mo Na Ye asked. Although he had already become a Royal Lord, he still considered himself a subordinate before Mo Yu. He had no intention of competing with Mo Yu for power because the latter was still stronger.
Mo Yu was very satisfied with the way Mo Na Ye addressed him. To be honest, when Mo Na Ye returned from the Universe Furnace, he was greatly shocked by the latter’s advancement to becoming a Royal Lord. Although he looked extremely wretched and miserable at that time, it was an undeniable fact that he had become a true Royal Lord.
Furthermore, Mo Na Ye looked extremely flustered at that time, as if he was being chased by something terrifying.
He later came to know that Mo Na Ye was running from Yang Kai.
When Mo Na Ye inquired about the killing star, a furrow appeared on Mo Yu’s face as he replied, “Funny you asked, I’ve also ordered others to investigate Yang Kai’s whereabouts after your return, but they failed to find anything. Furthermore, we haven’t seen any trace of him all these years. It seems that the Humans are also looking for him. According to some information obtained from Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai went missing after the Universe Furnace closed.”
“Missing?” Mo Na Ye was extremely astounded, “How did he go missing?”
Mo Yu’s face turned gloomy, “Are you questioning me?”
Mo Na Ye quickly bowed, “This subordinate doesn’t dare! But… it’s very strange.”
Mo Yu took a deep look at him before nodding and continuing, “It’s strange indeed! I’ve also been on guard against him coming to the No-Return Pass to cause trouble these years, but he is indeed missing; otherwise, he would have definitely shown up by now.”
Mo Yu knew that Yang Kai had already advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. When he had first heard this news, he had also been nervous; after all, Yang Kai was quite difficult to deal with. When Yang Kai was just an Eighth-Order Master, he could already cause a great ruckus in the No-Return Pass. Yang Kai had killed many Innate Territory Lords and destroyed many High-Rank Black Ink Nests right under Mo Na Ye’s nose back then.
Now that this killing star had reached the Ninth Order, it would be even more difficult to deal with him. If he really showed up at the No-Return Pass and kicked up a storm, Mo Yu wouldn’t be surprised.
Just because of this, Mo Yu had made a lot of preparations, but none of them had been used yet.
Standing below in the Grand Hall, Mo Na Ye had an extremely bewildered look on his face, as if he had just heard some unbelievable news. The very man who had pushed him to the brink of death, had actually gone missing?
“Hahaha…” Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but break into laughter.
He finally understood why the Black Ink Clan was still able to defend those Great Territory Battlefields. It turned out that Yang Kai had not appeared. If he had, the Pseudo-Royal Lords in those Great Territory Battlefields would have been completely useless, no matter how many of them there were. Yang Kai would have found an opportunity to ambush and slaughter them long ago.
“The Universe Furnace is filled with danger. Could he have encountered some kind of unpredictable crisis inside and died there?” Mo Yu asked.
Mo Na Ye denied, shaking his head, “With his current strength, he can’t die, but there are indeed many inexplicable mysteries in the Universe Furnace. Perhaps… he is trapped?”
He could not say anything with absolute certainty. Nonetheless, it was extremely strange that he had not seen Yang Kai after returning from the Universe Furnace. However, he was in a hurry to escape at that time, so he could not bother to give it too much thought. And after returning to the No-Return Pass, he had immediately entered the Black Ink Nest to rest and recover.
[By the looks of it, Yang Kai is most likely trapped inside the Universe Furnace, unable to escape; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to not appear all these years.]
Mo Yu stated, “Whether he is dead or trapped, it’s a good thing. The Black Ink Clan will have one less nemesis to worry about. Mo Na Ye, I know everything you have faced in the Universe Furnace, but you don’t need to be afraid of him now. You are a Royal Lord, so even if you run into him, you’ll still have the strength to fight back.”
Mo Na Ye respectfully replied, “You’re absolutely right, Sir.”
Mo Na Ye recalled his battle with Yang Kai in the Universe Furnace. At that time, he was already not at his peak. Although Yang Kai had just broken through, his injuries were much more severe than Yang Kai’s, and that was the reason Yang Kai had the upper hand; otherwise, he would not have lost so miserably.
But it was an undeniable fact that Yang Kai’s strength was formidable. Mo Na Ye was certain that even if both of them were at the peak of their strength, he still would not be a match for Yang Kai. On the other hand, Yang Kai could not kill him that easily either.
“Since you’ve come out of seclusion, I’ll leave all the affairs of the Black Ink Clan to you, just like in the past. Back then, you were just a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but now that you are a Royal Lord, you have the qualifications to command the entire Black Ink Clan Army, including this King!”
Mo Yu’s voice was firm and decisive.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed slightly. It could not have been easy for Mo Yu to say something like that. Mo Yu might not have much talent in military strategy, but he did have one advantage, and that was that he knew how to use people well.
He had been using Mo Na Ye all these years, and that was the best proof in itself.
From the start, Mo Na Ye had never intended to compete with him for power, and after hearing this, there was not even the slightest bit of dissent in his heart.
He immediately bowed, “Many thanks for trusting me, Sir.”
Mo Yu slowly said, “Everything is for the Supreme One’s will. Black Ink Eternal!”
Mo Na Ye also solemnly shouted, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Very soon, he summoned all the personnel responsible for collecting information from everywhere and spent several days collecting and sorting information in the Black Ink Clan’s hand.
Two days after sorting everything, he visited Royal Lord Mo Yu and told him about his plan.
Mo Yu was slightly startled by Mo Na Ye’s plan and marvelled Mo Na Ye’s boldness, but after giving it a careful thought, he found Mo Na Ye’s proposal reasonable. Furthermore, the fact that he had come to ask for his opinion before taking action also pleased Mo Yu and made him feel that he had not misjudged Mo Na Ye. He immediately nodded his agreement, “Since you think so, then you can do as you wish.”
Consequently, Great Storm Territory was finally recaptured by the combined forces of the Azure Sun Army and the Great Storm Army after a fierce month-long battle. The Black Ink Clan Army, on the other hand, carried on fighting while retreating, leaving countless corpses across the void as they retreated from Great Storm Territory.
When its news reached the Supreme Headquarters and Mi Jing Lun received this piece of glorious news, there was no joy on his face.
Rather, a sigh escaped his lips. He knew that Mo Na Ye had most likely come out of seclusion!
“Mo Na Ye is probably out of seclusion!” Stated Mi Jing Lun, standing in front of a giant Universe Chart inside the Supreme Headquarters Main Conference Hall.
The Universe Chart was specially created by the Human Race and was used to simulate the situation of the various Great Territories. This Universe Chart included all the Great Territories known to the Human Race. Even the Black Ink Battlefield was presented to everyone in a translucent manner.
Nearly 99% of the display was dyed black, representing the area occupied by the Black Ink Clan.
Only a few locations were not dyed in black. These were the Great Territories currently under the Human Race’s control, including the few Great Territory Battlefields that they had recently been reclaimed.
While speaking, Mi Jing Lun raised his hand and circulated his strength. Immediately after, the Universe Chart started to change a little before everyone’s eyes as the pitch-black darkness blanketing one of the Great Territories began to fade.
Everyone could clearly see that it was the location of Great Storm Territory.
Those gathered here were the brightest of the brightest gathered from all over to serve under Mi Jing Lun. They formed the think tank of the Human Race.
The cultivation of these people ranged from low to high. Some were Eighth-Order Masters, while others were only in the Fourth-Order. They might not have fought on the battlefield, but it was an irrefutable fact that they had played a huge role in the Human Race resisting the Black Ink Clan’s invasion all these years.
Every single military order sent to various Great Territories was meticulously discussed between them and Mi Jing Lun.
Seeing Mi Jing Lun’s action, someone exclaimed in surprise, “Great Storm has been reclaimed?”
Mi Jing Lun would only make changes to the Universe Chart like this when a Great Territory was recovered.
Mi Jing Lun nodded his affirmation as he passed a jade slip, “This is the battle report I’ve just received from the front lines. The Azure Sun Army and Great Storm Army jointly captured the Black Ink Clan’s main camp three days ago and seized control of Great Storm Territory.”
Everyone immediately gathered around and began reading the jade slip one by one. A look of joy appeared on the faces of many, but there were also some with tight furrows on their brow; they faintly felt that something was wrong.
Nearly 100 years ago, when the projection of the Universe Furnace reappeared, the Human Race, which was already prepared, gave the Black Ink Clan a good beating and killed a lot of their Masters.
Furthermore, with Xiang Shan and Ou Yang Lie returning as Ninth-Order Masters, the Blood Flame and Profound Nether Armies reclaimed their respective Great Territories just a few years later under their leadership.
Over the next few years, the Human Race Armies’ morale was through the roof as they swiftly reclaimed a total of four Great Territories. So, counting Azure Sun and Wolf Fang Territories, the Human Race had already regained six of the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields.
Unfortunately, their good days soon came to an end. The next couple of decades were filled with arduous struggles and horrific battles.
The Black Ink Clan had produced dozens of Pseudo-Royal Lords out of thin air, erasing the advantages brought about by the Ninth-Order Human Masters. Over the next 100 or so years, the Human Race had not been able to make any significant progress and had failed to recover any more Great Territories.
Yet they were suddenly able to recapture Great Storm Territory despite it being a pure stalemate just months ago. This was quite strange.
Furthermore, there also appeared to be a little problem with the battle report. Those with sharp minds had already noticed that something was amiss.
Combined with what Mi Jing Lun had said at the beginning, someone couldn’t help asking, “Sir Mi, why are you so certain that Mo Na Ye has come out of seclusion?”
Mi Jing Lun happened to be deep in thought, looking at the Universe Chart. Hearing the opposite party’s question, he replied with a question of his own, “First, tell me about the battle report. What does everyone think?”
The person who had spoken just now replied, “At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be any problem. It looks like the Human Race won a momentous victory and killed countless enemies, but upon closer inspection, the Black Ink Clan’s casualties aren’t significant. Also, not a single Pseudo-Royal Lord was killed.”
Many nodded in agreement, and those who had not realized the problem had also come to catch on at this moment.
It was a battle that concerned total control over a Great Territory, so it stood to reason that the Black Ink Clan would have gone all out. But if that really was the case, they should not have suffered so few casualties.
In every single battle that had reclaimed a Great Territory, one or two Pseudo-Royal Lords had always been killed.
This time though, not a single one of them had fallen. A simple Three Fortunes Formation formed by Pseudo-Royal Lords could fight evenly with a Ninth-Order Master or several Six Paths Formations formed by Eighth-Order Human Race Masters.
“Did the Black Ink Clan give up the Territory?” Someone shouted.
Mi Jing Lun replied with a nod, rubbing his forehead, “By the looks of it, the Black Ink Clan should have decided to withdraw from Great Storm Territory long ago, and have just taken advantage of the Human Race’s attack to carry out their retreat. If I’m not mistaken, the other Great Territories should also be recovered very soon.”
Recovering the lost territory was a cause for celebration; after all, the Human Race had been working hard all these years to achieve this very goal. Retaking the lost territories would give meaning to the sacrifices of countless soldiers.
However, the current situation was not what the Human Race wanted to see.
“Retreating instead of defending to enlarge the battlefront. It really does smell like Mo Na Ye,” a voice came from the corner.
Over the years, everyone had fought against Mo Na Ye’s schemes many times under Mi Jing Lun’s leadership. It was a battle of wits and strategy using the deployment of their respective Armies. As such, everyone was quite familiar with Mo Na Ye’s tactics.
The Black Ink Clan had been stubbornly resisting and defending the various Great Territory Battlefields for the past 100 years, but now they had suddenly changed tactics. It was obvious that someone of great authority was behind this. It could be none other than Mo Na Ye.
In fact, when the Human Race had reclaimed six Great Territory Battlefields, Mi Jing Lun had said that recovering the lost territories was not entirely a good thing.
The Human Race’s goal was not just to recover their lost territories, but also to injure, or preferably kill, as many Black Ink Clansmen as possible. If they could recover their lost territories, and also kill a large number of enemies at the same time, that would be the perfect scenario.
It was because there were simply far too many Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds.
The Black Ink Clan may have lost a Great Territory, but they could still retreat to another. So long as they had not lost too many soldiers, losing a Great Territory could not be considered a significant loss for the Black Ink Clan. The only difference for them was a change of battlefield.
In contrast, things were very different for the Human Race. Every time they reclaimed a Great Territory, it would extend the frontlines further. This would not only create problems with logistics, but once the frontline was stretched too thin, it would most likely isolate the Armies at the forefront, allowing the Black Ink Clan to counterattack.
The best option would have naturally been to maintain the current situation. The Human Race could continuously thin out the Black Ink Clan’s forces until the enemy no longer had the strength to resist. By then, it would be a piece of cake for the Human Race Armies to reclaim the 3,000 Worlds and completely eradicate the Black Ink Clan in one fell swoop.
Thus, although the Human Race had not been able to take back any more Great Territories for the past 100 or so years, every time a war broke out, the Human Race would do everything possible to kill as many Black Ink Clansmen as they could.
The Human Race was more than happy to see the Black Ink Clan fighting to the death in the various Great Territory Battlefields.
But now, the Black Ink Clan had suddenly adopted the exact opposite strategy…
This was quite unfortunate.
“It has been almost 100 years since the Universe Furnace closed. That is ample time for Mo Na Ye to fully recover from his injuries. So, it’s not that surprising for him to come out of his seclusion now. Furthermore, he already has experience in commanding the Black Ink Clan. Mo Yu will value him even more now that he has become a Royal Lord!”
Mi Jing Lun’s heart was filled with regret. If Yang Kai hadn’t met with some unknown mishap, he would have definitely eliminated Mo Na Ye and they would have nothing to worry about.
According to the information they had gathered, Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye entered the Universe Furnace from the same location. After the Universe Furnace closed, they should have appeared at the same time and at the same place. Mo Na Ye was seriously injured at that time, so how could he be Yang Kai’s opponent?
Unfortunately, Yang Kai disappeared after that earth-shattering battle in the Universe Furnace, which gave Mo Na Ye a chance to escape with his life.
By the looks of it, Yang Kai did not appear with Mo Na Ye when the Universe Furnace closed. Could it be that he was trapped inside the Universe Furnace?
If that was the case, who knows how long it would take for him to escape?
“Supreme Commander Mi, how should we respond to the Black Ink Clan’s strategy?” Someone asked.
Mi Jing Lun bitterly smiled, “This is open intrigue, an obvious trap, but we have no choice but to swallow the bait thrown by the Black Ink Clan!”
Great Storm Territory had been reclaimed already, so why would they not want it? This was true for the other Great Territories as well.
It was very easy to predict that the Human Race would definitely reap successive victories in the coming years, reclaiming numerous Great Territories in succession.
With every Great Territory reclaimed though, the front lines would extend further and move farther away. The Human Race would have to leave behind some troops to defend the Great Territories they had reclaimed, which would weaken the Army’s strength with every new Great Territory seized.
Once the front line was stretched enough, and the Black Ink Clan was confident of easily resisting the Human Race, they would launch their counterattack.
This was another battle of wits and courage.
As Mi Jing Lun had expected, the Supreme Headquarters kept receiving news of success from the different battlefronts over the next few months.
Divine Wind Territory had been reclaimed by the combined forces of the Twin Poles Army and Divine Wind Army, with the Black Ink Clan’s main camp being swiftly occupied.
Purple Feather Territory had been reclaimed by the combined forces of the Purple Feather Army and Profound Nether Army, killing countless enemies.
The Cloud Sword Territory had been reclaimed…
The Brahma Territory was taken back…
Reports came in one after another. After a year, the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields where the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had been fighting for thousands of years had all fallen into the hands of the Human Race. The Human Race Armies were triumphantly marching forward in high spirits.
As the news of this spread to the Star Boundary, Myriad Monster World, and the Universe Worlds in the New Great Territory, all living there celebrated in jubilation.
Ever since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, gloom and darkness had shrouded the Human Race. But today, everyone finally saw the light and a glimmer of victory in the pitch-black darkness. It seemed as if the Human Race would be able to reconquer the Great Territories one after another as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, restoring peace to the 3,000 Worlds.
Only a few people understood that these beautiful dreams would not really come true.
The real war had just begun.
Who knows how much blood would be shed, how many would die in this bloody war which concerned the fate of the two Races?
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was struggling hard on his way back.
Thunder Shadow’s voice rang in Yang Kai’s mind, “Big Brother, you can do it! Just a little faster and we will be able to escape!”
Thunder Shadow sounded panicked and clearly a little nervous.
This could not be helped as Yang Kai happened to be in the middle of a crisis.
Originally, he believed that after advancing to the Ninth Order, he would be able to roam the Universe without any worry. Even if he were to run into someone stronger, he could still escape.
Now though, he found himself completely helpless against this strange Celestial Phenomenon he had encountered on his way back.
Along the way, he was patiently digesting the insights he had gained in the Universe Furnace, leaving Fang Tian Ci to pilot his physical body. Under normal circumstances, he would have steered clear of any Celestial Phenomenon he encountered; however, the Celestial Phenomenon he ran into this time caught him completely by surprise.
At the edge of the Universe lay Chaos which the Universe Furnace continuously devoured before spewing out the evolved 10,000 Grand Daos, causing the world to expand endlessly.
Each Universe World’s birth originated from the Universe Furnace, and each grand and majestic Celestial Phenomenon also stemmed from it.
On the way back, countless Celestial Phenomena of different shapes and sizes appeared, each harbouring immense danger. Fang Tian Ci, who controlled Yang Kai’s body, avoided them as much as possible as he dared not approach them easily; however, there came a moment of carelessness.
This Celestial Phenomenon was similar to a Black Hole. Its size was not particularly large, seemingly only slightly larger than a regular Universe World, but it was discreet enough to go unnoticed.
Fang Tian Ci was caught off guard, causing him to be involuntarily drawn towards this Celestial Phenomenon, and by the time he realised what was happening, it was already too late.
This seemingly ordinary Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon emitted an overwhelming devouring force, causing everything nearby to collapse towards it.
Despite trying several times to manipulate Space Principles to escape, Fang Tian Ci was unable to do so, and even after Yang Kai took over, he could not break free.
Under the terrifying devouring force, the surrounding Void became highly viscous and distorted, greatly reducing the effectiveness of Space Principles in this area.
Now, Yang Kai was like a fallen leaf caught in a vortex in the middle of a vast sea, constantly revolving around the Black Hole, getting closer and closer to it with each orbit.
No one knew what dangers lay within the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon, but it was undeniable that once one had fallen into it, they would surely meet a terrible end.
Unable to break free, Yang Kai could only go with the flow and travel at full speed in the direction pulled by the devouring force, hoping to escape the grasp of the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon and snatch life from the gates of death.
Round after round, the pull of the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon, combined with Yang Kai’s own actions, caused him to speed up, already far surpassing Yang Kai’s physical limit.
Moving at such a terrifying speed put a massive strain on the body, and if it were not for Yang Kai’s strong physique, he would have already been torn to shreds.
Fortunately, he now possessed the body of the Divine Dragon with a powerful Dragon Vein, so despite feeling immense pressure, he could still barely persist.
Thunder Shadow constantly cheered him on. It would still be a worthy death if he were to die fighting against Royal Lords, but to die in a place like this would simply be unacceptable.
After circling countless times, picking up speed the entire time, Yang Kai felt himself reach a critical point, followed by him suddenly feeling his body loosen. Then, as the gravitational force from the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon could no longer bind him, he channelled all the force he could and propelled himself in a great arc and swiftly escaped from the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon, leaving it far behind.
Thunder Shadow cheered, and Fang Tian Ci, tense the whole time, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t until they were very far away from the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon and could no longer feel its pull that Yang Kai slowly lowered his speed and looked around.
Then, he stopped Fang Tian Ci from taking control of his body. Years of comprehension had allowed him to fully digest his gains in the Universe Furnace.
“These Celestial Phenomena are truly unpredictable and difficult to defend against,” Thunder Shadow said, “We’re lucky that Big Brother is quick-witted, or we three Brothers might have been done for. Second Brother, you should learn from him.”
Fang Tian Ci remained silent, feeling that they were both Soul Clones of the original, so praising him was the same as boasting about themselves…
But on this journey, they really had seen too many Celestial Phenomena; all grand and mysterious, yet unpredictable. These natural creations were truly beyond Human strength to resist.
Perhaps only by reaching the Creation Realm could one unravel the mysteries within, but what kind of wondrous realm was the Creation Realm?
“Big Brother, did we go the wrong way? We’ve been travelling for so long yet still haven’t found our way home,” Thunder Shadow asked again.
Yang Kai shook his head, “The location of the Universe Furnace is at the edge of the Universe. Since this Universe was created by the Universe Furnace, going in the opposite direction should be correct. It just means that the Universe is far more vast than we thought.”
“It’s been about 100 years, hasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Although it was impossible to calculate the exact time spent in this void, judging from the passage of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, it had indeed been over 100 years since they left the Universe Furnace.
During these 100 years, while Fang Tian Ci had been driving, Yang Kai had also tried to connect with the World Tree from time to time to see if he could establish contact with the Old Tree, but unfortunately, he made no progress.
It had to be noted that when he rushed back from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon back then, it only took him a few years.
At this moment, the position where they were located was undoubtedly in the farthest reaches of the Universe.
Sometimes, Yang Kai would wonder if he had lost their way, but on this silent journey through the void, there were no suitable reference points to discern the correct direction.
After flying forward for a while, he came across a Universe World, and Yang Kai descended to it.
He then carefully sensed his surroundings.
Thunder Shadow was at a loss at the sight and didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing, so he quietly asked Fang Tian Ci, “Is Big Brother looking for something?”
After pondering for a moment, Fang Tian Ci answered, “He should be investigating whether there have been any changes in this Universe World.”
“Changes?” Thunder Shadow became even more bewildered.
“The Universe Furnace splits Heaven and Earth apart, constantly expanding the Universe. The Universe Worlds that are spewed out from the furnace were all barren and lifeless, with not even basic World Principles. However, after countless eons of accumulation, the 10,000 Grand Daos which make up the Universe itself will eventually allow these Universe Worlds to undergo some changes. Their World Principles will gradually form and improve, and vitality will spring up in the World, giving rise to life. Every Universe World in the 3,000 Worlds should have been born this way.”
“So what?” Thunder Shadow became even more confused upon hearing that.
Fang Tian Ci almost choked, not knowing how to explain it to him.
Yang Kai chuckled, “We’re checking the completeness of the World Principles in the Universe Worlds we have encountered on our journey. The more complete they are, the closer we are to the 3,000 Worlds. The 3,000 Worlds may just contain the earliest Universe Worlds created from the Universe Furnace, which is why they are so wonderful and full of vitality.”
Finally, Thunder Shadow understood, “Oh, I see…” He couldn’t help but retort, “Second Brother, you’re so dumb. You can’t even explain something so simple. What’s the use of you?”
Fang Tian Ci seriously wanted to hit him!
Thunder Shadow asked again, “So, how about this Universe World? Are the World Principles complete?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Of course not. If the World Principles were complete, it would not be as barren and lifeless as this. But there are already signs of World Principles being born here. Maybe in several million years, this will be a thriving Universe World.”
Those words made Thunder Shadow thrilled, “That means we are headed in the right direction!”
“Correct!” Yang Kai replied with a smile and flew up into the sky, continuing on their journey.
He suddenly realised that it was a good thing that the wills of his Human Self and Monster Self had not been erased during the unification of the three Selves. At least, he wouldn’t be too lonely on this journey home!
Although Yang Kai didn’t know how many years it would take for them to return, he believed that as long as he kept heading in the right direction, he would eventually make it back.
After a moment, Thunder Shadow’s voice echoed in Yang Kai’s mind, “Big Brother, do you think our Universe is the only one?”
As Yang Kai travelled using his Space Secret Technique, he casually asked, “What do you mean?”
“Think about it, our Universe was created by the Universe Furnace from Chaos, and according to what you said, Big Brother, the 3,000 Worlds were the first to be born. But what if the Universe Furnace opened up some other Universes beyond the Chaos before the birth of the 3,000 Worlds, and we are just unaware of each other due to the sea of Chaos and vast distances between us?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “That’s not pos…”
Initially, he wanted to say that it was impossible, but he suddenly realised that what Thunder Shadow said was not impossible at all. Chaos was boundless, and the void was limitless. If the Universe Furnace had indeed created another Universe somewhere in the sea of Chaos, and there was a barrier to it, it would be difficult to detect the existence of each other.
Just like when they were in the Star Boundary, they assumed it was their entire Universe until they went beyond it and discovered a wider world. Even in the currently known world, Yang Kai didn’t know what lay in the deeper parts of the Black Ink Battlefield because no one had ever explored it.
The unknown represented infinite possibilities.
Though Thunder Shadow had always been talkative and not used his brain much, his question made Yang Kai contemplate.
Before Yang Kai could answer, Thunder Shadow asked, “Did I say something wrong?”
In the Soul Warming Lotus, Fang Tian Ci suddenly looked at Thunder Shadow and said, “Third Brother, you are actually capable of saying thought-provoking things sometimes.”
Thunder Shadow became defensive upon hearing it, “What do you mean? Don’t think I don’t know you’re calling me stupid.”
“You said it yourself.”
“Second Brother, let’s fight! I’ve been holding back for too long!”
Ignoring the noise in his mind, Yang Kai smiled and thought to himself, [Is there really another Universe out there? If so, what would it look like?]
Whether there were other Universes or not, the only thing he needed to do was to return home as soon as possible. The Universe Furnace had closed, and the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan must have broken out in full force. Although the Humans had gained tremendous benefits in the Universe Furnace and had greatly increased their strength, the Black Ink Clan was never an easy opponent to deal with.
Yang Kai naturally recalled that before the appearance of the Universe Furnace, a gap had opened in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction which allowed a large number of Innate Territory Lords to escape. Although these Territory Lords were severely injured and not very useful right away, they should have restored their strength by now, and they would undoubtedly cause great trouble for the Humans.
It was still unknown who would emerge victorious in this war.
As Yang Kai travelled forward on his journey, he searched for a Universe World every few years to investigate the situation and determine his direction based on the completeness of the World Principles he found.
In this way, he could ensure that there were no large mistakes with his travelling direction.
There were too many unknown wonders in this vast universe. If Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to return to the war, he would surely explore them thoroughly.
After 100 years went by, Yang Kai figured he should be getting closer to the 3,000 Worlds as the World Principles he observed in the Universe Worlds along the way were gradually being perfected.
Perhaps one day, when a Universe World was found with truly perfect World Principles, he would be close to the 3,000 Worlds.
…..
Since the appearance of the Universe Furnace and the outbreak of the two Races’ full-scale war, it had been almost 300 years, during which time one Great Territory after another had been successfully recovered by the Humans.
The rapid progress of the Humans could be attributed to the huge heritage accumulated over thousands of years and also to the Black Ink Clan’s active avoidance.
Therefore, although the Humans had reclaimed many Great Territories in recent years, the number of fallen Black Ink Clansmen was not high. Even if the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters personally made a move, it was difficult to kill those Pseudo-Royal Lords who already had countermeasures.
Years of fighting had made the Human Race Masters aware of some abnormalities. The Black Ink Clan was deliberately making them lengthen their battle lines, using the reclaimed Great Territories to weaken the strength of the Human Race Army while looking for opportunities to make a breakthrough.
But as Mi Jing Lun said in the Supreme Headquarters, this was open intrigue. The Black Ink Clan had thrown out their bait, and the Humans had to swallow it!
The 3,000 Worlds and the vast Great Territories were originally the Humans’, so faced with those victories that were easily within reach, the Human Race could not remain indifferent. After all, the ultimate goal of this war for the Humans was to expel these invaders.
To this end, the Humans had prepared many countermeasures.
First of all, every time a Great Territory was recovered, the Humans would block the Territory Gates, leaving only one necessary passage.
The Great Territories were connected by Territory Gates, and most Great Territories had several of them leading to other Great Territories, with the exception of a few Great Territories with only one Territory Gate.
Although these Territory Gates could ensure communication with the outside world, they could also become breakthrough points for the Black Ink Clan. In order to prevent this from happening, the Human Race had no choice but to completely seal off the extra Territory Gates.
Fortunately, there were still many Masters who were proficient in the Dao of Space, all of whom were from the Void Dao Temple and inherited Yang Kai’s legacy. With the help of the Phoenix Clan, it was not difficult to seal off these Territory Gates, though some time and resources were required.
After reclaiming each Great Territory, all Territory Gates except for the essential ones were sealed to ensure that the Black Ink Clan could not suddenly attack through them.
In addition, the Masters of each Army coordinated and reorganized each time more territory was taken.
At present, although the Human Race had only a few Ninth-Order Masters, they had a total of nine of them.
Yang Kai was missing, Wu Kuang and Yang Xue guarded the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were restrained the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in Wind Mist Territory, Ou Yang Lie commanded the Profound Nether Army, Xiang Shan commanded the Blood Flame Army, Luo Ting He commanded the Azure Sun Army, and Wei Jun Yang commanded the Wolf Fang Army.
With over 10 Armies, however, and only four Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters available, they couldn’t manage everything.
Under the arrangements of the Supreme Headquarters, many Masters were recruited to bolster the Armies that did not have a Ninth-Order Master, including many Divine Spirits, to ensure that each one had what it took to fight against the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
A large number of Warships and Evil Purging Divine Spears were also allocated to the frontline battlefields. With various measures in place, the Human Race Masters steadily swept away the Black Ink Clan in each Great Territory, never giving them any chance to rest.
However, as more and more Great Territories were reclaimed, the military strength of the Human Race’s Army that went to war constantly weakened. To guard those reclaimed Great Territories, it was inevitable that they had to divide their forces.
At present, there were not a lot of reclaimed Great Territories, so the Humans could still bear the burden, but there would always be a limit. Once the limit was surpassed, no matter how the Humans responded, there would unavoidably be gaps on the extended front line.
In fact, solving this problem was actually quite simple; they just needed enough troops. With enough soldiers, no matter how divided they were, they would have what it took to fight against the Black Ink Clan.
These troops came from the Second-Class or Third-Class Forces.
Many years ago, the upper echelons of the Human Race were already aware of this impending problem. During the great evacuation, too many Masters of the Human Race perished in the war, including some ancient inheritances, Sects, and even more Humans simply living in the various Universe Worlds. All were slaughtered by the Black Ink Clan!
These cultivators were weak, and even if they were transformed into Black Ink Disciples, they were of little use, so the Black Ink Clan would naturally not show mercy.
It could be said that during that great evacuation, the number of the Humans in the entire 3,000 Worlds was reduced by as much as 80%. Those who were still alive today were mostly just luckier.
If the Human Race’s population was larger, there would be more Masters to support the Army.
Therefore, after realising this problem, the Supreme Headquarters began to comprehensively encourage Human reproduction, hoping to give birth to more people. Even if this generation lacked the aptitude to cultivate, there would surely be some talented individuals in the next generation or the one after.
Over the years, there had been some effects, especially in the Star Boundary. It was common for an ordinary family to have five or six children, and many families became prosperous thanks to the Supreme Headquarters’ policy.
The Star Boundary had High Heaven Palace, Dao Temples of various Cave Heavens and Paradises, and the nourishment of the World Tree clone. Hence, the impact of the war that swept across the 3,000 Worlds on the Star Boundary was not significant; instead, the outbreak of the war brought more attention and resources to the Star Boundary.
On the other hand, the families and Sects that migrated from different Great Territories were not as lucky. During the war, nobody had the mood to set up and expand their families.
Before the New Great Territory was fully opened, these migrants were living in fear and uncertainty; they could only survive on Universe Fragments floating in the void, unable to see hope for the future.
It wasn’t until the New Great Territory was opened that these people migrated to Universe Worlds there and the situation improved slightly.
Nowadays, to supplement the Human Army’s strength, the Supreme Headquarters had issued orders once again to encourage more people to reproduce, even going so far as to offer rewards.
For every newborn, they would receive corresponding military merits. If the newborn had an aptitude to cultivate and reached different Realms, they would receive more military merits.
During the war, military merits were unquestionably valuable. Some had even calculated that if a child in a family or Sect could cultivate to the Emperor Realm, they would receive enough military merits to exchange for a set of Fifth-Order materials.
Such rewards were incredibly generous and were enough to make many small families and Sects tempted.
As a result, many babies had been born into the Human Race in recent decades, and the number of Humans had been greatly supplemented.
In many Universe Worlds, even ordinary men from common families were able to have multiple wives and concubines, daily feasting on sumptuous meals while having a weak and depleted body…
There was no right or wrong with the Supreme Headquarters implementing such measures as it was simply out of necessity. This war could last for countless years, and if they wanted to increase the Army’s strength, they had to increase their population base.
In short, the Humans had already prepared to fight this war for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
The biggest problem that arose from this was the supply of resources.
The Humans had limited resources available, just as it was when they defended over a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields in the earlier years, and the situation had not improved much now.
Fortunately, after reclaiming many Great Territories, they could exploit the resources left by the Black Ink Clan, and when fighting against the Black Ink Clan Armies, they could also seize some of their resources.
The collecting or mining of resources in the New Great Territory had never stopped, barely supplying the needs of the large Army and rear lines.
However, in these years of fighting, the two Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan had never appeared on the battlefield.
When the Black Ink Clan only had one Royal Lord in the earlier years, it was normal for him not to participate in any battles. The No-Return Pass was the Black Ink Clan’s main camp, and injured Black Ink Clansmen would return there to heal in hibernation. The materials gathered from the Black Ink Battlefield would also be concentrated at the No-Return Pass. Besides, there was a large number of Black Ink Nests there.
Mo Yu did not dare to leave easily. Under various constraints, he could only guard the No-Return Pass all year round to prevent Human Race Masters from causing trouble, especially Yang Kai.
Currently, even though the Black Ink Clan had two Royal Lords, they still dared not leave the No-Return Pass easily. The reason was that several decades ago, the Humans had gathered the power of four Ninth-Order Masters and executed a beheading plan.
At that time, the four Ninth-Order Masters located on four different battlefields joined forces to invade the No-Return Pass to kill Mo Na Ye or Mo Yu.
That battle made the void in the No-Return Pass tremble and turned the Universe upside down.
However, in the end, the attack failed. Neither Mo Na Ye nor Mo Yu was easy to kill, and it seemed that the Black Ink Clan had anticipated such an attempt and had set up an ambush with more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass.
Three Pseudo-Royal Lords could contend against one Ninth-Order Master. Since the Humans only had four Ninth-Order Masters, it was difficult to gain the upper hand.
The result of that battle was that the aftermath destroyed several High-Rank Black Ink Nests, which was considered a small gain.
Seeing that they could not succeed in this kind of direct approach, the four Ninth-Order Masters could only temporarily withdraw. They couldn’t keep entangling with the Black Ink Clan, as without them present, the Black Ink Clan would definitely attack the frontlines.
Since then, the Humans had temporarily given up the idea of killing Mo Na Ye or Mo Yu. Under the various arrangements of the Supreme Headquarters, they proceeded steadily, recovering more Great Territories step by step.
The void was silent as the once bustling Great Territory had long become a lifeless wasteland.
There used to be several Universe Worlds nearby, but the Black Ink Clan Armies invaded and destroyed them, reducing them to scattered Universe Fragments.
For years, no one had visited this place except for occasional Black Ink Clansmen who came to check on the situation, but even they refused to stay for long.
Wind Mist Territory…
Since the brutal Barren Territory War, the only two surviving veteran Ninth-Order Masters had been guarding Wind Mist Territory for some 5,000 years.
Before Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing stood a magnificent and spectacular arm, extending from Barren Territory and breaking the boundary wall between two Great Territories, creating a passage that connected the two domains.
It was through this passage that the Black Ink Clan Army bypassed the defences of the Human Race Army and invaded the 3,000 Worlds. It was also since the arm pierced through the boundary wall that the 3,000 Worlds fell into chaos.
At this moment, thick chains wrapped around the arm, binding it tightly. These chains were the joint Secret Technique of the two Ninth-Order Masters, used to restrict the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that resided in the Barren Territory.
In terms of strength, a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was not something that two Ninth-Order Masters could contend with, but during the war that year, this one had been severely injured. Moreover, with one arm stuck between two Great Territories, it was difficult to fully utilise his strength.
While the two Ninth-Order Masters were no match for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in a frontal confrontation, they were able to restrain it and prevent it from escaping, given its weakened state and the restriction on one of its arms; however, as time passed, even this simple restraint became increasingly difficult.
After thousands of years, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s strength had been mostly restored and the two Ninth-Order Masters could clearly feel the difficulty in binding him.
100 years ago, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God nearly broke free during a rebellion, and the Ninth-Order Masters didn’t know how much longer they could hold him down.
Trapped in Wind Mist Territory and isolated from the world, they had no way of knowing the current situation of the 3,000 Worlds or what the status of the Human Race was.
It seemed as though the world had forgotten about them.
The torment of solitude was far worse than the pressure that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had inflicted upon them.
Over the years, Yang Kai visited them twice and informed them about the situation of the Human Race, but after those two times, he never visited them again.
The great war in the Barren Territory took the lives of almost all veteran Ninth-Order Masters, leaving just the two of them alive.
The dead were finally freed, but those who survived had to bear with the aftermath.
The supplies that Yang Kai had given them back then were almost depleted, and now they could only try to minimize the consumption of their own power in order to persist a little longer.
In this extremely quiet environment, both of them just meditated with their eyes closed. In fact, they had spent most of their time this way, only taking action when Black Ink Giant Spirit God attempted to break free.
Suddenly, both of them felt something and opened their eyes, turning their heads to look in a certain direction.
Over there, a figure was strolling towards them with a composed posture, exuding an unmasked magnificent and powerful aura.
A Royal Lord!
Wu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly and said, “A rare guest…”
For so many years of entanglement with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, no one from the Black Ink Clan had dared to approach this area.
This was mainly because there were not many Masters on the Black Ink Clan side; the only Royal Lord had to guard the No-Return Pass all year round, and the Innate Territory Lords did not dare to come here and act recklessly.
So, even though the Black Ink Clan knew that two Ninth-Order Masters were restraining the Black Ink Giant Spirit God here, they never had any intentions of interfering.
However, the situation now was different. The number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen had surged, not only with an additional Royal Lord but also with a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords being created. Moreover, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s injuries had already improved. With things the way they were, the Black Ink Clan naturally had some thoughts about this situation.
“Mo Yu?” Xiao Xiao smiled and looked at the lone Royal Lord who came. She had heard Yang Kai mention that the only Royal Lord of the Black Ink Clan was named Mo Yu, who guarded the No-Return Pass all year round, and who Yang Kai had fought with on several occasions.
Although Yang Kai seemed calm and relaxed when he talked about it, Xiao Xiao knew that the real situation must have been that he was being chased after by the Royal Lord…
Since the one who was strolling over was a Royal Lord, Xiao Xiao naturally thought he was Mo Yu.
The visitor stood still in front of the two Ninth-Order Masters, maintaining a relatively safe distance, and smiled slightly with a hint of surprise, “Senior Xiao Xiao knows my name?”
He easily called out Xiao Xiao’s name, which was not surprising since over the years many Humans had fallen into the hands of the Black Ink Clan, and once transformed into Black Ink Disciples, they could extract some basic information from them.
There were only two Ninth-Order Masters here, a male and a female, making it easy to distinguish them.
Xiao Xiao looked at him coldly and said, “Senior? I dare not accept such a title. We are of different Races and enemies, so how can I be considered your Senior?”
The visitor did not seem to mind and just smiled casually.
Then, Wu Qing quickly asked, “You’re not Mo Yu, are you? Who are you?”
They had never met Mo Yu. Even though they had participated in the Barren Territory War, at that time, Mo Yu was stationed in the No-Return Pass, so they didn’t know what Mo Yu looked like.
Judging from the visitor’s tone though, it was obvious that he was not Mo Yu.
The visitor cupped his fist and loudly said, “Black Ink Clan’s Mo Na Ye greets two esteemed Human Seniors!”
“Mo Na Ye… you are Mo Na Ye?” Xiao Xiao frowned and immediately used her Divine Sense to probe Mo Na Ye without disguise. She seemed to be trying to determine if Mo Na Ye was truly a Royal Lord, but after observing him, it became clear that he was indeed one.
Xiao Xiao was puzzled.
Mo Na Ye also became surprised and asked, “Senior Xiao Xiao has heard of me?”
Only someone familiar with him would show such a surprised reaction.
After asking though, Mo Na Ye looked like he suddenly realised something and said to himself, “Brother Yang must have mentioned me to you two, right?”
He was originally just an Innate Territory Lord, so the Ninth-Order Masters would not pay much attention to him. Yang Kai was the only person who had visited this place over the years, and since these two Ninth-Order Masters knew of his existence, it must have been because of Yang Kai’s mention of him to them.
Mo Na Ye smiled and seemed very pleased, “Brother Yang and I have rarely crossed swords before, but I regard him as my greatest opponent, and it seems he doesn’t underestimate me either. It is my honour.”
He addressed them as ‘Seniors’ and Yang Kai as ‘Brother Yang’, making Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing feel uncomfortable. They hadn’t encountered someone from the Black Ink Clan who was so polite before. If it was not for his Black Ink Clan’s identity, he would seem like a Human who was well-versed in politics and double talk.
As expected, anyone who was mentioned by Yang Kai was not to be trifled with.
They had heard of Mo Na Ye before, but only in passing. On the other hand, Yang Kai mentioned that there was a talented figure in the Black Ink Clan named Mo Na Ye, but they hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time. It wasn’t until Mo Na Ye introduced himself that they suddenly remembered Yang Kai’s evaluation from years ago.
“Wait! You can’t be Mo Na Ye!” Wu Qing suddenly said coldly.
Mo Na Ye raised his eyebrows, “Senior Wu Qing, what do you mean? If I am not Mo Na Ye, who else could I be?”
“As far as I know, Mo Na Ye is an Innate Territory Lord. Although an Innate Territory Lord is much stronger than a normal Territory Lord, they have inherent limitations and can never become Royal Lords. You are a Royal Lord, so how could you be Mo Na Ye?” Wu Qing snorted.
Mo Na Ye chuckled, “Senior Wu Qing makes a good point. Innate Territory Lords do indeed have a hard time reaching the realm of Royal Lord, but there are always exceptions. The Human’s knowledge of the Black Ink Clan is not as comprehensive as you imagine. Besides, the two of you have been isolated here for thousands of years. How much information could you have gathered?”
Those words darkened Wu Qing’s expression. The fact that Innate Territory Lords could not become Royal Lords was common knowledge among the Human Race for many years; however, if this knowledge was incorrect, the situation would be dire since the Black Ink Clan had quite a few Innate Territory Lords.
Mo Na Ye continued with a proud expression, “I don’t need to impersonate anyone. I will always be myself. Of course, my identity is not important. What’s important is why I am here…”
“I see, the Universe Furnace!” Xiao Xiao suddenly interrupted before Mo Na Ye could finish his sentence.
Mo Na Ye choked on his words, and a flash of surprise and shock passed through his eyes. He had not expected Xiao Xiao to be so sharp, instantly seeing through the situation.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao stared into Mo Na Ye’s eyes after uttering the words ‘Universe Furnace.’ Although the hint of surprise in his eyes quickly disappeared, she still caught it.
“So that’s how it is! 300 years ago, there was a commotion in the Barren Territory. Did the Universe Furnace emerge?” Xiao Xiao asked.
Wu Qing also fell into deep thought.
Mo Na Ye smiled as he remained silent while feeling extremely annoyed deep down that the Humans were indeed not easy to deal with. He had originally wanted to use words to attack the two Ninth-Order Masters’ minds, hoping to shake their resolve; however, even the tiniest bit of information he had let leak to confuse them had been seen through and allowed them to grasp the true situation.
“It’s true that the Universe Furnace emerged!” Seeing Mo Na Ye’s reaction, Xiao Xiao knew that her guess was correct.
Although Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been isolated in Wind Mist Territory, they could sense some of the situations in the Barren Territory due to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s arm tearing a hole in the boundary wall between the two Great Territories. They might not notice small movements, but they could not miss the obvious signs of a massive Black Ink Clan’s army gathering.
At the time, the two of them thought that the Black Ink Clan’s army was preparing to launch an attack on the Humans. Although they were a little suspicious, they didn’t pay much attention as there was nothing they could do about it.
But now, it seemed that things were not as simple as they thought.
Upon careful recollection, there was indeed some abnormal commotion in the Barren Territory before the Black Ink Clan gathered their army.
Through the hole in the boundary wall, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing vaguely perceived some minor commotion, but they didn’t pay much attention to it at the time; however, decades later, a similar commotion came again from the Barren Territory, with traces of powerful Black Ink Clansmen appearing among them.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had never figured out what happened on the other side in the Barren Territory until Mo Na Ye suddenly appeared this time as a Royal Lord. It was then that Xiao Xiao connected the dots.
She stared at Mo Na Ye while explaining to Wu Qing, “In the Universe Furnace, there are Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills that are born from Heaven and Earth. These pills are not only useful to the Human Race though, but also to the Black Ink Clan!”
Wu Qing turned to her with a look of surprise in his eyes.
In terms of age and seniority, Wu Qing was much younger than Xiao Xiao, so there were many things that he did not know despite both of them being Ninth-Order Masters.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao knew about this because she had heard her senior Ninth-Order Masters talking about it previously.
Finally, Wu Qing realised, “So, he was able to become a Royal Lord because he got an opportunity in the Universe Furnace?”
Xiao Xiao nodded, “Otherwise, how could an Innate Territory Lord become a Royal Lord?”
The two seemingly unrelated events, an Innate Territory Lord becoming a Royal Lord and the commotion in the Barren Territory, combined to reveal the truth.
Wu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the information on the Human side should not be wrong. An Innate Territory Lord could not become a Royal Lord, but if he had an opportunity in the Universe Furnace, things could be explained.
“You’re quite lucky,” Xiao Xiao said while looking at Mo Na Ye with a sarcastic smile, “There should be many Ninth-Order Masters born in the Human Race too, right?”
Over the years, every time the Universe Furnace opened, the Human Race would gain benefits to varying degrees; therefore, after realising that the Universe Furnace had reappeared, Xiao Xiao was certain that there must have been Ninth-Order Masters born among the Human Race.
Upon hearing her words, Mo Na Ye’s smile disappeared, and he replied after a moment of silence, “A total of four Ninth-Order Masters rose inside the Universe Furnace!”
He spoke the truth, though he did not mention that the Human Race already had two Ninth-Order Masters before that, Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang.
“Yang Kai should be one of the four!” Xiao Xiao nodded lightly, speaking with a tone of certainty rather than asking a question.
Mo Na Ye’s brow twitched. The fact that the other party trusted Yang Kai so much showed that this Ninth-Order Master also had high hopes for him.
Well, the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment!
After collecting himself, Mo Na Ye laughed lightly, “Brother Yang… is truly a genius of the ages. I have always respected him. In the past, I have had many dealings with him.”
“It looks like you suffered quite a bit,” Xiao Xiao said, her smile widening.
Mo Na Ye ignored her taunting and continued, “Perhaps you don’t know, but Brother Yang ascended to the Ninth-Order not by relying on a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, but by cultivating an extremely marvellous Secret Technique. In the Universe Furnace, my Black Ink Clan had a strong army and was fully prepared, with ambushes and traps set up, waiting for him to fall into the pit. However, Brother Yang, being himself, was able to turn the tide even in such dire circumstances, breaking through on the spot and in very short order. Not only did he ruin my plans, but he also killed one of our new Royal Lords in the process. In that battle, my Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties. After that battle, the Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace was powerless to resist, so the survivors had to run and hide, not daring to show their faces. I felt tormented, knowing that my time was running out. Since Senior Xiao Xiao knows some secrets about the Universe Furnace, you should know that if people enter the Universe Furnace from the same entrance, they will return to the same place. And on that day, Brother Yang and I entered the Universe Furnace from the same entrance!”
He described the confrontation in the Universe Furnace from top to bottom, not hesitating to praise and show his admiration for Yang Kai, which made Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing frown while feeling that something was amiss.
Though they heard that Yang Kai had mastered a miraculous Secret Technique, which allowed him to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and had even killed a Royal Lord, there was no great joy in that news.
Sure enough, Mo Na Y’s tone changed, “When the Universe Furnace closed, I was prepared to fight Brother Yang to the death. If I died at his hands, it would not be unjust, but can two Seniors guess what happened later?”
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing remained silent.
Since Mo Na Ye did not die, it meant that Yang Kai had not been able to kill him at that time. There must have been some unexpected event, but there was no need to play along with Mo Na Ye’s intentionally tantalising remark.
After seeing the two Old Ancestors remain silent, Mo Na Ye continued, “When the Universe Furnace closed, I returned, but saw no signs of Brother Yang. I was fortunate enough to survive and restore myself after 100 years of cultivation. Of course, that’s not the point. The point is… there has been no news of Brother Yang till today!”
“On the day the Universe Furnace closed, I found it strange that I did not see Brother Yang. At that time, I did not pay too much attention because my Black Ink Clan did not know much about the Universe Furnace; however, after so many years, it is strange there’s still no signs of Brother Yang!”
Xiao Xiao’s expression darkened, “What are you trying to say?”
Mo Na Ye smiled and stared into Xiao Xiao’s eyes, “Brother Yang is probably trapped somewhere in the Universe Furnace and has no way to escape.”
“So?” Xiao Xiao stared back at him with cold eyes. It did not matter whether Mo Na Ye’s words were true; even if it was, why would it matter?
Mo Na Ye sighed softly, “Nothing, it’s just that someone like Brother Yang being trapped in the Universe Furnace is a pity. This is not something I can talk about on a regular day, but I’ve said more than I should in front of you two. Please forgive me.”
“You’re not just here to talk, are you?” Wu Qing spoke while looking around. Since he began speaking, there had been some movement in the surroundings; powerful auras were faintly visible, and it was clear that the Black Ink Clan was making some preparations.
He immediately understood that the day was here!
The Black Ink Clan was going to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God escape!
He and Xiao Xiao had always known that this day would come.
“Of course not,” Mo Na Ye’s expression became solemn, “The Human Race will be destroyed, only the Black Ink Clan will be eternal. I don’t have much time, so I only came here for one purpose!”
After a pause, he shouted loudly, “I ask Two Seniors to please die!”
As he spoke, Black Ink Strength surged around him as he charged fiercely towards Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing.
At the same time, more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords appeared from all directions, forming Battle Formations and using their own Secret Techniques to surround and attack them.
Not only that, but at the moment the Black Ink Clan began to attack, the towering arm that had remained motionless began to shake violently. Suddenly, the thick chains that locked the arm tightened and showed signs of being broken free.
“In your dreams!” Xiao Xiao shouted out, summoning a massive Yin-Yang Fish under her feet, enveloping all from the Black Ink Clansmen within it.
Wu Qing also summoned a giant halberd and charged towards Mo Na Ye.
In the next instant, the two figures collided, with Wu Qing’s attack becoming more and more ferocious, causing Mo Na Ye to be instantly knocked back.
In terms of raw strength, Wu Qing was far above Mo Na Ye; after all, he had ascended to the Ninth Order thousands of years ago and had not stopped improving his heritage during these years whereas Mo Na Ye had only recently broken through. He was naturally not Wu Qing’s opponent.
Mo Na Ye had already known this was the case but was not worried at all because his main goal was to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God break free as well as to use the opportunity to surround and kill these two Ninth-Order Masters. For this reason, he brought the Grand Formation that was usually used to deal with Yang Kai. His previous chat with Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing was just to delay time to set up the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array.
The entire section of the void had been completely isolated, leaving the two Ninth-Order Masters no chance of escape. In the end, they would be killed by him and the many Pseudo-Royal Lords working together!
After this battle, the Human Race would no longer be able to fight back. An unrestrained Black Ink Giant Spirit God would eventually lead the Black Ink Clan to eradicate the Human Race!
After repelling Mo Na Ye, Wu Qing did not chase after him but immediately retreated to Xiao Xiao’s side to join forces and fight the dozen or so Pseudo-Royal Lords.
To ensure that they could kill these two Ninth-Order Masters, Mo Na Ye not only came in person but also brought some 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords, 10 of whom were being used to maintain the Grand Formation on the periphery.
However, with a Royal Lord plus more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were already more than enough to defeat the two Ninth-Order Masters without any external help.
The huge Yin-Yang Fish pattern continued to rotate, with Yin and Yang intermingling and reversing within it. Dao Strength pervaded while Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing each stood on one side of the Yin-Yang Fish, making it difficult for the Pseudo-Royal Lords trapped inside to break through the protection even with their Battle Formation.
Mo Na Ye rushed over and warned through clenched teeth, “I told you, your time is up. Stop being so stubborn, Seniors!”
It was a big risk leading so many Pseudo-Royal Lords here. Removing so many top Masters from the front lines could not be hidden, so there was a chance the four other Ninth-Order Masters would join forces again and attack the No-Return Pass once the Black Ink Clan’s intentions were revealed. If that happened, with the forces available, Mo Yu and the other defenders wouldn’t be able to fight back.
Therefore, before executing this plan, Mo Na Ye commanded the armies of the Black Ink Clan to launch a massive attack against the Humans to serve as a distraction to tie down Xiang Shan and the others.
At the moment, Xiang Shan and the others could not spare much attention to other matters, so the risks were minimized; otherwise, Mo Na Ye wouldn’t have made such a bold move.
But once this matter succeeded, the benefits would be significant. Not only would it allow the Black Ink Giant Spirit God to break free, but it would also eliminate two Ninth-Order Masters, completely turning the tables for the Black Ink Clan.
Divine Sense surged and under the transmission of orders, six Pseudo-Royal Lords formed two Three Fortunes Formation and attacked.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing grew increasingly pressured!
They had never fought against Pseudo-Royal Lords, only hearing about them from Yang Kai previously. But at that time, there were only one or two Pseudo-Royal Lords among the Black Ink Clan, so the sudden appearance of 20 of them was truly surprising.
Each of these Pseudo-Royal Lords were comparable to a Royal Lord in terms of aura, but they were unable to fully control their full strength. However, facing so many enemies with such a small number of their own, the two Masters would not be able to hold on for too long.
What was even more frustrating was that though they still used a large part of their strength to reinforce the chains, the restraints that had bound the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s arm for thousands of years were rapidly breaking!
In Wind Mist Territory, Mo Na Ye led the many well-prepared Pseudo-Royal Lords while the Black Ink Giant Spirit God made its move. Despite Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s efforts, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. Though they were not yet in dire straits, they could no longer restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in such a situation.
Once the Black Ink Giant Spirit God broke free, the two Ninth-Order Masters who had held out for thousands of years would have their efforts undone, and the other Human Race Masters would have no chance against such a being.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God played a vital role in the Black Ink Clan’s invasion of the 3,000 Worlds previously; had it not been awakened from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and charged into the Barren Territory, forcibly opening a passage connecting to the Wind Mist Territory, the Human Race Armies would have had the ability to hold off the Black Ink Clan in the Barren Territory.
However, the breach nullified all of the Humans’ efforts, leading to a grand final battle where many Ninth-Order Masters sacrificed themselves to preserve hope for the future. This was followed by the mass migration of people in the 3,000 Worlds.
It could be said that the existence of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God established the current state of affairs, with the Black Ink Clan occupying the 3,000 Worlds and Human Race defending only a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields.
If the Black Ink Giant Spirit God were to break free now, it would bring disastrous consequences to the Human Race.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been stationed in Wind Mist Territory precisely to prevent such a thing from happening. Previously, the Black Ink Clan did not come to bother them because they could not do so as there weren’t a lot of top Masters on the Black Ink Clan’s side either. In addition, under the premise that the only Royal Lord was unable to come forward, Innate Territory Lords were unable to cause any commotion against two veteran Ninth-Order Masters.
Besides, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was heavily injured in that great battle thousands of years ago and needed time to restore itself.
Now that the Black Ink Clan had Masters emerging one after another, and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s injuries had been mostly restored, the time had finally come!
World Force surged and Black Ink Strength roiled as they clashed, causing the void to shatter.
Along with that, some chains that bound the gigantic arm had also broken.
The huge Yin-Yang Fish rotated continuously, and Dao Strength permeated. While struggling to withstand the joint attack of the many Pseudo-Royal Lords, the two Ninth-Order Masters attempted to continue restraining the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
However, their strength was limited. How could they hold on in such a situation?
Wu Qing roared, and Xiao Xiao yelled. The two had an overwhelming presence, and they would never compromise even when facing adversity, just like the many Human Old Ancestors who had sacrificed themselves for the greater good in the Barren Territory years ago.
Mo Na Ye only laughed, “The situation is as such, why bother struggling? I have always admired the strength of the Human Race, but my arrival today is just to give you both a dignified death!”
Meanwhile, in the Barren Territory, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared in anger, “You think you can restrain this Supreme One? Break!”
As the roar echoed, the arm of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God suddenly expanded, unleashing a violent surge of power. The chains that had been struggling to hold on could no longer bear the immense pressure and shattered into twinkling fragments of light, scattering in all directions.
With the Secret Technique broken, Wu Qing and Xiao Xiao both grunted, clearly suffering from some backlash.
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye stood outside the battle ring, enjoying the despair in the eyes of these two Ninth-Order Masters.
For years, the Black Ink Clan had not gained many advantages in their battles against the Human Race, but after this victory, those Humans who continued to resist would finally understand who the true masters of the Universe were!
*Hong long long…*
With a resounding boom, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God finally broke free after being restrained for thousands of years.
To the Human Race, this was surely a great calamity.
The despair in the eyes of Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing grew even more intense as Mo Na Ye coldly said, “Don’t even think about escaping. This space has already been sealed off, and with your strength alone, you won’t be able to get away.”
He had even brought the Grand Array that could be used to deal with Yang Kai, fearing that these two Ninth-Order Masters would try to escape.
It was difficult to find an opportunity to ambush two Ninth-Order Masters at once, and if they managed to escape, it would be a huge problem for the Black Ink Clan.
After Mo Na Ye finished speaking, Wu Qing charged at him with his halberd, intending to execute the leader of the enemies to intimidate his troops. However, as soon as he moved, he was stopped by a Three Fortunes Formations and became trapped in a bitter battle, unable to escape.
Seeing this, Mo Na Ye smirked in mockery.
[The trap has already been sprung, now it is up to you both to decide what to do next!] He thought to himself, hoping that they wouldn’t disappoint him.
At that moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly shouted, “Let’s go!”
The Yin-Yang Fish suddenly became turbulent and many Pseudo-Royal Lords were violently pushed back by the overwhelming force. Xiao Xiao then charged straight up, followed closely behind by Wu Qing with his halberd.
The direction they were heading was the same as the spot where the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had retreated, a crack leading to the Barren Territory!
“Hah!” Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but snort, his expression showing no surprise as if he had expected this all along.
In fact, he had already anticipated how the two Ninth-Order Masters would respond to the situation.
This strength of void was completely sealed off, and with so many Pseudo-Royal Lords surrounding them and Mo Na Ye himself presiding over the situation, the two Ninth-Order Masters simply did not have the strength to fight back. Continuing to engage in battle would only result in their inevitable defeat and demise.
However, Mo Na Ye was not willing to take on too much risk or suffer heavy losses. He was confident that he could kill the two Ninth-Order Masters here, but he didn’t know how much it would cost him. If the two of them abandoned all hope of survival and fought to achieve mutual destruction, the Pseudo-Royal Lords would surely suffer heavy casualties. Even he might not escape intact.
With such concerns in mind, he couldn’t force them too hard or else it would be too risky.
As someone who had been in charge of the Black Ink Clan’s military affairs for so many years, Mo Na Ye knew that sometimes giving the enemy hope was the best way to corner them and reduce one’s own losses.
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been freed, and the arm that had been chained for thousands of years had been retrieved, the opening in the boundary wall connecting the Barren Territory and Wind Mist Territory had long stabilized and did not disappear.
In this dire situation, the two Ninth-Order Masters only had one way out, to charge into the Barren Territory!
[Everything is going according to plan…]
In the Barren Territory, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been fully freed. If the two Human Masters rashly charged in, there would surely be no good outcome. By that time, Mo Na Ye would lead his Pseudo-Royal Lords to pincer them with the assistance of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God; a way simpler way to take them down rather than fighting to their death here in the Wind Mist Territory.
The two Ninth-Order Masters knew what they were about to face, but under the current circumstances, they did not have another choice.
Staying here meant certain death as they would be worn down and killed sooner or later. So, charging into the Barren Territory was their only chance to snatch life from the gates of death.
The arm of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had already been retrieved, and Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had also charged into the passage and disappeared. The many Pseudo-Royal Lords followed closely behind, ready to charge in, but were suddenly stopped by Mo Na Ye, “Wait!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords immediately paused their movements.
Mo Na Ye remained calm, silently waiting and feeling the intense fluctuations of battle coming from the other end of the passage that was occasionally mixed with the muffled groans of Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing. It was clear that they had suffered losses at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s hands.
Mo Na Ye sneered in his heart, [So what if you’re a Ninth-Order Master? You’re nothing in the face of our Black Ink Giant Spirit God.]
Previously when the Black Ink Giant Spirit God appeared on the battlefield, the Human Race had needed to mobilize at least 10 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to simply contain it.
But currently, with only the two of them, how could Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing be opponents of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God?
“Charge!” Mo Na Ye commanded his subordinates soon after. The reason the Pseudo-Royal Lords and the others had to wait was to prevent the two Ninth-Order Masters from ambushing them on the other side of the passage. If they did, it would be a surprise attack that could deal them serious damage.
Now that they had confirmed that the two had fully charged into the Barren Territory, they didn’t need to wait any longer. Besides, Mo Na Ye was also worried that if they followed too late, the two Humans might have a chance to escape. Although the Barren Territory had some defences in place, there were not enough Masters to provide comprehensive coverage. Furthermore, though the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was powerful, it might not be able to stop the two Ninth-Order Masters if they were determined to escape.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords rushed into the passageway, with Mo Na Ye following behind. Soon after, the many Black Ink Clansmen entered the Barren Territory.
Looking up, Mo Na Ye saw the imposing Black Ink Giant Spirit God standing in place as its two massive hands reached out to grab at the two Ninth-Order Masters who were frantically flying around, trying to avoid its grasp.
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God occasionally threw a punch that didn’t land, the shockwaves alone were enough to shatter the void and send the Ninth-Order Masters tumbling.
Watching this scene quietly, Mo Na Ye ordered, “Set up the Array and kill them both!”
The two Ninth-Order Masters were at a dead end. With the Black Ink Giant Spirit God here, along with a Royal Lord and many Pseudo-Royal Lords working together, there was no way they could survive.
It was time to reap the rewards of their victory.
Suddenly, Mo Na Ye felt a bit disheartened, [If the one we were targeting was Yang Kai, what would he do to break out of this situation?]
He couldn’t think of any effective methods to break through such a defence, except to avoid entering the Barren Territory altogether and to simply fight in the Wind Mist Territory until one side gave in, but that would likely result in losses for his side.
It was a shame that the killing star was now certainly trapped in the Universe Furnace. He might have already perished inside, or he might have to wait until the next time the Universe Furnace opened to escape; however, who knew how many years it would take for the next opening? By then, the entire Universe would belong to the Black Ink Clan.
As Mo Na Ye was lost in thought, his expression suddenly changed as he looked towards Xiao Xiao, who was flying about frantically.
Xiao Xiao had suddenly looked towards him too, and when they locked eyes, Xiao Xiao shouted, “Mo Na Ye, Yang Kai left something for the Black Ink Clan as a gift, please accept it!”
With that, she tossed a round bead towards him. There was no fluctuation of power, and it didn’t seem to be an artifact; in fact, it looked like a simple pebble that could be found anywhere in any Universe World.
But when Xiao Xiao threw out that bead, Mo Na Ye felt a sense of imminent crisis and a chill shot up his spine from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.
The assault of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was simple yet violent, making it difficult for even two Ninth-Order Masters to contend with. It was as the saying went, ‘One great force surpasses 10 Masters.’
Amidst the chaos, Xiao Xiao threw an object towards the Pseudo-Royal Lords and Royal Lord.
In that instant, Mo Na Ye felt a sense of danger as he heard the name ‘Yang Kai’ ringing in his ears.
Over the years, he had engaged in many battles with Yang Kai but never gained an advantage. In fact, even when he had the upper hand in their last two encounters and was on the verge of killing him, Yang Kai always managed to turn the tables on him.
In the previous encounter, the Black Ink Clan lost many Innate Territory Lords to Yang Kai, and in their last battle, a true Royal Lord and several Pseudo-Royal Lords had fallen at his hands!
It could be said that Yang Kai had long since become Mo Na Ye’s heart demon.
When Mo Na Ye learned that Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace and had no chance of escaping, he felt pity but also joy as he would no longer have to face that killing star; however, he never expected to face a hidden hand left behind by Yang Kai at this critical moment. He didn’t know what the bead thrown by Xiao Xiao was, but anything related to Yang Kai couldn’t be taken lightly.
The little round bead thrown by Xiao Xiao came at an extremely high speed, almost hitting them before Xiao Xiao finished speaking, but was immediately punched furiously by a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
“Don’t!” Mo Na Ye roared, but it was too late.
Under the violent impact, the bead momentarily froze before quickly breaking through the force impacting it and came flying towards them again.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord who had attacked felt something unusual about the bead the moment his Black Ink Strength made contact. Though others might not have been able to perceive its mystery, he could feel that Xiao Xiao’s bead was unexpectedly heavy, and when combined with the mysterious power from a Ninth-Order Master, he was unable to block it with his punch.
The next instant, the round bead closed in, and although the Pseudo-Royal Lord heard Mo Na Ye, he was too focused on the sense of danger that suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed him. He did not care anymore, so he punched out again with all his strength.
With a loud bang, the void shook and the Pseudo-Royal Lord grunted as he was sent flying.
At the same time, the bead finally shattered. It was not some sturdy artifact, so it couldn’t withstand the full force of a Pseudo-Royal Lord’s attack.
At the moment when the bead shattered, Space Principles surged wildly. From the remnants of the shattered bead, large Universe Fragments appeared and shot in all directions, causing chaos among the Black Ink Clan.
“An entire Universe World!?” Mo Na Ye exclaimed in a low voice, his eyes full of shock.
Only now did he realise that the bead was not some simple stone, but rather a Universe World refined into an unremarkable appearance through some profound means.
Combined with Xiao Xiao’s words earlier, Mo Na Ye immediately thought of Yang Kai. In this world, who else could achieve such a fantastic feat but Yang Kai?
Moreover, many years ago, he had heard rumours that a Human had refined and saved many Universe Worlds before the Black Ink Clan’s Army arrived. Many of the Universe Worlds, which had been lingering in the void for countless years, had disappeared abruptly.
Some Black Ink Disciples also revealed related information that Yang Kai had the means to refine Universe Worlds into tiny beads, apparently called Sealed World Beads or World Beads.
Putting all the pieces of information together, Mo Na Ye immediately understood that this was a World Bead that Yang Kai had refined.
Although the Pseudo-Royal Lord was powerful and could easily shatter a World Bead with his strength, he had suffered some injuries, mainly because he had not expected such a small thing to have such tremendous weight behind it.
But what could a trivial World Bead do to the Black Ink Clan? Was this the ‘gift’ that Yang Kai had left? If so, that was too disappointing.
Mo Na Ye remained tense because he knew that things could not be that simple. While resisting the impact of those shattered Universe Fragments, he calmly observed his surroundings.
The next moment, Mo Na Ye caught a glimpse of something horrifying, causing his expression to change dramatically.
In his field of vision, a huge Universe Fragment that covered the sky suddenly exuded an extremely terrifying aura. As the aura emerged, a figure slowly rose up in the void. The figure was majestic and towering, with a bald head that shone like the Sun; despite its ferocious appearance, there was a strange simplicity in its expression.
It seemed to have just woken up from a deep sleep, and its bleary eyes were still mixed with a hint of confusion and sleepiness. It also had a somewhat displeased expression, just like anyone who was forcibly awakened from their sleep would feel.
Mo Na Ye’s soul trembled as he exclaimed, “A Giant Spirit God!”
[How could there be a Giant Spirit God? How could there be a Giant Spirit God inside!?]
He immediately realised that a Giant Spirit God had been sealed within Xiao Xiao’s World Bead, and he finally understood that the World Bead was not the gift from Yang Kai to the Black Ink Clan, but rather this Giant Spirit God was!
Although the Giant Spirit God seemed to have just awakened from a deep sleep, no one dared to underestimate its power.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were created based on this unique race. Mo had to split parts of his Soul to create them. Thus, each Black Ink Giant Spirit God could be seen as a Soul Clone of Mo.
In the whole Universe, there was no Race more powerful than the Giant Spirit God Clan and only Supreme Masters like Mo could surpass them.
The Black Ink Clan had always considered the restrained Black Ink Giant Spirit God their strongest hidden hand. They had ignored it for many years not because they had forgotten about it, but because they were waiting for the right opportunity to release it.
Now that the opportunity had come, Mo Na Ye led many Pseudo-Royal Lords to besiege the two Ninth-Order Masters in Wind Mist Territory, taking the chance to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God break free. After they succeeded, the Black Ink Clan would have the power and strength to eradicate the Human Race.
This Black Ink Giant Spirit God was their greatest trump card, and the Human Race would ultimately find it impossible to contend with.
But never had they imagined that Yang Kai had a way to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s long-preserved hidden hand.
Worse, he clearly discovered this card long ago!
Mo Na Ye did not know when Yang Kai had given the World Bead to Xiao Xiao, but it was definitely not recently. Perhaps 1,000 years ago, or maybe 2,000 years ago, or even earlier!
[Did Yang Kai predict this day even back then?]
Mo Na Ye quickly dismissed this idea. Although Yang Kai was powerful and agile, it was impossible for him to know everything beforehand. He must have given the World Bead containing the sealed Giant Spirit God to Xiao Xiao just to guard against the day the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would escape.
He knew the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would surely break free one day, and in this Universe, only a true Giant Spirit God could stand against it!
Though there was clearly some forethought put into this, the events of today were more coincidence than careful planning.
Realising this, Mo Na Ye was filled with bitterness. He thought that Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace and he would never have to deal with this powerful enemy again, but who would have thought that he had still fallen into Yang Kai’s trap even though Yang Kai was not even here anymore?
This killing star was indeed his lifelong enemy!
With his thoughts in chaos, Mo Na Ye heard Xiao Xiao’s explosive shout, “Ah Da, kill the enemy!”
She had learned the name of the Giant Spirit God from Yang Kai himself. In the world today, there were only two known Giant Spirit Gods left, Ah Da and Ah Er. Their names were simple and they were easy to tell apart. Ah Da was bald, while Ah Er had a tuft of baby hair on his head.
Back when the Black Ink Clan Army breached the No-Return Pass, the Human Race was promptly assisted by Ah Er, who was wandering around the 3,000 Worlds. Somehow, Ah Er seemed to know what was happening and stormed into the Barren Territory to face off against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. After the Human Army suffered a crushing defeat, they withdrew, but Ah Er stayed behind.
For thousands of years, he had been locked in battle with another Black Ink Giant Spirit God, a battle so intense that it literally shattered space wherever they went.
Today, the Barren Territory was home to the Giant Spirit God and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
In truth, the Human Race wanted to locate Ah Da earlier, but unfortunately, they had never been able to determine his whereabouts and the matter was eventually left unresolved.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai went out searching for traces of the First Primordial Light that he found Ah Da, sleeping in one of the dead Universe Worlds.
Ah Da must have been eating well as he was sleeping so soundly that he was totally unaware of what was going on in the outside world.
That time, Yang Kai had traversed almost the entire 3,000 worlds, personally investigating each Universe World. However, instead of immediately awakening Ah Da after finding him, he first refined the entire Universe World to leave as a hidden hand. Then, when he went to visit Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, he quietly handed the World Bead over to Xiao Xiao to keep until the day they needed Ah Da’s power to counter the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
As Mo Na Ye predicted, Yang Kai knew that the day would come when the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would break free, and the Black Ink Clan undoubtedly used it as a trump card. When that day came, Xiao Xiao could summon the World Bead and awaken Ah Da.
No matter what the Black Ink Clan was planning, Ah Da’s appearance would surely catch them off guard.
It was just that Yang Kai would never expect that the sleepy Ah Da would react slowly even after being forcibly awakened.
Though, to be fair, this guy had always been a simpleton…
It was only after Xiao Xiao shouted that Ah Da gradually focused his sleepy eyes, rubbed his bald head, turned his neck slowly, and looked around.
Upon seeing the black figures around him, his already unpleasant mood became much worse.
“Black Ink Clan!” Ah Da exclaimed, his voice like thunder, shaking the void all around him. With an irritated look, he shouted, “Little friend told Ah Da to kill all from the Black Ink Clan!”
The ‘little friend’ he was referring to was undoubtedly Yang Kai. While he was sleeping in the World Bead, he repeatedly heard Yang Kai’s voice echoing in his ears, telling him to kill all from the Black Ink Clan after he woke up.
Despite being annoyed, Ah Da remembered those words.
After waking up from his thousands of years of sleep, Ah Da finally saw them and began slowly striding towards the largest cluster of Black Ink Clansmen.
[Little friend said to kill, so Ah should kill!]
Even if Yang Kai had not encouraged Ah Da, there was already an irreconcilable enmity between the Giant Spirit God Clan and the Black Ink Clan, so Ah Da would have killed them regardless!
The Giant Spirit God Clan had very few clansmen, but each one was incredibly powerful. They were practically the strongest beings in the Universe, with even the Divine Spirits like the Dragons and Phoenixes not being their match.
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit God Clan had a gentle, almost child-like nature and never actively sought out trouble. Otherwise, if they were as destructive as the Black Ink Clan, the 3,000 Worlds would have been destroyed by them long ago.
This Race fed on dead Universe Worlds and had the unique ability to sense the location of dying Universe Worlds from afar.
Yang Kai and Ah Da first met during the Star Boundary’s crisis.
During the great battle with Great Demon God Mo Sheng, the Star Boundary was brought to the brink of collapse. Ah Da arrived and slept outside the Star Boundary, waiting for an opportunity to eat it. It was from Ah Da that Yang Kai learned how to save the Star Boundary. Later, Yang Kai broke free from the shackles of the Star Boundary and went to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the 3,000 Worlds to obtain a root of the World Tree, which he then planted in the Star Boundary to bring it back to life.
Ah Da then disappeared without a trace, but it was thanks to his guidance that the Star Boundary was saved. Without Ah Da telling him to search for the World Tree, Yang Kai would not have been able to save the dying Star Boundary.
Years later, Yang Kai discovered traces of a Giant Spirit God in the void, thinking it was Ah Da, but it turned out to be another Giant Spirit God named Ah Er. Under Ah Er’s guidance, he entered the Chaotic Dead Territory and met Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan…
Because Giant Spirit Gods fed on dead Universe Worlds, they had an irreconcilable enmity with the Black Ink Clan since ancient times. If the dead Universe Worlds were like pieces of meat for the Giant Spirit Gods, then the Universe Worlds corrupted by Black Ink Strength were like disgusting rotten flesh. The Giant Spirit Gods would never feed on such filth.
The existence of the Black Ink Clan was naturally in opposition to the Giant Spirit Gods. It was because of this that Ah Er rushed over to assist the Humans in the Barren Territory to fight against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Otherwise, with the Giant Spirit God’s gentle character, how would they easily start a fight with another creature?
In the Late Ancient Era, during the great war between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, the Giant Spirit Gods were also active. Both Ah Da and Ah Er had even participated in the war against the Black Ink Clan back then.
At that time, there were more than these two Giant Spirit Gods, but after the endless fighting that lasted for countless years, the already small number of Giant Spirit God Clan members was reduced to two.
Many years later, Ah Da woke up from his slumber and saw the only Race that the Giant Spirit God deeply hated, which caused his terrifying aura to sweep across half the Barren Territory. He took big steps forward, and although his movements were clumsy, he was extremely fast. He reached out his gigantic hand and grabbed at the gathering place of the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The hand was so big that it seemed to cover the entire sky, and the Pseudo-Royal Lords were all shocked as they quickly tried to flee in all directions. However, there was an extremely mysterious force surging in the area covered by the giant hand that stirred the void, leaving many Pseudo-Royal Lords staggering despite Ah Da missing the target.
Without giving them a moment to catch their breath, another gigantic hand slapped down. The next moment, a miserable cry resounded as a Pseudo-Royal Lord who could not dodge in time was instantly smashed into paste, exploding into a blood mist from which thick Black Ink Strength dissipated.
The survivors were terrified at the sight as even a true Royal Lord like Mo Na Ye had to flee desperately under the wild attacks of the Giant Spirit God. Such power was simply impossible for any Royal Lord to resist, and he finally understood the pressure that the two Ninth-Order Masters faced when confronting the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
“Ahh!” Ah Da shouted as he slapped his hands down one after another, causing chaos throughout the entire Barren Territory.
Many Pseudo-Royal Lords were unable to avoid being hit either directly or by the shockwaves of these attacks. As strong as the Pseudo-Royal Lords were, they could not withstand the might of a Giant Spirit God. Within moments, three Pseudo-Royal Lords died, and several more were injured to the extent that they were coughing up blood non-stop.
Mo Na Ye was also grazed by the giant palm and his vitality fluctuated wildly as his heart filled with fear. Even in this situation though, he continued to give orders, commanding the rest to form Battle Formations and kill the enemy.
However, even after the Pseudo-Royal Lords formed Battle Formations, they were no match for the Giant Spirit God. Often, before they had a chance to fight back, the Battle Formation was broken and they were left dazed from the crude yet overwhelming power used against them.
Mo Na Ye felt a chill all over his body as he commanded the battle as he cursed Yang Kai in his heart, [How malicious can he be to have this hidden hand and not show it after all this time!]
Over the years, nothing related to Yang Kai was ever a good thing.
Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but think back to the great battle between the Ninth-Order Masters and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. The Ninth-Order Masters were not necessarily stronger than the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but with the cooperation of a dozen of them, they were still somewhat able to hold it back. Just how much courage and determination did that take?
At this moment, if there were more Royal Lords cooperating with him, Mo Na Ye would have had the confidence to contain this Giant Spirit God, but there were only two. Besides, Mo Yu was currently stationed at the No-Return Pass, unable to come to the rescue, so what could Mo Na Ye accomplish alone? Although there were enough Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were ultimately not true Royal Lords so Mo Na Ye did not expect much from them.
Originally, victory seemed certain for the Black Ink Clan after forcing Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing into the Barren Territory; however, they had turned the tables by using their previously displayed despair to trick their opponents into letting their guard down.
The situation became awkward as the Black Ink Giant Spirit God struggled to quickly kill the two Ninth-Order Masters, while Pseudo-Royal Lords were being decimated. If this continued, their situation would only become worse and there would be more casualties.
Mo Na Ye had no choice but to shout loudly, “Supreme One!”
He could only beg the Black Ink Giant Spirit God for assistance. However, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God ignored him even after hearing this cry, treating the two Ninth-Order Masters like annoying insects buzzing around him. It frustrated the Black Ink Giant Spirit God who sought to crush them.
In truth, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were in a precarious state. Though the Pseudo-Royal Lords were struggling to withstand the aftermath of the Giant Spirit God’s attacks, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing also couldn’t hold out for long despite being stronger.
However, the two of them had no intention of fleeing. They gritted their teeth and continued to fight back against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, provoking its anger and preventing it from helping the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
After a while, another Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura was extinguished. He had failed to avoid a fierce attack from Ah Da and was instantly obliterated. As a result, four Pseudo-Royal Lords from the Black Ink Clan had fallen, while all the others were now heavily injured.
Both the Giant Spirit God and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God were enormous and seemingly clumsy in their movements, but every single blow they unleashed contained tremendous power that could destroy the Heavens and Earth. It was impossible to completely avoid such attacks.
Perhaps after killing some enemies, Ah Da’s sleep-addled head became clearer. At a certain moment, after sweeping his palm around, he stopped in his tracks and stared in one direction, “Big guy!”
He finally saw the Black Ink Giant Spirit God!
Enraged, his eyes immediately erupted with boundless fury towards that entity that looked almost identical in appearance and size but was completely different in nature. He seemed to have a great deal of hatred towards this being.
In an instant, he abandoned the numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords and Mo Na Ye, instead taking large strides towards the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
The many Pseudo-Royal Lords, who had been teetering on the edge of life and death, breathed a collective sigh of relief…
In that direction, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God naturally sensed the approaching foe and with a broad wave of his arm sent Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing flying before quickly turning around and striding towards Ah Da.
The two colossal creatures charged each other, their identical size and aura making them seem like a mirror reflection in the void, except that one of them was surrounded by Black Ink Strength.
This was a battle between the most powerful beings in the Universe, one in which no one could interfere.
On the other side, many Pseudo-Royal Lords wore expressions of relief, glad to have survived that encounter.
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit God discovered the Black Ink Clan Giant Spirit God’s presence; otherwise, none of them knew how many more of them would have died.
Mo Na Ye felt extremely bitter. In the end, it wasn’t their own strongest Master who saved them, but the enemy who drew the Supreme One’s attention.
In the blink of an eye, the two colossal creatures closed in on each other, seeming to have a telepathic connection as they both threw punches at the same time.
When their fists collided, space shattered.
The silent collision created visible shockwaves that spread out in all directions from the point of impact.
The fallout was so intense and far-reaching that they swept up the injured Pseudo-Royal Lords, causing them to tumble and flip over. Even Mo Na Ye had a hard time standing his ground.
This was not the first time this level of battle was fought in the Barren Territory.
Back then, Ah Er and another Black Ink Giant Spirit God fought for nearly 1,000 years, with each clash being incredibly terrifying, causing chaos all around them.
It wasn’t until they grappled each other’s limbs, making it impossible for either to move easily, that the 1,000-year-long battle reached a stalemate.
Even now, these two Giant Spirit Gods were entangled with each other somewhere in the Barren Territory’s void, and no one knew how long this fight would last.
After another violent collision, Mo Na Ye felt like he could barely stand still as he was too close to the battlefield of these two Supreme Masters, so the aftermath he suffered was naturally more intense.
Suddenly thinking of something, he became alert and muttered, “Where are Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing?”
Before this, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were entangled with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but now that the Giant Spirit God had his eyes on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were nowhere to be found…
“Watch out for sneak attacks!” Mo Na Ye hastily shouted, but just as he finished his sentence, a desperate scream came from nearby. He turned his head to see a fleeting figure; it was a Pseudo-Royal Lord falling into a rapidly rotating Yin-Yang Fish, unable to escape as the Yin-Yang Power ground him up.
In just a short moment, the Pseudo-Royal Lord trapped in the Yin-Yang Fish lost all vitality and died on the spot.
As the attention of the Black Ink Clan’s many Masters was drawn over, Wu Qing’s figure appeared like a ghost on the other side of the battlefield. With World Force surging, he aimed his halberd at a chosen target.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord he selected had an unstable aura and was clearly injured. Having barely escaped from the attack of the Giant Spirit God, this Pseudo-Royal Lord didn’t even sense this silent ambush.
It wasn’t until the danger was upon him that he noticed, but it was already too late.
Unable to mount a proper defence, he presented an opportunity that Wu Qing seized, and with a single strike, the halberd split him in half.
Black blood gushed out, and Black Ink Strength dissipated.
The two Ninth-Order Masters who just escaped were like tigers in a flock of sheep, seeking out targets to slaughter. The powers of Yin and Yang surged, and the long halberd swept out endless sharp edges.
Mo Na Ye was furious as he had brought a considerable number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but he had already lost six, with four killed by the Giant Spirit God earlier while two more were brought down by Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing in such a short time.
These Pseudo-Royal Lords were the backbone of the Black Ink Clan’s forces against the Humans, and though they had not suffered significant losses on the real battlefield, significant casualties had been taken here, causing Mo Na Ye great distress.
This operation was supposed to be foolproof. If they had succeeded, not only would they have killed two Ninth-Order Masters, but they would also have assisted the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in breaking free from its bindings, killing two birds with one stone.
Unfortunately, this seemingly perfect plan had been blown apart after Yang Kai’s hidden hand was revealed.
Mo Na Ye roared in anger and charged towards Wu Qing.
After the initial panic, the Pseudo-Royal Lords hastily formed Battle Formations against the two Ninth-Order Masters and barely managed to hold their ground.
Upon noticing Mo Na Ye’s movements, Wu Qing immediately flew towards Xiao Xiao’s position, ignoring Mo Na Ye’s attack from behind. With a fierce blow, he pierced through another Pseudo-Royal Lord who was suppressed by Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao understood Wu Qing’s intention and fully cooperated. Grand Dao Strength surged, suppressing the Pseudo-Royal Lord and rendering him immobile.
With two Ninth-Order Masters joining forces, the lone Pseudo-Royal Lord was no match at all. In a state of extreme shock, he could only watch as Wu Qing pierced him with a single strike.
At the same time, Wu Qing’s figure shook as he spurted fresh blood. It was a result of Mo Na Ye’s attack.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords, who had just regained their footing, gathered together in their Battle Formations from all directions while Mo Na Ye also charged over with haste.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao grabbed Wu Qing’s shoulder as the Yin-Yang Fish rolled back, wrapping around them while they withstood the relentless attacks of their enemies as they carved a bloody path out.
Powerful Secret Techniques bombarded them, but they were all dissolved by the Yin-Yang Fish. The shield Xiao Xiao was manipulating trembled, costing her a great deal of energy to maintain.
After a moment, the chaotic battle suddenly calmed down as the two sides stood across from each other in the void, facing off from afar. In the eerie and quiet stalemate, only the fierce residual waves of the two Giant Spirit Gods battling each other in the distance could be felt.
Xiao Xiao’s chest heaved, and Wu Qing’s face was pale with a hint of fresh blood at the corner of his mouth. On the opposite side, Mo Na Ye and the Pseudo-Royal Lords looked at them coldly with eyes full of resentment and anger.
However, even with all the rage they felt, it was useless in this situation.
Their plan had completely failed!
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had managed to escape, the Humans gained another Giant Spirit God to assist them. These two were now mutually restraining each other, making the Black Ink Clan’s plan to use the Black Ink Giant Spirit God to sweep away the Human Race completely useless.
In addition, the two Ninth-Order Masters were also not dead and could escape at any time because their location was right at the entrance to the Wind Mist Territory passage.
In the end, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was still contained, while the two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were now free!
Mo Na Ye clenched his fists tightly as his heart bled.
Originally, in terms of Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters, the Black Ink Clan was inferior to the Human Race. The Black Ink Clan only had two Royal Lords left, while the Humans had four available in the 3,000 Worlds.
The advantage that the Black Ink Clan could occupy was mainly due to the many Pseudo-Royal Lords on their side.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been trapped in Wind Mist Territory for so many years, so though they could restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, they were of no use on the battlefield.
But now, they were freed…
On the main battlefield, there would be two more Human Armies led by veteran Ninth-Order Masters. This was a disaster for the Black Ink Clan.
And the reason for this outcome was a hidden hand left behind by Yang Kai millennia ago!
Mo Na Ye could not understand why Yang Kai had kept such a hidden hand until now instead of using it earlier.
Regardless, the Black Ink Clan had lost this battle. They thought that Yang Kai, who was trapped in the Universe Furnace, would no longer cause them any trouble, and that they could completely rid themselves of this heart demon. But who would have thought that they were still shrouded in his shadow…
“Mo Na Ye,” before reaching the entrance to the passage, Xiao Xiao smiled coldly and said, “When I see you on the battlefield, I’ll be sure to take your head!”
Standing beside her, Wu Qing gestured threateningly with a fierce look on his face.
Then, the two turned around simultaneously and leapt towards the passage that was connected to Wind Mist Territory, disappearing in an instant.
Mo Na Ye simply watched without trying to stop them.
In fact, he couldn’t stop them. The two had already planned their escape. Even if Mo Na Ye had set up an ambush on the other side of the passage in advance, that might not be enough to contain them.
In the previous situation, he believed that victory was already assured and thus there was no need to waste troops by setting up ambushes. But after Xiao Xiao summoned the World Bead that sealed the Giant Spirit God, chaos ensued. Under the frenzied attack of the Giant Spirit God, he had no choice but to react in the moment.
Now, pursuing the enemy was meaningless as they could potentially be ambushed by them.
It was a complete and utter defeat, with heavy casualties.
Seven Pseudo-Royal Lords died while all the others were injured. Mo Na Ye didn’t know how to explain this to Mo Yu when he returned.
Throughout the years, Mo Yu had trusted him a lot; otherwise, he would not have granted him so much control. But looking back on the various plans he had presided over through the years, it seemed that none had progressed as he had envisioned…
In a previous action against Yang Kai before the appearance of the Universe Furnace, many Innate Territory Lords died. But, due to the sudden appearance of the Universe Furnace, Mo Na Ye had ultimately failed and allowed Yang Kai to escape. During the battle between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan inside the Universe Furnace, the Black Ink Clan suffered the loss of a new Royal Lord and several Pseudo-Royal Lords. If Mo Na Ye hadn’t quickly escaped in the end, he might have also been killed.
Initially, he thought he had successfully prevented Xiang Shan from advancing to the Ninth-Order, which was a small consolation, but in the end, Xiang Shan still succeeded. This time, the plan that was thought to be foolproof resulted in the loss of seven Pseudo-Royal Lords from the Black Ink Clan and allowed the two strongest living Ninth-Order Masters to break free.
Mo Na Ye felt discouraged all of a sudden.
[In the end, the Human Race is still favoured by Heaven.]
“Hou!” Suddenly, a roar shook the void from deep within, and Mo Na Ye snapped back to attention. He turned his head in the direction of the commotion and saw a massive figure floating in the distance.
He understood immediately that it was coming from the two Giant Spirit Gods that had been entangled for many years.
These two Giant Spirit Gods had been locked in combat for almost a millennium, their limbs intertwined like children in a playground scuffle. For years, they remained stuck in this stalemate.
Suddenly, there was a commotion, indicating that the fighting had drawn attention.
Soon, clashes could be heard from the depths of the void.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed as he quickly regained his composure and shouted, “Let’s go!”
The Barren Territory was vast enough to accommodate two Giant Spirit Gods as they wreaked havoc on the battlefield, but if all four were to start an all-out fight, there would be no safe place in this entire Great Territory left.
A battle of this level was beyond the ability of mere Pseudo-Royal Lords to interfere with. Even Mo Na Ye himself didn’t want to get involved; therefore, as soon as he realised what was about to happen, he decisively led the Pseudo-Royal Lords to retreat.
Shortly after they returned to the No-Return Pass through the Territory Gate, two huge figures finally appeared in the void. They were entangled with each other as they approached that from the side and soon arrived near Ah Da’s battlefield with his opponent.
“Brother!” Ah Da’s eyes lit up when he saw Ah Er’s figure while engaged in a fierce battle with his opponent.
The Giant Spirit Gods, a unique Race, had always been rare, and due to their innate behaviour, they spend most of their time either traveling or hibernating, so they rarely cross paths.
Ah Da had clearly not met his clansmen in years, so seeing one now was quite exciting.
Soon after though, he became enraged and shouted, “How dare you hit my Brother? I’ll kill you!”
With those words, he disregarded his own opponent and charged straight towards Ah Er.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God, who had been entangled with Ah Er, was slightly stunned, but quickly gave chase. Though their movements seemed clumsy, every strike shook the Heavens and the Earth.
Meanwhile, Ah Er faced off against the opponent who had originally belonged to Ah Da. When Ah Da threw his opponent aside, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God naturally pursued and joined the chaotic fray.
In an instant, the four Giant Spirit Gods began wreaking havoc in the Great Territory, causing chaos and destruction. With each clash, the Great Territory was like a pond that had boulders tossed into it, sending ripples outwards in all directions.
Wherever the ripples were, space became unstable and countless Void Cracks tore open. It was as if the entire Barren Territory was on the verge of collapsing.
Several months later, a notice was sent from the Supreme Headquarters to the various front-line battlefields. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, who had both been stationed in Wind Mist Territory for thousands of years, had returned. The Humans gained two more Ninth-Order Masters with Xiao Xiao assuming command of the Soaring Cloud Army, while Wu Qing led the Purple Feather Army.
Furthermore, the Humans had an additional Giant Spirit God as an ally, which restrained the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that was trapped for many years.
The news spread and the morale of the Humans soared. The boost in momentum allowed them to easily seize several Great Territories on various fronts.
“500 years. It has already been 500 years. Do you know how I managed to make it through these 500 years?” The low voice was full of repression, helplessness, and a hint of anger, revealing the speaker’s inner unrest.
But there was no response.
On the Soul Warming Lotus, Fang Tian Ci looked at Thunder Shadow as if he was an idiot. Thunder Shadow immediately lost his composure and complained, “You should have replied by asking me how…” [If you don’t ask, how am I supposed to continue?]
“Childish!” Fang Tian Ci threw out a comment casually.
Upon hearing that, Thunder Shadow became deeply hurt and looked helpless, “It’s so boring to be with someone like you, surely no woman has ever liked you.”
Fang Tian Ci chuckled, “I have many descendants!”
“Big Brother, how’s this Universe World?” Ignoring him, Thunder Shadow turned his head and asked Yang Kai.
Soon, Yang Kai’s response came, “The World Principles here are close to perfection, and there are signs of simple life. This can be considered a newly born Universe World. Perhaps in a few years, real living creatures will appear.”
Thunder Shadow immediately became excited, “Doesn’t that mean we are getting closer to the 3,000 Worlds?”
According to Yang Kai’s previous speculation, by exploring the Universe Worlds along the way and observing the completeness of their World Principles, one could determine whether the direction of travel was correct.
The closer they got to the 3,000 Worlds, the more complete the World Principles in the Universe Worlds would be. Yang Kai had been constantly correcting their direction and rushing forward during these last 500 years. The Universe Worlds they encountered along the way indeed had more complete World Principles as predicted.
This Universe Word had its World Principles fully taken shape, and there were now some of the simplest forms of life emerging.
If there was life, it meant that this Universe World had the conditions for life to exist. Perhaps after another million years of evolution, some unique creatures specific to this Universe World would emerge.
They were heading in the right direction so all that was left was time.
Yang Kai had been returning from the edge of the Universe, and it did indeed take a lot of time. It had been 500 years, yet he still couldn’t find his way back.
500 years had passed since the Universe Furnace closed. Since Yang Kai was unsure of the state of the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, he had to hurry back.
Without staying much longer in this Universe World, he continued on his journey.
100 years later, when Yang Kai descended to another Universe World to investigate the situation, he discovered that there were indeed living creatures in it.
Most of the living creatures lived in the vast seas, with few living on land. The entire Universe World was covered with green vegetation, giving it a lush appearance. With the emergence of living creatures, it meant that the Universe World was now fully alive and had the potential to give rise to sentient creatures like Humans in the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai once again attempted to connect with the World Tree but to no avail.
The various Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds were interdependent with the World Tree, with each World Fruit on the World Tree reflecting the state of each Universe World; if one died, its corresponding World Fruit would wither away as well.
This Universe World was vibrant with vitality, but it had no connection to the World Tree at all. Ultimately, it was because the power of the World Tree had not yet reached this place.
After all, this place was just too far away from the 3,000 Worlds.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall his previous speculations after hearing Thunder Shadow’s casual remark that left him with much to ponder.
[Was the Universe Furnace the thing that created the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield? What about beyond? Is there truly only one Universe? Are there more unknown Universes beyond this one?]
[Perhaps the 3,000 Worlds is one Universe, and the Black Ink Battlefield is another?]
At his current location, Yang Kai believed he was in a much deeper part of the Black Ink Battlefield, a place that neither the Humans nor Black Ink Clan had ever set foot in. If it were truly the same Universe though, why couldn’t the power of the World Tree reach this place, where the World Principles were already fully established, and living beings had even emerged?
Yang Kai found himself deep in thought.
[Perhaps… I can find a way to connect this Universe World to the World Tree? If I succeed, I could use the Old Tree’s power to return to Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary without wasting any more time and energy on the journey.]
The road ahead was clearly still quite long, and though Yang Kai used Space Secret Techniques to speed up his travel, it still took him 600 years with no sign of the end. At this point, he was uncertain when he would finally see the familiar landscape again.
Then, Yang Kai had an idea. He had an item that he could use to test his theory. Without hesitation, he soared into the air and found a mountain valley filled with the fragrance of flowers. Then, he opened the portal to his Small Universe and moved a towering tree out of it.
It was a World Tree Clone!
This was not the one that belonged to him, but to Fang Tian Ci.
During the union of the three Selves, Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe merged completely with Yang Kai’s, strengthening the size of his Small Universe and adding to his heritage. Naturally, the World Tree clone was brought into Yang Kai’s Small Universe as well.
Yang Kai already had one, so a second one was redundant. He had intended to find a suitable person to give it to and help them grow quickly, but he had never expected to be needing to use it in the current situation.
Surging his World Force, Yang Kai dug a large pit in the mountain valley and planted the World Tree clone in it. He wasn’t worried about it not surviving as the World Tree was a mystical and unparalleled entity. The simple root planted in the Star Boundary by Yang Kai previously had grown into a towering tree, so a complete tree would naturally thrive.
After completing this, Yang Kai did not continue on his journey but instead sat down under the tree and waited quietly. He didn’t know if his plan would work, and even if it did, he didn’t know how many years it would take.
Quietly resigning himself to the possibility of wasting another 100 years, Yang Kai hoped that his plan would bear fruit within that time frame. If it didn’t, he would dig up the World Tree clone and continue his journey.
It would only be 100 years, so it wasn’t too bad.
Moreover, he wasn’t planning to just sit and wait.
Although he had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and had even taken a big step forward in his cultivation by merging Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe with his, it did not mean he would be satisfied with that.
He still had room for improvement! His future enemies would no longer be limited to the Territory Lords and Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan. He might even have to face Mo, who was in the Creation Realm, so he needed to be stronger.
The Martial Dao was a long journey of exploration, accumulating strength and experience bit by bit.
He had a lot of cultivation materials on hand and could refine them to continuously strengthen his own heritage.
As time passed, sets of material turned into dust in Yang Kai’s hands.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the World Tree stood majestic and grand as a precious treasure born along with Heavens and Earth. When the Heavens and Earth split, it had already come into existence at almost the same time as the first Primordial Light.
Its birth was rooted in the numerous Universe Worlds of the 3,000 Worlds, and its existence was intimately linked with the life or death of those Universe Worlds.
The peak World Tree was covered in World Fruits, and every branch was bent under the weight of the fruits. But, as the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, one by one the Universe Worlds were corrupted by the Black Ink Strength, causing them to die, which resulted in the withering of World Fruits in droves.
Until today, there were only slightly over 2,000 fruits left on its branches…
Thankfully, Yang Kai was able to save a large number of Universe Worlds by refining them in the past; otherwise, the World Tree would have already withered away completely.
Despite this, the World Tree still appeared old and feeble.
The loss of so many Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds had drained the World Tree of its vitality so it spent most of its time standing in silence apart from when Yang Kai visited it. It could do nothing to stop the calamity befalling the 3,000 Worlds, and if the Human Race were to lose, the World Tree would perish with them.
Suddenly, an old face appeared on the thick trunk with a look of surprise and doubt showing on its brow. It vaguely felt that something in a very distant place seemed to have a faint resonance with itself, but this feeling flashed by, making it difficult to determine its authenticity.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the old face on the trunk gradually disappeared. The withering and falling of World Fruits caused its vitality to plummet, leaving it with little energy to think about minor issues. Most of the time over the years, it had been asleep, only waking when Yang Kai contacted it.
In the distant void, Yang Kai sat cross-legged under the tree in that Universe World, constantly refining various materials to enhance his strength.
The towering tree behind him danced in the wind, while the massive roots began to intertwine deep in the earth in a place invisible to the naked eye, madly devouring the power of this Universe World and merging with it.
Years later, in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree suddenly woke up from its slumber and the old face appeared once again on its thick trunk.
It clearly carried a puzzled look this time as it felt that something strange had happened to itself, but because it had just awakened, it was difficult to determine what this change was.
Only after carefully examining itself did the Old Tree suddenly realize.
A branch trembled and drooped down, and on the trunk, the old face of the Old Tree showed a look of pleasant surprise and doubt, changing alternatively.
This was all because, on that branch, a little flower bud had sprouted.
The Old Tree was shocked.
It actually bloomed!
This had never happened before. It was born with Heaven and Earth and had hung with World Fruits since its birth with each World Fruit corresponding to a Universe World in the 3,000 Worlds.
But it had never experienced something like blooming, and for a moment, the Old Tree was a bit confused.
The blooming of the Old Tree was an unprecedented event that had never happened before.
It wanted to understand what had happened to itself, so after careful examination, it sensed a very distant location through the flower bud.
Suddenly, it understood that the sensation that had arisen several years ago was not just a figment of its imagination.
Although the sensation was still vague and intermittent, it did actually exist.
[Why do I have this strange connection with a place so far away?] Old Tree was completely baffled.
Because of the unusual occurrence, Old Tree remained vigilant and did not fall into a deep sleep in the following years, occasionally investigating the situation of the flower bud.
As time passed, the little flower bud gradually bloomed, and with the falling of the petals, a tiny World Fruit appeared!
Old Tree was completely shocked. For countless years, it had only experienced the withering and falling of its World Fruits and it had never given birth to a new one. Furthermore, it did not understand what caused this sudden change.
The only thing it knew was that the birth of this World Fruit was not harmful to itself, because, with the birth of this new fruit, a weak vitality was injected into its old body.
Several dozen years later, when the World Fruit grew to the size of a fist and became completely solidified, it suddenly felt a faint call from it.
It had experienced this many times before, it was like when Yang Kai needed to borrow its strength to arrive before it.
Under the World Tree clone in this Universe World, Yang Kai was overjoyed.
He had finally made contact with the Old Tree, and although it seemed a bit unstable, the current result confirmed his previous speculation.
Over the past several dozen years, the World Tree clone had undoubtedly grown significantly and had already completely merged with this Universe World. After devouring a large amount of World Force in this place, the World Tree clone began to nourish this land too.
Over the years, Yang Kai tried connecting with the World Tree every once in a while but made no progress. That made him think that his previous idea was wrong.
It wasn’t until this moment that he finally made contact with the World Tree in the faraway Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
This made him feel delighted.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree understood roughly what was happening. The World Tree clone planted was technically also its Soul Clone. It was not aware of the situation before because the World Tree clone had not fully merged with the Universe World it was planted on, but now that it had, despite being separated by the endless void, the Old Tree could vaguely sense the situation through the World Tree clone now.
It couldn’t help but marvel at what was happening as it had never experienced anything like it before.
Although their connection was not very clear, Yang Kai’s intentions were crystal clear to Old Tree. Over the years, every time Yang Kai connected to it, it meant that he needed to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. So, Old Tree immediately exerted its power, causing its massive body to start shaking.
In the next moment, Old Tree’s aged face suddenly changed.
Under the World Tree clone in that Universe World, Yang Kai’s figure abruptly disappeared as soon as the Old Tree began to act; it was as if Yang Kai had entered an unpredictable and indescribable space in an instant.
He had experienced this many times before, so he was already used to it; however, Yang Kai quickly realised that something was wrong.
Every time he used the power of the World Tree to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was basically an instantaneous thing, but this time, it seemed to be taking a long time!
After travelling for a long time in that strange space, Yang Kai still hadn’t emerged, not to mention, the connection between him and the World Tree became very vague, almost to the point of being non-existent.
Yang Kai was shocked. He was only able to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by borrowing the power of the World Tree because he had saved and refined more than 2,000 Universe Worlds in the past. Later, he placed these Universe Worlds on the corresponding World Fruits on the Old Tree. It could be said that these Universe Worlds and their corresponding World Fruits all had his imprint on them.
It was precisely because of these marks that he had an unbreakable connection with Old Tree, which allowed him to use the latter’s power to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Having a connection was the reason why they could sense each other.
Now that their connection was almost about to be cut off, it became a nightmare for Yang Kai. If the connection was truly cut off, he didn’t know what he would encounter.
It was highly likely that he would be trapped on the way of trying to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and it would be difficult for him to find his way out.
Thankfully, the blurry connection was re-established again when it was on the verge of cutting off, clearly because Old Tree had also sensed it and was exerting all its efforts.
Without daring to delay, Yang Kai immediately used his Space Secret Technique to move forward quickly; however, it was in vain…
The road ahead was long and the end was nowhere in sight. Despite Old Tree’s best efforts, their connection was rapidly weakening again.
It made Yang Kai frantic, realising that he was still too far away from the Old Tree to be easily guided into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, even with the Old Tree’s power.
If their connection was completely lost, he might never find his way back.
At this critical moment, Yang Kai quickly immersed himself in thought to figure out a plan while rushing forward. He had weathered many storms over the years, so he developed a calm demeanor in the face of crises.
Suddenly, Yang Kai lit up as he thought of a solution. He quickly opened a portal to his Small Universe and a towering tree appeared in it, it was his own World Tre clone.
By planting a World Tree clone in a newborn Universe World, he was able to establish a connection with the Old Tree. If a planted World Tree clone had such an effect, then his own World Tree clone must also have it.
Sure enough, when Yang Kai did this, the blurry connection between him and the Old Tree instantly became strong. At the next moment, Yang Kai felt the power of his Small Universe uncontrollably flowing out like a dam breaking, gushing like a raging river…
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree’s old face was full of hardship, obviously nearing its limit. The giant World Tree was also shaking constantly until at a certain moment, ripples appeared on the newly formed World Fruit, followed by a figure breaking out of it and falling in front of the Old Tree.
Subsequently, the shaking trunk gradually calmed down, and on the tree’s surface, the Old Tree’s aged face looked even more withered and old. Looking at the familiar figure that suddenly appeared, it couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
[I’ve really overexerted myself…]
Yang Kai was also gasping for breath, half kneeling on the ground, his face slightly pale. He had just gone through a very dangerous journey. If he hadn’t thought of using his own World Tree clone at the last moment, he would have had no way to return to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Though he managed to return, the World Force in his Small Universe had been greatly depleted. He was currently at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the heritage of his Small Universe was extremely rich; however, this one action had consumed nearly half of his strength. If it weren’t for his World Tree clone isolating and protecting his Small Universe, Void World would have been in turmoil.
After calming down a bit, Yang Kai stood up and looked up at the familiar World Tree, feeling joy in his heart. He had finally returned!
“Where did you go?” Old Tree suddenly spoke up. He had guided Yang Kai here many times before, and although it did take a toll on it, it was still within an acceptable range. But this time, the guidance had severely damaged its foundation, and almost failed.
Old Tree was very curious about where Yang Kai went as in its perception, its clone had been left in a very, very distant place.
Yang Kai sat in front of the Old Tree and sighed, “It’s a long story…”
He recounted his experiences simply, and upon hearing how the Universe Furnace created the Universe Worlds from Chaos and how Yang Kai returned from the edge of the Universe, even Old Tree, who had existed since ancient times, was flabbergasted.
It knew about the Universe Furnace, but had no idea that Universe Worlds were created from the sea of Chaos beyond the Universe. If that were true, then its own birth could also be said to have originated from the Universe Furnace as it was the Universe Furnace that gave birth to the Universe Worlds, which were symbiotic with the World Tree.
After telling his story, Yang Kai couldn’t help but complain, “Old Tree, why didn’t you tell me earlier about the wonders of your clones?”
If he had known, he might have been able to return even sooner.
But on second thought, even if he did know about it, it would probably be useless. His return this time was already the extreme limit. Even if Yang Kai planted the clone at the furthest reaches of the Universe and someone made a connection with the Old Tree, he might not have been able to use its power to return to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Old Tree fell silent for a moment before saying, “I too had no idea until now!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was speechless. It made sense though, given the countless ages that passed. Perhaps Old Tree had given away some of its clones before, but all of them had undoubtedly been refined by those Masters.
No Master before Yang Kai was willing to plant the clone in a Universe World as they had all used them for their own purposes.
Although Yang Kai had planted World Tree clones in both the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World previously, those two Universes World already had World Fruits corresponding to the World Tree; thus, the true use of the clones could not be fully realised.
This time, Yang Kai had a sudden inspiration and planted a World Tree clone in a very remote location, which created an inseparable connection between that Universe World and the World Tree.
It could be said that from ancient times to the present, no one had ever done what Yang Kai did, so of course, Old Tree did not know about it, becoming surprised when a branch suddenly bloomed and bore fruit.
Though the World Tree existed for a long time and saw and experienced many things, it didn’t mean it was all-knowing and all-powerful. At the very least, it was not aware of the creation of the Universe Worlds by the Universe Furnace from Chaos.
Common people, and even Old Tree, only thought of the Universe Furnace as an opportunity, but the true mystery of the Universe Furnace was only known to Yang Kai.
“Old Tree, I have your clone in my Small Universe too. Doesn’t that mean that in the future, no matter where I am, you can guide me here?” Yang Kai asked, only realising this after experiencing today’s events.
If that were the case, then his actions would be much easier in the future. Even if he encountered the same situation as before, he wouldn’t have to spend too much time rushing around since he could simply open up his Small Universe, borrow the connection between his World Tree clone and the World Tree, and return at will when needed.
That was what he thought, but Yang Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. The situation seemed more complicated than he had imagined.
Old Tree didn’t directly answer the question, but instead said, “Think about it. What is the source that helps me to guide you to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and the many Universe Worlds from here?”
“Source?” Yang Kai mused.
Upon closer inspection, he realised that he was able to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary through the power of the World Tree because he had refined over 2,000 Universe Worlds in the past. Each of those Universe Worlds reflected the World Fruits on Old Tree’s body, creating an inseparable connection between them.
Therefore, regardless of where Yang Kai was, he only needed a living Universe World as a medium in order to use the power of the Old Tree to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
It was also for this reason that he specially refined a Universe World from the 3,000 Worlds and brought it to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that he could easily investigate the situation there at any time.
And every time he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he needed a World Fruit as a medium. For example, if he wanted to go to the Star Boundary, he needed to find the corresponding World Fruit. If he wanted to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he just had to find the World Fruit that corresponded to the Universe World he had left behind previously…
Yang Kai suddenly realised, “The source is the World Fruit.”
The face on the trunk of the tree nodded, “You can also say it’s the still living Universe Worlds.”
“So, my plan won’t work.”
His Small Universe didn’t have a corresponding World Fruit. When he returned just now, he only strengthened the connection between himself and the Old Tree using his World Tree Clone; after all, each clone was a part of the Old Tree, and there was an inseparable connection between each clone and the Old Tree.
Realising this, Yang Kai became slightly disappointed.
Then, Old Tree suddenly said, “I may not be able to guide you to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future at all.”
Yang Kai was taken aback as he realised the problem, “Was the consumption too great this time?”
He had just noticed that Old Tree’s condition was worse than the last time he saw it; the leaves on the huge tree crown were slightly yellowed and showed signs of withering.
Old Tree responded with a grunt, “The distance was too great. Although my clone did establish a connection, my power has not completely radiated to that range. I’m afraid I will fall into a deep sleep soon.”
“What can I do to help?” Yang Kai asked. With Old Tree sleeping, he would definitely lose a means of quick travel. At the very least, he would not be able to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction whenever he wanted.
Old Tree pondered for a moment and then shook its trunk, “You probably can’t help much unless there are more Universe Worlds that can establish a connection with me like this time.”
However, that was unrealistic. All the remaining Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds had already been corrupted by Black Ink Strength and had died. Where could there be more Universe Worlds?
On Yang Kai’s return journey, he did see many newly born Universe Worlds, but Old Tree’s power could not cover such a far distance; though he could use the World Tree clones, Old Tree could not give him any more of those either.
The three World Tree clones back then were already Old Tree’s limit.
It could be said that it might never wake up after this deep sleep. Only when the Human Race completely defeated the Black Ink Clan and after the 3,000 Worlds went through generations of recuperation might there be a chance for it to restore its vitality.
Yang Kai fell silent. Since he had established a connection with Old Tree years ago and received Old Tree’s assistance, he felt quite helpless not being able to provide it with any help this time.
“Where do you want to go now?” Old Tree asked, “Before I fall asleep, I can still send you there for the last time.”
“The Star Boundary,” Yang Kai slowly stood up, cupped his fist, and looked at Old Tree’s aged face on the trunk, “Please rest assured and recuperate. I will take care of the matter with the Black Ink Clan. When you wake up, it will be after the disaster has passed!”
Old Tree chuckled, “I’ll be waiting for that day!”
Hopefully, that day would come soon.
Yang Kai nodded then quickly headed towards the World Fruit corresponding to the Star Boundary. At the same time, Old Tree exerted its last bit of strength. In an instant, the world turned upside down and it rapidly enlarged in Yang Kai’s vision.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Old Tree used its last bit of power, and its face slowly dissipated. In the moment of its consciousness falling asleep, it suddenly realised something.
This time, Yang Kai seemed to have already reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm… It was so weak before that it had not noticed it.
Somewhere close to the Star Boundary, Yang Kai broke through Space and appeared. As always, the moment he showed up, a powerful Divine Sense probed from somewhere in the Star Boundary to investigate the situation. This was the Master who was in charge of the Star Boundary, using his Divine Sense to check the situation.
Open Heaven Realm Masters in general were not so sensitive, even those who reached the Eighth Order would not have sensed Yang Kai while he was concealing himself. However, the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were capable of such feats. As Great Emperors, they were intimately tied to the Star Boundary and recognised by its Will. With their hearts set on it, they could not miss any suspicious situations with their Divine Sense in the range of the Star Boundary.
With a touch of his Divine Sense, the other party clearly perceived Yang Kai’s identity and quickly withdrew it.
The next moment, a figure soared into the sky from somewhere in the Star Boundary, appearing soundlessly and swiftly before Yang Kai.
Looking at the visitor, Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Senior Iron Blood, it’s been a while!”
The visitor was none other than Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen. He looked at Yang Kai with suspicion before nodding, “You’re back?”
When the Universe Furnace closed and Yang Kai disappeared without a trace, not only did the Black Ink Clan speculate that he was trapped inside, but some of the high-ranking authority figures of the Human Race did too. Although they didn’t know why Yang Kai would be trapped inside, they had no way to rescue him, so they could only let it be.
However, a small number of people still firmly believed that even if Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace, he wouldn’t be stuck for too long. They believed that he would break free and return eventually without needing to wait until the next opening of the Universe Furnace.
Therefore, when Zhan Wu Hen saw Yang Kai, he wasn’t too surprised since he had watched Yang Kai grow up from when he was still a young man. Yang Kai could do what ordinary people couldn’t, so escaping from the Universe Furnace shouldn’t be anything to him.
“Are you injured?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhan Wu Hen clearly had quite severe injuries on his body. At this moment, his face was pale and his aura was unstable. With his cultivation at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it was evident how intense his war had become.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was not surprised that Zhan Wu Hen had ascended to the Eighth Order, given that the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had all directly broken through to the Sixth-Order Realm. Additionally, with their unique advantages when cultivating in the Star Boundary, they had all already advanced to the Eighth Order many years ago.
At this moment, Zhan Wu Hen was already at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but because of the innate limitations of the Open Heaven Realm Method, he couldn’t make another breakthrough.
He did not enter when the Universe Furnace opened. In fact, Yang Kai did not see any Masters from the Star Boundary inside.
Zhan Wu Hen said lightly, “I was injured while fighting outside. It’s nothing special.”
If it weren’t for his serious injuries, he wouldn’t have come back to the Star Boundary to recuperate. To him, battles were the essence of life.
After a moment of silence, Zhan Wu Hen continued, “Ice Feather and Heavens Revelations died.”
Upon receiving the news, Yang Kai’s expression trembled as he closed his eyes and sighed.
There was never a war with no casualties. In the countless years of battle against the Black Ink Clan, there were naturally countless deaths. Whether it was on the Black Ink Battlefield or later on the Great Territory Battlefields, the reaping of life had become a norm of war.
Even Yang Kai’s own Dawn Squad, which he had led back then, had lost several members under his watch.
Ice Feather and Heaven’s Revelations were Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, who already ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for a long time, but in this catastrophic war that swept across the Universe, what use was it being in the Eighth-Order? Many times, it was difficult to even protect oneself from the Black Ink Clan with such a cultivation.
Frankly speaking, Yang Kai was not that familiar with these two Great Emperors. It was only because they were fellow people from the Star Boundary, which gave him a sense of kinship compared to those Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Even so, when he heard the news of their deaths, his heart sank.
“Is the war that intense?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows and asked.
Zhan Wu Hen nodded, “You’ll have to ask the Supreme Headquarters for the specifics. They have a better grasp of the situation.” He paused then continued, “Their sacrifice was not in vain. The Star Boundary’s reputation was not tarnished, and their deaths also made room for successors. There are a few new Great Emperors who have emerged, all who directly ascended to the Seventh Order, with the potential to reach the Ninth Order in the future.”
Every Universe World had a limit to the number of Great Emperors it could sustain. The Star Boundary’s limit was 10 many years ago, but with the continuous nourishment of the World Tree clone, its capacity had increased, and now it can support 12 Great Emperors. However, as long as the older generation Great Emperors remained, it was difficult for newcomers to rise to power.
With the fall of Ice Feather and Heaven’s Revelations, two Great Emperor positions were vacated in the Star Boundary. Currently, there were many talents in the Star Boundary who had already directly ascended to the Seventh Order, so they should be able to gain recognition from the Star Boundary’s Will and become Great Emperors in the future, achieving twice the result with half the effort when they cultivate in the Star Boundary.
But, Yang Kai shook his head, “There isn’t much time left for them to grow.”
The time it took to advance from Seventh-Order to Ninth-Order was incredibly long. Even if they became Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, it would take thousands of years for them to fully mature.
It was better to rely on the many Eighth-Order Masters than them at present.
The good seedlings who directly advanced to Seventh-Order in the first generation were now all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Perhaps in a short time, they could advance to the Ninth Order.
As for the Human Race, as long as the first new generation of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters finally arrived, there would be an endless stream of Ninth-Order Masters emerging. Over the past thousands of years, the accumulation of the Human Race’s power had already reached a point where they were ready to soar. Once a certain critical point was reached, the Human Race would inevitably produce countless elites.
This was the power that the Human Race could rely on in the future, and it was also due to the Open Heaven Realm Cradle, the Star Boundary.
As Yang Kai spoke, he connected his mind with Void World and projected it into the Void Dao Temple. Soon, the portal to his Small Universe opened, and figures poured out of it one after another.
Over the years, Void Dao Temple had accumulated a large number of good seedlings who could ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.
In Yang Kai’s Small Universe, time flowed at a different pace from the outside world, and this flow rate only increased as his mastery over the Dao of Time and his strength grew.
At present, with his cultivation at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and his mastery of the Dao of Time at the Eighth-Level, the flow rate in his Small Universe had reached a 10:1 ratio compared to the outside world.
In other words, while one day passed outside, 10 days had already elapsed in his Small Universe.
It had been many years since Yang Kai last brought out talents from the Void Dao Temple. In terms of the passing of time in his Small Universe, it had been over 10,000 years. Over such a long time, a considerable number of outstanding talents had naturally accumulated in the Void Dao Temple.
These people had already reached their limits within the Void Dao Temple and would generally ascend to the Open Heaven Realm shortly after leaving Void World, requiring a Master to guide and protect them.
However, Yang Kai always left this matter to his Head Manager to handle, and since Hua Qing Si was not present today, he handed the task to Zhan Wu Hen.
When all the Emperor Realm Masters gathered, Yang Kai said, “I’m entrusting these people to you. Manager Hua knows how to handle them.”
Zhan Wu Hen nodded and asked, “Are you not going back?”
Yang Kai looked towards the Star Boundary and shook his head, “No need!”
He had just returned, and knowing how intense the war had become, he needed to head to the Supreme Headquarters right away.
Saying so, he waved his hand and took a step forward, immediately disappearing.
The group of disciples who just left the Void Dao Temple didn’t understand what was going on and simply watched the Dao Lord disappear far off into the distance. They could only bow and send him off.
Meanwhile, in High Heaven Palace’s Pill Room, in front of a huge Alchemy Furnace, Xia Ning Chang, who had her face veiled, was using different techniques to control the furnace’s fire and refine Spirit Pills.
The process of refining these Spirit Pills was not difficult as it was a standard kind of healing pill that was in high demand on the battlefield. With her being an Alchemy Great Grandmaster, she naturally had no difficulty in refining them.
Suddenly, Xia Ning Chang paused for a moment and looked up at the sky outside. Although thick walls and heavy barriers were blocking her view, her clear eyes seemed to ignore all obstructions and she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure that was already far away.
The flames in the furnace of the Alchemy Furnace flickered slightly.
Then, Xia Ning Chang quickly focused her mind and controlled the heat, continuing to refine the Spirit Pills. Her eyes instantly became crescent-shaped as she became extremely happy and joyful upon seeing that figure. Her techniques changed constantly, and the Alchemy Furnace echoed with the sound of the Spirit Pills forming, a clear and pleasant sound.
Previously when Mi Jing Lun came to the High Heaven Palace to talk to her about Yang Kai’s disappearance, Xia Ning Chang had acted calm and not worried about Yang Kai’s safety, but in reality, how could she not be concerned at all? She simply had enough confidence in her Husband to one day return.
She believed that no matter what difficulties and dangers he faced, no matter where he was, he would definitely come back because this was his home, and there were still people waiting for him there.
Now that he had finally returned, Xia Ning Chang could finally put down the worry that had been weighing on her heart.
Outside of the Star Boundary, Hua Qing Si urgently led a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters over after receiving Zhan Wu Hen’s message. When she saw the many Emperor Realm Masters gathered around, she was slightly startled, but quickly realised what was happening and exclaimed in delight, “Palace Master has returned?”
This was not the first time she had seen such a scene of many Emperors who were about to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm gathered together, and she knew exactly where these Emperor Realm Masters came from. Zhan Wu Hen nodded and pointed to those Emperor Realm Masters, saying, “I’ll leave this to you.”
After speaking, he flashed back to the Star Boundary. He was seriously injured and needed to continue healing. If he had not sensed Yang Kai’s aura, he would not have ventured out of seclusion so rashly.
Originally, Hua Qing Si wanted to ask more about Yang Kai’s condition, but Zhan Wu Hen left too quickly, giving her no chance to speak. She was annoyed, but the Palace Master’s return was good news. For years, there had been rumours that their Palace Master was trapped in the Universe Furnace, and many people were worried about him. Now that the Palace Master had returned though, those people should be able to rest assured.
“S-Senior… I can’t hold on much longer…” A weak voice suddenly came from the side.
Hua Qing Si turned her head and saw a Dao Temple disciple with a strained expression, his aura fluctuating violently, clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.
They had been cultivating in Void Dao Temple for many years and had already reached the limit of their cultivation with their condensed Dao Seal and refined Element Powers, but because of the suppression of Yang Kai’s Small Universe, they were unable to break through. Now that they had left his Small Universe and the suppression was gone, they were basically ready to burst forth.
Not only the speaker, but many others showed signs of imminent breakthrough. Hua Qing Si was used to this kind of situation already and immediately ordered these disciples to spread out and find suitable positions. Afterwards, she had the Open Heaven Realm Masters she brought to stand guard for the disciples.
She personally distributed Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pills to the Dao Temple disciples, which drastically increased the success rate of their breakthrough.
It should be noted that those selected from Void Dao Temple were all talented individuals. At the very least, they could directly ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and many among them could directly ascend to the Sixth-Order. Every now and then, there were even a few who directly ascended to the Seventh Order.
Without the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pill, it was likely that some would fail in their breakthrough; however, over the years, there had not been a single disciple from Void Dao Temple who suffered such a fate. This was largely thanks to the efficacy of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pills.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had arrived at the Territory Gate of High Heaven Territory. Security was extremely tight here, with several Eighth-Order Masters personally guarding the portal with a Purifying Black Ink Battleship sealed with a large amount of Purifying Light on standby.
High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory were now the most important rear bases for the Human Race and the foundation of their existence. Their importance was equivalent to the control of the No-Return Pass by the Black Ink Clan.
As the only gateway in and out of these Territories, this Territory Gate naturally received the highest level of attention and was highly guarded. The Purifying Black Ink Battleship stationed there could prevent any Black Ink Disciples from infiltrating, and all soldiers returning from the front lines, regardless of their cultivation, had to pass through it.
Yang Kai walked over without hiding his tracks. The Eighth-Order Masters guarding the area naturally noticed his aura, and each of them became suspicious and uncertain.
There were only a few Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race, and all of them were well-known and usually leading an Army to fight the Black Ink Clan. Therefore, it was natural for them to be puzzled by the sudden appearance of another Ninth-Order Master in the rear area.
The group of Eighth-Order Masters quickly gathered together and waited attentively.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai’s figure appeared in their sight that one of the Eighth-Order Masters suddenly realised, “It’s him!”
Saying so, he showed a happy expression and took the initiative to welcome Yang Kai.
As he approached, he cupped his fist and said, “Yang… I suddenly don’t know how to address you…”
He was much older than Yang Kai in terms of age and was also a seasoned veteran Eighth-Order Master. They had met each other a few times before, and he had always addressed Yang Kai as Junior Brother. But now that Yang Kai had advanced to the Ninth Order, calling him Junior Brother seemed inappropriate…
Besides, his seniority was much higher than Yang Kai’s, so calling him Sir was also quite inappropriate. After a moment of consideration, this Eighth-Order Master called out, “Army Commander Yang!”
In terms of titles, Yang Kai was still Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, though currently, Ou Yang Lie was taking charge of it. However, as long as the Supreme Headquarters didn’t issue a clear transfer order, Yang Kai would always be the Army Commander of Profound Nether Army.
Yang Kai recognized the person and greeted him, “Senior Brother Hai!”
After all, they did meet each other a few times, so Yang Kai had some impression of this veteran Eighth-Order Master before him.
Qi Hai’s heart warmed as Yang Kai addressed him as Senior Brother, obviously trying to avoid the awkwardness of addressing him according to their cultivations. In the past, there was no need for such a thing as all Ninth-Order Masters had lived for countless years, with intimidating seniority and status, so the title of Old Ancestor was appropriate.
But now, the situation was different. Yang Kai had just ascended to the Ninth-Order Realm, and in the future, there would be more rising stars reaching that height as well. The title of ‘Old Ancestor’ would no longer be suitable for the new generations.
At this moment, many Eighth-Order Masters had gathered around. Whether they knew Yang Kai or not, they had already guessed his identity and bowed respectfully. The eyes of the younger-generation Eighth-Order Masters were full of admiration and awe when they looked at Yang Kai.
Even as they took their first steps on their Martial Dao, Yang Kai’s name had been famous, and many aspired to become like him. Now, he stood before them as a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, causing them all to secretly marvel that legends were indeed legends…
Yang Kai was just passing through, and he wasn’t familiar with the many Eighth-Order Masters here, so there wasn’t much to talk about. After being routinely questioned by Qi Hai, he quickly departed.
Passing through the Territory Gate, he arrived at the nearby Great Territory and headed straight for the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located.
Soon, the Universe Fragment was in sight. At a glance, there were figures on it, and many Masters gathered around, busy doing who knew what.
In the Main Conference Hall, Mi Jing Lun was studying the situation of the various battlefields and discussing corresponding plans with many staff members. The staff members had different thoughts and often argued over some details, but ultimately, Mi Jing Lun was the one to make the final decision. The entire hall was bustling like a crowded marketplace.
Suddenly, Mi Jing Lun turned and looked outside.
The staff members who were arguing were immediately silenced, looking at him with surprise and suspicion.
“This is…” Mi Jing Lun frowned and took a few steps forward, coming outside the Main Hall. As he looked up, he saw a stream of light swiftly approaching from the void, appearing before him in the blink of an eye. Then, the stream of light dispersed, revealing a familiar figure.
Looking at the person who had suddenly appeared before him, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but blink his eyes, thinking he was imagining things.
Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fist, “Senior Brother Mi!”
Following Mi Jing Lun, the other staff members became slightly shocked as well and then began to stir, with low cries ringing out.
“It’s Yang Kai!”
“Senior Yang has returned!”
Yang Kai was thought to be trapped in the Universe Furnace and there had been no contact from him for over 600 years, so whether he was alive or dead was unknown. This was undoubtedly a blow to the Human Race, especially with the ongoing war between them and the Black Ink Clan. While there were a few Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race now, none of them had the total suppressive advantages over the Pseudo-Royal Lords in battles, not even the veterans like Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing.
In Mi Jing Lun’s understanding, the only one who could possibly achieve this was Yang Kai! Back when the Black Ink Clan was holding their ground in the Great Territory Battlefields, the war would not have been this difficult if Yang Kai was around.
Mi Jing Lun originally thought that he might have to wait until the next opening of the Universe Furnace for Yang Kai to have a chance to escape, but unexpectedly, he appeared before him right at this moment.
Mi Jing Lun was extremely surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “How did you escape from the Universe Furnace?”
“Universe Furnace?” Yang Kai was taken aback at first but quickly realised that Mi Jing Lun must have misunderstood something. It was understandable since he had been out of contact for so many years, so the logical assumption was that he was trapped in the Universe Furnace.
He couldn’t hold back his laughter as he explained, “I wasn’t trapped in the Universe Furnace. Rather, it took me to the edge of the Universe, and I had to spend quite some time returning.”
“The edge of the Universe?” Mi Jing Lun looked puzzled.
“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai waved his hand, not wanting to talk about it as the war between the two Races was the more crucial issue now. Even if others knew the Universe Furnace created all Universe Worlds from Chaos, it was of no use to them. It could at most broaden their horizons, but hearing about it second-hand was not nearly as shocking as witnessing it personally.
Though Mi Jing Lun didn’t ask any further, he had doubts in his mind. Where exactly was the edge of the Universe, and how far away must it have been for Yang Kai to take hundreds of years to return even with his abilities?
After composing himself, Mi Jing Lun said, “You’re back just in time. There are some things that I need you to do.”
He and many of his staff members were discussing a battle in a certain Great Territory that was in a worrying state as they didn’t have enough manpower to mobilize to support it. As such, Yang Kai’s return was quite timely.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Just give me the order, Senior Brother.”
“Come inside and we’ll talk,” Mi Jing Lun held Yang Kai’s arm and led him into the Main Hall.
After a while, everyone took their seats.
“Let me tell you about the current war situation,” Mi Ling Jun spoke.
Yang Kai nodded, as he urgently needed to understand what was going on right now. The two sides had been at war since the Universe Furnace appeared, and it had been over 600 years since its closure. Yang Kai had no idea how the war had progressed during this time, or what the situation was like currently.
He did ask Zhan Wu Hen before, but the latter’s understanding was not comprehensive enough so they did not talk about it in detail.
Naturally, the Supreme Headquarters had the most in-depth understanding of the situation.
Mi Jing Lun then gave a brief account of the hundreds of years of war.
It was only now that Yang Kai learned that the Human Race had regained not just the dozen or so original Great Territory Battlefields, but an additional 200 or so Great Territories.
However, Yang Kai immediately felt that something was wrong. Even if the Human Race had produced several Ninth-Order Masters and many Eighth-Order Masters in the Universe Furnace, increasing their strength greatly, that shouldn’t have been sufficient to produce such outstanding results.
With his previous understanding of the Black Ink Clan’s background and forces, Yang Kai initially believed that the battle between the two sides would still be raging on the various Great Territory Battlefields. After all, the Black Ink Clan must now have dozens of Pseudo-Royal Lords, so it should have been impossible to reclaim so many Great Territories even though there were quite a number of Ninth-Order Masters in the Human Race.
Yang Kai didn’t understand until he heard Mi Jing Lun mention Mo Na Ye.
The Black Ink Clan retreated to advance, lengthening the Human Race’s battle lines and dispersing their Army’s strength. Losing 200 or so Great Territories was not a significant detriment to the Black Ink Clan while the Human Race Army had to leave some troops behind to defend these places in order to prevent the Black Ink Clan from reoccupying them and cutting off the front lines from the rear.
This was open intrigue by the Black Ink Clan, but Mi Jing Lun could do nothing even if he saw through their intentions. As a result, he could only try his best to keep the various Human Race Armies steady and not reveal any vulnerabilities.
Over the years, the Black Ink Clan had taken many actions against the recovered Great Territories; however, they were mostly minor skirmishes that did not make much of an impact and were ultimately quashed by the stationed soldiers.
Mi Jing Lun also informed Yang Kai that Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were finally freed, and his hidden hand had been played. In the Barren Territory, four Giant Spirit Gods were currently engaged in a brutal deathmatch.
This was not surprising to Yang Kai. The Black Ink Clan couldn’t keep their trapped Black Ink Giant Spirit God unused. For them, the power that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God provided was simply too great.
So, once the two sides went to war, the Black Ink Clan would find a way to release their trapped deity. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s strength was not enough to restrain a Master of that calibre, but the hidden hand that Yang Kai left behind happened to be able to counter it.
“Speaking of which, the great battle in the Barren Territory has caused quite a lot of trouble for the Black Ink Clan.” A grin appeared on Mi Jing Lun’s face, “Since the Black Ink Clan captured the No-Return Pass, that place has been their foundation. In the past, the Black Ink Clan had a large number of troops and resources transported from the No-Return Pass to the frontlines on a near-daily basis, but now that the great battle of four Giant Spirit Gods has affected the entire Barren Territory, the troops passing through that area often suffer losses from the fallout. Although it’s not a significant attrition, in recent years, the Black Ink Clan has lost at least 20% of their troops in the Barren Territory, which has eased some of the pressure on us.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but raise his brow, “There’s such a fortunate event?”
He didn’t expect this turn of events. Initially, he only wanted to leave Ah Da to deal with the trapped Black Ink Giant Spirit God; however, now he realised that he had stumbled into some additional good fortune.
It made sense once he thought about it, though. The battle between Giant Spirit Gods was Heaven-shaking and Earth-destroying, and as the Black Ink Clan’s Army set out from the No-Return Pass, they would inevitably have to pass through the Barren Territory. Anyone caught in the aftermath of such a battle would definitely not have a good end.
It was only natural that the Black Ink Clan were troubled by this, but since it was a Giant Spirit Gods’ battle, it was doubtful anyone could intervene.
Now, the Human Race had 12 main Armies, but only six of them had a Ninth-Order Master leading them. Luo Ting He led the Azure Sun Army, Xiang Shan the Blood Flame Army, Ou Yang Lie the Profound Nether Army, Wei Jun Yang the Lang Ya Army, Xiao Xiao the Soaring Cloud Army, and Wu Qing the Purple Feather Army. The remaining six Armies were Shocking Thunder, Red Flame, Burning Moon, Twin Instrument, Azure Dawn, and Jade Cicada.
“Although I had dispatched many Divine Spirits to assist the latter six Armies, they are still lacking in comparison to the others, especially the Red Flame Army, which is now in a standoff with the Black Ink Clan in the E-5 Great Territory.”
Saying so, Mi Jing Lun pointed his finger casually, and the huge Universe Chart in front of him suddenly expanded, presenting a map of the void with the E-5 Great Territory on it.
Not every Great Territory in the 3,000 Great Territories had a distinct namesake. Just like High Heaven Territory, it used to only have a code name because there were no powerful Sects present, nor did the people inside have the ability to break free from the constraints of their Universe Worlds. It was not until the Star Boundary rose to fame, and because Yang Kai was from it, that the Territory hosting the Star Boundary was re-named High Heaven Territory.
Similarly, the New Great Territory was also just a code name in the Universe Chart. However, the Myriad Monsters World in the New Great Territory now had the qualifications to represent it. Perhaps in the future, when the Universe Chart was updated, the New Great Territory would be christened the Myriad Monsters Territory.
Only when a Great Territory had a powerful Great Force as a hegemon would it be named after that force.
E-5 Territory was a barren Great Territory. Although there were a few Universe Worlds, there were no Second Class Great Forces. The cultivation of the top Masters in the few Universe Worlds there was not even comparable to that of the Star Boundary in its early years.
Back when the Black Ink Clan invaded E-5 Territory, the living beings in those few Universe Worlds were almost all butchered. Now, the Red Flame Army had arrived and was fighting for control of this Great Territory while the Black Ink Clan was deploying their troops to resist.
Looking at the Universe Chart, red and black light occupied roughly half of the Territory each. The red represented the Red Flame Army, and the black represented the Black Ink Clan.
“The Black Ink Clan has clearly been waiting for this moment after giving up so many Great Territories. We suspect they are preparing a full counterattack against the Red Flame Army. In recent years, the Black Ink Clan has been mobilising their Masters to E-5 Territory, and in the last war, the Red Flame Army was already having a difficult time holding on while suffering many casualties. If we continue like this, without more support, the Red Flame Army won’t hold on for much longer.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and asked, “Senior Brother Mi, do you want me to assume command of the Red Flame Army?”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Originally, we planned to retreat from E-5 and re-distribute the Red Flame Army into the other 11 if we couldn’t hold on. But since you’re back, it would be better to hand the Red Flame Army over to you.”
After Yang Kai pondered about it for a moment, he said, “I don’t have any objections, but I have some ideas of my own.”
Mi Jing Lun gestured for him to continue, “Please share.”
“When I led Profound Nether in Profound Nether Territory, there were no Black Ink Clansmen who dared to cause trouble. If I take over the Red Flame Army, obviously the Black Ink Clan won’t dare to provoke us anymore. In this way, wherever Red Flame goes, the Black Ink Clan will surely retreat and avoid it. Even so, if we can’t kill more Black Ink Clan Masters, it would be meaningless to occupy more Great Territories.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded and responded, “Our goal now is to kill, especially the Pseudo-Royal Lords. The number of Pseudo-Royal Lords is limited, so if we can kill enough of them, they won’t have the capital to fight us anymore.”
“If that’s the case, it would be better for me to act alone.”
Mi Jing Lun was momentarily taken aback before considering carefully and then nodded, “That’s true.”
Yang Kai taking command of the Red Flame Army would undoubtedly allow it to soar like a Dragon diving into the sea, leaving the Black Ink Clan no room to act recklessly in front of them. However, managing an Army would also be a drag on Yang Kai. If he acted alone, it would undoubtedly be more convenient. Unlike the other Ninth-Order Masters, Yang Kai was proficient in Dao of Space, so even if he travelled from one battlefield to the next, the amount of time spent in transit would actually be quite small.
As the two conversed, the rest of the staff sat quietly to the side, listening in amazement.
Among the numerous Ninth-Order Masters, the person in front of them was probably the only one who could laugh and treat the Black Ink Clan as if they were insignificant. But, everyone knew that this was not arrogance but extreme self-confidence.
In the Main Conference Hall, Mi Jing Lun looked at Yang Kai with a hint of apology, “I know it’s been tough for you to rush around, but we don’t have much time to spare. We’re counting on you to take care of the Red Flame Army’s situation.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I haven’t been in a fight for so many years. It’s time to go and stretch my muscles.”
As he spoke, he stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he suddenly threw something back that flew straight towards Mi Jing Lun.
Mi Jing Lun caught it as he heard Yang Kai say, “I brought a small gift for Senior Brother. Please accept it.”
By the time he looked up, Yang Kai had already disappeared.
Watching Yang Kai leave, the staff members, who had been anxious for a long time, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since Yang Kai had returned and was headed towards the E-5 Territory, it was quite likely that things there would soon be under control.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan had no idea that he had returned, and they would surely suffer a big loss once caught off guard.
“Supreme Commander Mi, since Sir Yang has returned, why not gather all the Ninth-Order Masters and directly attack the No-Return Pass?” Someone suggested.
The Black Ink Clan’s advantage lay not only in the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but also in the steady stream of troops. As long as they had enough Black Ink Nests and supplies, they could continually spawn large Armies.
If they attacked the No-Return Pass and destroyed the High-Rank Black Ink Nests, they could completely cut off the Black Ink Clan’s supply of troops. Then the pressure on the Human Race would be greatly reduced.
Currently, the Black Ink Clan Army seemed endless, but without the Black Ink Nests, they would eventually be eradicated completely.
Roughly 500 years ago, the Humans had attempted this, but at that time, there were only four Ninth-Order Masters and unfortunately, the Black Ink Clan was on guard, so the attempt failed.
But now, with Yang Kai’s return, there were seven Ninth-Order Masters in total, almost twice as many as before. If they made another attempt, there was a high chance of success.
Mi Jing Lun held the box tightly and shook his head, “It’s too risky. Even if it succeeds, we may not be able to destroy all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests. If we can’t cut off the roots once and for all, this move would be meaningless and would only put all the Armies at unnecessary risk.”
Today was different from the past. The 12 Armies of the Human Race were all fighting far from the rear lines and from each other, and the Black Ink Clan had their own countermeasures in place. If the Ninth-Order Masters suddenly disappeared, the Black Ink Clan would surely take advantage of the situation. Without the Ninth-Order Masters’ assuming command, the previously evenly matched situation could strongly tilt in the Black Ink Clan’s favour. By that time, the Human Race would undoubtedly suffer countless deaths and injuries, and the previously accumulated achievements might all be lost at once.
The staff member who spoke thought about it and then nodded lightly, “What Supreme Commander Mi said is true. I was thinking too simply.”
“At present, the situation of the two Races is such that our Human Race can only steadily fight while not showing any openings to the Black Ink Clan. You must all remember this,” Mi Jing Lun replied.
“Yes,” everyone responded in unison.
Mi Jing Lun withdrew his gaze and casually opened the box that Yang Kai threw to him before leaving. Since Yang Kai said it was a small gift he had brought back, Mi Jing Lun didn’t give it much thought, but the moment he opened the box, his expression froze stiff.
Not only him, but all the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Main Hall were instantly attracted to the object in the box.
Lying in the box was a multi-coloured light pill, with a wondrous aura emanating from it that made both Mi Jing Lun and the Eighth-Order staff feel as if the bottlenecks that had bound them for millennia were showing signs of loosening.
Although they had never seen this kind of pill before, the Eighth-Order Masters who felt the abnormality at this moment recognised its origin at a glance.
“A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill!” Someone exclaimed.
Mi Jing Lun became even more shocked as the words passed through his ears.
[The ‘small gift’ Yang Kai brought back is actually a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill?] He couldn’t believe his eyes.
But only something like the mysterious energy of such a pill could loosen the shackles of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master; in this world, there was probably nothing else that could do this except for a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
This was a priceless treasure that all peak Eighth-Order Masters dreamed of. It was an opportunity to break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method. This Spirit Pill also represented the birth of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
With Mi Jing Lun’s many years of accumulation and heritage, if he were to refine it, he would surely advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in short order.
Instantly, Mi Jing Lun understood.
This Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was probably snatched by Yang Kai from the Chaos Spirit King.
Years ago, he had talked to many Masters who had returned from the Universe Furnace to find out about Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
Some had reported feeling Yang Kai’s aura from afar, but also that he disappeared quickly. It seemed that Yang Kai was being chased by the Chaos Spirit King at that time.
At that time, Mi Jing Lun speculated that Yang Kai had probably gone to trouble the Chaos Spirit King again and snatch the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill he lost in the great battle against the Black Ink Clan. However, as Yang Kai had been missing for so many years, there was no way to verify this.
It wasn’t until now, with the Spirit Pill in his hand as proof, that Mi Jing Lun’s guess was confirmed; Yang Kai had indeed snatched the Spirit Pill back. No wonder the Chaos Spirit King had been chasing after him all that time.
Encountering Yang Kai was bad luck for the Chaos Spirit King, who had to fight for the Spirit Pill several times.
Gently closing the wooden box in his hand, Mi Jing Lun momentarily pondered before saying, “I need to enter retreat for a while. You guys can handle things here on your own. If it’s not an emergency, feel free to consult amongst yourselves.”
The others nodded in agreement.
After that, Mi Jing Lun stepped out of the Main Hall, holding the box tightly in his hand.
At present, there were many Masters at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, many of whom had made great contributions to the Human Race on the battlefield. These individuals were commendable, having risked their lives for the greater cause. They too required Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills to break through their current bottlenecks; however, there was only one pill.
Mi Jing Lun was not a selfish person. If it were peacetime, he might not have cared about the Spirit Pill because he was not someone who was obsessed with reaching the Ninth Order.
But this was war! He was the Supreme Commander of the Human Race’s 12 Armies. These Armies had made continuous progress over the past 600 years, reclaiming more than 200 Great Territories. However, with such a long and distant front line, it was no longer appropriate to have the Supreme Headquarters set up in this location; after all, feedback from the front lines couldn’t be timely, and would often affect decision-making and responses.
Mi Jing Lun had also thought about relocating the Supreme Headquarters to a position closer to the battlefield, but he didn’t dare to do so because he was only an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and the number of people left behind at the Supreme Headquarters was not enough to deal with a surprise attack if led by Pseudo-Royal Lords or Royal Lords.
If the Black Ink Clan found the location of the Supreme Headquarters and launched an attack, it would be disastrous.
Mi Jing Lun’s death alone wouldn’t matter much, but if the Supreme Headquarters was wiped out, it would definitely affect the morale of the Human Race Army. Without the central coordination of the Supreme Headquarters, the various Armies would also not be able to coordinate with one another.
In terms of information transmission, the Humans were not as efficient and fast compared to the Black Ink Clan. So, losing the Supreme Headquarters would be extremely detrimental to the overall situation.
Mi Jing Lun knew that if he could advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, all his past plans could be put into action. The Supreme Headquarters could be deployed towards the direction of the battlefield and receive frontline information in a more timely manner.
When he saw the Spirit Pill, Mi Jing Lun hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to use it to break through to the Ninth Order.
After Mi Jing Lun left, the group of staff members gradually regained their calm. Although they might never have the chance to reach the Ninth Order, and the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill would not be for them, they couldn’t help but feel happy that another Ninth-Order Master was soon to be born in the Human Race.
An Eighth-Order Master spoke in a low voice, “Supreme Commander Mi’s breakthrough is classified information and should not be leaked under any circumstances.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Black Ink Clan now had a thorough understanding of the Human Race, with six Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters leading six Armies. Keeping in mind that they were probably unaware of Yang Kai’s return, it wouldn’t be long before the E-5 Territory plunged into a reign of terror.
If Mi Jing Lun were to break through to the Ninth-Order Realm, the Human Race would have a total of eight Ninth-Order Masters, so concealing Mi Jing Lun’s breakthrough could potentially be used to their advantage in the future. Everyone here was smart enough to understand this.
It was tacit even if Mi Jing Lun did not give any orders about it.
…..
The E-5 Territory was a Great Territory with a designated code rather than a name. It had always been barren, with only a few Universe Worlds with Martial Daos even inferior to the Star Boundary before it flourished.
Despite its lack of distinction, there were still quite a number of such Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds.
When the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, they effortlessly took over this Great Territory, and the living beings on the few Universe Worlds here had no idea what had happened, falling victim to the disaster.
After capturing this Great Territory, the Black Ink Clan did not leave too many forces here, as neither they nor the Human Race paid much attention to such a Great Territory.
However, 10 years ago, the E-5 Territory had become the battlefield where the Red Flame Army and the Black Ink Clan fought.
As Mi Jing Lun said, over the years, the Black Ink Clan had intentionally and unintentionally abandoned more than 200 Great Territories, forcing the Humans to extend their battle lines, which gave them a chance to strike at the Red Flame Army.
Retreating at the right time would not be considered a failure; but rather, a forward-thinking plan to make for a better counterattack. Under the leadership of Mo Na Ye, despite losing many Great Territories and some troops, the Black Ink Clan’s top combat power was well-preserved.
The string of losses had caused the Black Ink Clan’s anger to boil for hundreds of years, and once this kind of anger erupted, it would be unstoppable. As long as they could defeat the Red Flame Army, the Black Ink Clan’s years of forbearance would be worthwhile. That was why Black Ink Clan was determined to win this war.
The reason why they chose the Red Flame Army was because it did not have a Ninth-Order Master leading it, making them easier to deal with. There were only a few Ninth-Order Masters, but the Humans were divided into 12 Armies, making it impossible for each one to have a Ninth-Order Master.
In the E-5 Territory, a massive battle was in full swing.
More than a decade ago, the Red Flame Army had been on a winning streak, liberating numerous Great Territories one after another, until they advanced into the E-5 Territory where the Black Ink Clan had long made their preparations, resulting in the two great Armies engaging in a fierce struggle in the vast and boundless void.
Over the last 10 years, large-scale battles occurred regularly, with both sides suffering losses each time. Despite the Red Flame Army’s overwhelming momentum, they could no longer easily recapture this Territory as they had done with so many before.
After hundreds of years of retreating, the Black Ink Clan Army finally displayed an unimaginable fighting spirit and resilience. For the first time in hundreds of years, they began to push back against the Red Flame Army, holding them at bay. In addition, the continuous involvement of many Pseudo-Royal Lords put enormous pressure on the Red Flame Army’s Masters.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were almost equivalent to Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters, beings no lone Eighth-Order Master was a match for. At the very least, they needed to form a Five Elements or even a Six Paths Formation to contend with a Pseudo-Royal Lord head-on.
And there were a total of almost 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords in the E-5 Territory!
This was a terrifying number as there would not be this many Pseudo-Royal Lords participating at the other fronts in the war unless there was a Ninth-Order Master present.
The Black Ink Clan’s intentions were clear, they intended to use these Pseudo-Royal Lords to deliver a crushing blow to the Red Flame Army to serve as a warning to all other Human Race Masters!
Though faced with such a strong opponent, the Red Flame Army demonstrated remarkable determination. In each battle, many Eighth-Order Masters gave their all, sacrificing their blood and even their lives in those battles against the Pseudo-Royal Lords. Countless were those who had burnt out and faded away.
They did all of this for only one purpose, to weaken the strength of these Pseudo-Royal Lords, even if they couldn’t kill them!
The Black Ink Clan took advantage of the large number of Innate Territory Lords who had escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to create a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, which was an advantage that the Humans could not match for the time being.
However, the Black Ink Clan had a weakness that was difficult to resolve; once they were injured, it was hard to restore themselves.
The injuries were not severe at first, as the Pseudo-Royal Lords were strong, so it hardly affected them; however, once the injuries became serious, their strength would greatly decline which also meant they had to enter a Black Ink Nest to restore themselves.
With each sacrifice made by the many Eighth-Order Masters, the injuries of the Pseudo-Royal Lords accumulated, forcing them to leave the battlefield and return to the No-Return Pass to heal.
If it weren’t for the continuous dispatch of new Pseudo-Royal Lords from the No-Return Pass to assist in the battle in E-5 Territory, the war would not have been so fierce and the Red Flame Army might even have had a good chance of defeating the enemy.
However, all of this was at the cost of a large number of Eighth-Order Masters dying.
Furthermore, to balance the power gap between the various Armies, the Supreme Headquarters intentionally transferred Divine Spirits to the Armies without Ninth-Order Masters leading them. The Red Flame Army was no exception. Although they didn’t have many Divine Spirits, there were more than 30 with them; even the Ancient Dragon Elders of the Dragon Clan, the Phoenixes, and other Divine Spirits were here with them, lending their aid.
These Divine Spirits had lived for countless years and were undoubtedly stronger than the average Eighth-Order Master. Although there was still a power gap between them and the Pseudo-Royal Lords, their unique Innate Divine Abilities made up for this to a large extent. Often, just two or three Divine Spirits working together could compete with a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
It was precisely because of these factors that the Red Flame Army had been able to persist.
The situation was still very unfavourable, though, as the Black Ink Clan had targeted the Red Flame Army as their primary enemy. Naturally, they would not let the Red Flame Army off so easily. In recent years, the Black Ink Clan had continuously increased their military forces, putting tremendous pressure on all parts of the Red Flame Army.
Any astute person could see that the war in E-5 Territory would ultimately end with the defeat of the Red Flame Army.
The Human Race Masters wanted to kill Masters from the Black Ink Clan, but wasn’t it the same for the Black Ink Clan? There were still many Pseudo-Royal Lords waiting in the No-Return Pass, ready to enter the battlefield at any time. If Mo Na Ye were to throw caution to the wind and dispatch all the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Red Flame Army would have no way to fight back.
The reason he didn’t do so was to slowly grind down the Humans’ strength like a blunt knife cutting meat. Although the Pseudo-Royal Lords had suffered serious injuries over the past decade, not a single one died, while countless Eighth-Order Masters had.
But even if the Humans knew this, what could they do? The Red Flame Army could not retreat, so all they could do was grit their teeth and persist. Seeking external assistance was also impossible as all the other Armies were dealing with their own opponents and no one had spare power to lend.
If it had been a few hundred years ago, when the Human Race was only defending the dozen or so original Great Territory Battlefields, they could have requested reinforcements from nearby Great Territories. Because at that time, the distance between the various battlefields was not too great, so they could quickly go help and then withdraw.
But now, with the Human Race’s battle lines stretched out so thin, while the various Armies were certainly coordinating their operations, it was difficult to form a situation where they could support each other.
Mo Na Ye’s plan finally came to fruition, and the constant retreat of the Black Ink Clan proved that it was not all for nought.
In the void, a standard Warship charged forward, surrounded by countless Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, who were nothing more than cannon fodder. Although there were occasional High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, they posed no significant threat.
However, in the vast void, this Warship was always at risk of being destroyed, as the number of Black Ink Clan Soldiers was simply too great to defeat. To make matters worse, there were also several Feudal Lords hiding and striking from the shadows when they saw openings.
Trapped here were 11 soldiers from the Red Flame Army Fourth Division, led by Squad Leader Wang Qian and Vice Squad Leader Zhao Li. Only one other member was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, while the rest were only of the Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order.
Although the Human Race now had the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World as Open Heaven Realm Cradles, not everyone possessed remarkable aptitude; most had an average talent. Only those highly talented ones received a lot of attention.
Furthermore, even geniuses required time to grow and ascend step by step from lower Orders to higher ones; therefore, the majority of the large Armies of the Human Race were still made up of Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters.
However, the average cultivation among the Human Race Masters had increased by at least one or two Orders compared to several thousand years ago.
On the Black Ink Battlefield, having only one Seventh-Order Master per Squad as its Squad Leader was normal. While there was not a shortage of Seventh-Order Masters, there were not too many of them either. Only those who had reached the Seventh Order were eligible for the role of Squad Leader.
But this particular Squad was unique as it had not one or two, but three Seventh-Order Masters, highlighting the general growth of power. In the Red Flame Army, such Squad compositions were considered standard, and it could be said that it was rare for a Squad to have just one Seventh-Order Master in this Army.
Currently, some elite Squads even had Squad Leaders who were Eighth-Order Masters!
The number of Eighth-Order Masters among the Human Race was now quite significant. This was not only due to the accumulation over the years but also because of a surge in Eighth-Order Masters thanks to the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills harvested from the Universe Furnace.
The overall increase in average cultivation also greatly enhanced the strength of various Human Race Armies.
Even so, Wang Qian’s Squad was currently in a tricky situation. During a previous large-scale clash with the Black Ink Clan Army, they got separated from their Division. This was not uncommon during clashes between the two Armies as soldiers could easily get lost in the vast and boundless battlefield.
Normally in such situations, the aim was to return quickly to one’s Division and reunite with one’s comrades; otherwise, being left stranded could make one an easy target for the enemy.
Wang Qian also wanted to lead his Squad back to their Division, but they had the misfortune of encountering a group of the Black Ink Clansmen along the way, forcing them to fight and flee.
With the Black Ink Clan’s overwhelming numbers, the situation for the Squad became even more precarious. The three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Masters took up positions on different sides of the Warship and continually unleashed the power of their Secret Techniques and artifacts, blasting away at the Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Suddenly, a cry rang out from the Sixth-Order Master responsible, “Squad Leader, the Defensive Array is about to collapse! We can’t hold on much longer!”
Another team member shouted, “The Tiger Roar Cannon is overheating! We can only use it three more times at most!”
The Tiger Roar Cannon was the primary Offensive Artifact of their Warship, and every standard Squad Class Warship was equipped with one. When combined with pre-arranged arrays, three Sixth-Order Masters could infuse their power into the artifact to unleash an attack equivalent to a Seventh-Order Master’s full power strike.
However, artifacts and arrays were ultimately lifeless objects, and using them too frequently in a short period could easily exceed their limits.
The Warship’s primary armament was about to overload, and the defensive shields were on the verge of collapse. For the entire Squad, this was adding insult to injury, as the former would greatly reduce the Squad’s might, and the latter would directly decide the safety of the Squad members.
Squad Leader Wang Qian shouted angrily while fighting the enemy, “Zhong Wu Yu!”
“Don’t shout, I’m already working on it!” Came the response quickly from the Warship. He was the last third Seventh-Order Master of the Squad. In a hurry, he ran to the Tiger Roar Cannon and inspected the artifact. He then quickly took out some supplies and activated his power to repair it.
Zhong Wu Yu was not only a Seventh-Order Master, but also an Artifact Refiner. He was no Grandmaster, or even a Great Master, but generally, small damage to the Warship did not need to be sent to the logistics department for repair as he could patch it himself.
On the other side, Vice Squad Leader Zhao Li had a face painted with fresh blood, looking quite dishevelled. He had just charged out into the enemy’s lines and killed a lot of them, easing the pressure on the Squad. But he had also been injured and was now cursing out loud, “That damn Mi Jing Lun! Are we, the Red Flame Army, their forgotten stepchildren? Why don’t we have Ninth-Order Masters leading us like the Soaring Cloud Army or Purple Feather Army?”
As the saying went, ‘Unequal distribution of resources is worse than scarcity.’ Currently, there were six Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race, but there were a total of 12 frontline Armies.
In the beginning, Luo Ting He was in charge of Azure Sun Territory and managed the Azure Sun Army. Similarly, Wei Jun Yang managed the Wolf Fang Army, so it was understandable that these two Armies could have Ninth-Order Masters leading them. At most, it made people a little envious, but no one would say anything about it.
After the Universe Furnace closed, Ou Yang Lie and Xiang Shan returned as Ninth-Order Masters and took over the Profound Nether Army and Blood Flame Armies respectively. No one said anything about it since they had entered the Universe Furnace from Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory previously. It could only be said that Profound Nether and Blood Flame had been lucky.
The Red Flame Army also had many Eighth-Order Masters entering the Universe Furnace at that time, but they were unable to ascend to the Ninth-Order.
When Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were freed, all the Armies watched them expectantly, hoping that these two Ninth-Order Masters would lead them to strengthen their forces.
However, there were only two Ninth-Order Masters and eight Armies hoping to get them. In the end, it was decided by the Supreme Headquarters that Xiao Xiao would lead the Soaring Cloud Army and Wu Qing would lead the Purple Feather Army.
Some had considered consolidating the twelve Armies into six, in which case six Ninth-Order Masters would be enough, but currently, each Army had a massive number of troops. If two were to be combined, the number of troops would increase drastically, making it difficult to manage and coordinate.
Furthermore, there would be more Ninth-Order Masters in the future, did they have to split the Armies once again when that happened?
With these considerations, the Supreme Headquarters decided to maintain the status quo of having 12 Armies; however, half of them would not have a Ninth-Order Master in command, so the Supreme Headquarters could only send Divine Spirits to provide assistance and maintain the balance.
Upon hearing Zhao Li’s complaints, Wang Qian could not help but scold, “The Supreme Headquarters also has its own difficulties! What are you complaining about!?”
“I know,” though Zhao Li was hot-tempered, he was not ignorant of the situation. He wouldn’t usually bring up such issues, but the situation was dire and they were likely to perish soon. When a person was about to die, they couldn’t care less about anything else.
“If you have the ability, then you ascend to the Ninth Order yourself and take charge of the Red Flame Army!” Wang Qian cursed.
Upon hearing that, Zhao Li became furious, “Ascend my ass! I will reach my limit at the Eighth Order in this life… What’s more, those bastards in the logistics department… I wanted to use my military merits to exchange for materials to upgrade the Warship, but they refused. My military merits are hard-earned, why can’t I upgrade my Warship? If I had done so earlier, would we have fallen into this situation? I won’t let those bastards off the hook even after I die!”
Wang Qian remained silent and focused on killing the enemy.
Their Warship was produced by the artifact refiners from the logistics department, and was the standard model that 99% of Squads used. Even if it was a generic Warship, each one cost a lot of resources to refine.
In earlier years, soldiers were not prohibited from using their military merits to exchange for materials to modify their Warships. Since military merits were earned at the cost of their lives, there were no restrictions on how they could use them. As a result, many preferred to upgrade their Warships, believing that a well-equipped Warship would not only help them survive on the battlefield but also increase their chances of killing enemies.
Millennia ago, when Yang Kai led Dawn on the Black Ink Battlefield, their Warship Dawning Light was heavily modified at the cost of a vast amount of military merits. Yang Kai invested most of his military merits in Dawning Light, greatly enhancing its various capabilities and allowing the Dawn Squad to thrive in numerous bloody battles.
However, in recent years, soldiers were no longer allowed to modify their Warships in that manner. The higher-ups were not ignorant of the benefits of modifying Warships, but now that the Human Race faced a scarcity of resources, each resource had to be carefully accounted for and allocated. How could there be any extra resources to give to troops for modifying their Warships?
Only some elite Squads, through a lengthy application process, could exchange military merits for resources to modify their Warships. Even then, the number of military merits required was far more than before.
At this moment, it was unreasonable for Zhao Li to curse the logistics department as they were only executing orders from the higher-ups; however, with everyone facing harsh circumstances and potential death, venting his anger by cursing was understandable.
“Squad Leader, the Defensive Array is about to collapse!” A Squad member shouted.
Wang Qian looked up and saw the shield surrounding their Warship had already dimmed and was on the verge of cracking.
Taking a deep breath, he shouted, “Prepare for a final fight! Xiao Wu, activate the self-destruct array of the Warship! Set it for 10 breaths!”
“Yes!” Responded the Fifth-Order Master who had been called out.
Even if they had to die, they would kill as many enemies as possible!
On the other hand, Zhong Wu Yu, who had been repairing the Tiger Roar Cannon, stopped. There was no point in wasting any more time. He took out his sword and leapt to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Wang Qian, staring resolutely at the densely packed Black Ink Clansmen surrounding them.
One by one, the Squad members summoned their artifacts and gathered around Wang Qian. Their momentum was soaring, and their aura was surging as they formed their Battle Formations.
Even facing thousands of enemies, they advanced fearlessly.
They would fight to the bitter end!
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the enemy Army. In the next moment, Wang Qian and others’ faces changed slightly as they sensed a vast number of auras disappearing in the surrounding area as if an endless number of Black Ink Clansmen had died in an instant.
But, due to the overwhelming numbers of Black Ink Clansmen surrounding the Warship, they were unable to see what was happening beyond them, leaving them bewildered.
Just as they were in a state of confusion, they suddenly noticed ripples in the void ahead of them. As the ripples passed through, space shook and then shattered, causing countless Void Cracks to spread out like a school of fish swimming over them.
The countless Void Cracks almost enveloped all of the Black Ink Clansmen, yet somehow avoided where their Warship was located, which fortunately remained unscathed.
In the next instant, the Black Ink Clan Army that had cornered them, regardless of their strength or location, all spewed out black blood as they were sliced into pieces by the Void Cracks. Many of them died with bewildered expressions on their faces, not understanding what just happened.
“Wha…” Wang Qian was stunned by the scene.
Although he still didn’t know exactly what had happened, the only thing he could understand was that a powerful allied Master had intervened and instantly killed those Black Ink Clansmen.
[What incredible power…] He didn’t even notice any energy fluctuations, just a layer of ripples, followed by the formation of Void Cracks that enveloped all of the Black Ink Clansmen surrounding their Warship, including the Feudal Lords who had been hiding nearby.
The next moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the sea of corpses and blood. That figure locked eyes with Wang Qian and said nothing before nodding lightly as he confirmed that they were safe. Then, he took a step forward and disappeared.
“Xiao Wu!” Wang Qian suddenly snapped out of his trance, turned his head, and shouted, “Stop!”
He had just given this Squad member the command to activate the self-destruct array after 10 breaths, and he didn’t know if he could stop it now.
At a glance, Wang Qian breathed a sigh of relief as Xiao Wu seemed to have been stunned by what just happened and was standing there motionless.
“Squad Leader, who was that? The Division Commander?” After a moment of silence, one of the team members spoke up and asked.
“Division Commander?” Zhong Wu Yu turned his head and glanced at the person, snorting softly, “Division Commanders don’t have that kind of power.”
What they just witnessed was not something an Eighth-Order Division Commander could accomplish. How could they possibly annihilate such a large number of Black Ink Clansmen in an instant, including several powerful Feudal Lords. Although an Eighth-Order Master could indeed destroy such an enemy force, it would not have been this swift and effortless.
“Not an Eighth-Order Master?” The person who spoke was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, “Could it be…”
“It’s Senior Yang!” Zhao Li’s eyes shone brightly. Although Yang Kai had only appeared for a moment, Zhao Li recognized him.
Zhao Li had always regarded Senior Yang as his goal to strive for. Previously, he ascended straight to the Sixth Order, so the Eighth-Order Realm was the limit of his life, and the Ninth Order was out of his reach.
However, Senior Yang directly ascended to the Fifth Order in the past and was now in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, giving many people like Zhao Li hope that he might just still be able to grow to that height one day.
Therefore, Zhao Li had done a lot of research on Yang Kai and even personally went to High Heaven Palace to pay homage to his statue.
Not only Zhao Li, but Wang Qian also recognised Yang Kai and was full of excitement.
He muttered to himself, “Wasn’t Senior Yang trapped in the Universe Furnace?”
It wasn’t a secret that Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace. Anyone who paid attention to him knew about it. How could he disappear for hundreds of years if he wasn’t trapped there? So, Wang Qian couldn’t figure out how Yang Kai appeared there.
Zhao Li chuckled and said, “For that Senior, being trapped in the Universe Furnace is nothing. He must have found a way out on his own.”
Zhong Wu Yu nodded and continued, “Heroes arise in troubled times. With Senior’s return, the Black Ink Clan is in deep trouble. In any case, we owe him a lot this time. We would have been doomed without his intervention.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Haven’t you guys thought of something else?” Zhao Li smiled.
“What else?”
“Senior’s appearance here means that the Red Flame Army now also has a Ninth-Order Master leading us!”
Only then did everyone realize this!
The Red Flame Army had always hoped to have their own Ninth-Order Master leading them, like the other six Armies. Unfortunately, there were only so many Ninth-Order Masters around, so how could their wish come true?
Now that Yang Kai had appeared in E-5 Territory, did it not mean that the Red Flame Army would have a Ninth-Order Master assuming command as well? Their long-cherished wish was finally about to come true!
For a moment, everyone became ecstatic…
After being uplifted, Wang Qian quickly gave orders, and the Warship swept in an arc towards the direction of their Division.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and moved rapidly towards the vast battlefield in the void.
Setting out from Supreme Headquarters, he had been hurrying all the way and arrived at E-5 Territory in less than half a month. After ascending to the Ninth Order, his control over Space Principles had become more proficient, making his travel time shorter than before. If it was before, it would have taken at least a month or two to travel such a distance.
When he encountered Wang Qian’s Squad being besieged on the way, he casually rescued them. For him, it was not a big deal, but he didn’t expect that Wang Qian’s Squad would have some misunderstandings after he showed up.
The intense main battlefield was in sight, and Yang Kai used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to conceal his figure and aura.
For over 600 years, there had been no news of him. Not only did the Human Race think he was trapped in the Universe Furnace, but so did the Black Ink Clan. Not even Mo Na Ye could imagine that he would suddenly appear at this moment.
Since that was the case, then he would announce his return with a giant slaughter!
Amid the vast void, the massive armies of both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan were engaged in a bloody fight. Warships flew about as Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities were shot in all directions.
Between the unleashing of Evil Purging Divine Spears and the spread of the Black Ink Clouds across the void, countless lives were constantly lost in the chaos of the battlefield.
One warship could no longer hold up against the Black Ink Clan’s fervent attacks. The Defensive Array shattered, and breaths before the warship was annihilated, numerous silhouettes shot out into the enemy lines with the determination to go out fighting.
Wherever the Black Ink Clan gathered, the Human Race Masters made sure to target the area with the strength of their artifacts, and they managed to carve large swaths into the enemy lines.
Ever since the Red Flame Army started sieging E-5 Territory, brutal battles had broken out countless times.
The fighting was most intense on the main battlefield, but outside the main battlefield, many other areas had been turned into smaller battlefields too.
This was a feverish battle between the Masters from both sides.
The Eighth-Order Masters, the Divine Spirits, the Territory Lords and the Pseudo-Royal Lords were clashing across the many smaller battlefields as well. Now and then, Dragon Roars and Phoenix Cries echoed across the void, the strong, sonorous roars reaching the ears of both allies and enemies alike, shaking the hearts of all.
The death toll soared on every single battlefield.
The Red Flame Army did not have a Ninth-Order Master assuming command, so to face off against the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Eighth-Order Masters had to use Battle Formations. Most of the time, a single Pseudo-Royal Lord was able to keep five or six Eighth-Order Masters occupied.
Even the Divine Spirits formed groups of twos and threes to deal with the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Fortunately, the Humans had benefited greatly from the Universe Furnace. Many new Eighth-Order Masters had emerged over the years already, and the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills that the Humans brought out from the Universe Furnace led to the birth of even more Eighth-Order Masters. Had that not been the case, the number of Eighth-Order Masters in the Red Flame Army would not have sufficed for them to keep the enemy at bay.
Many factors went into deciding the victory of a battle as significant as this. Although the fight had been going on for quite some time now, both parties were still at a stalemate.
On some of the battlefields, the Humans had the advantage, but on others, the Black Ink Clan were in a better position. Achieving victory would depend on which side was able to make the most of their advantage and widen the gap to eventually make it snowball into a decisive win.
But, for the time being, both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan lacked the means to enable them to achieve such an effect.
For the past decade, the Red Flame Army had fought similarly intense battles with the enemy numerous times, but they were never able to gain a decisive edge, though they were never on the losing end of the fight either. All in all, the situation remained a stalemate between both sides.
However, as time passed and the number of battles increased, the situation began to look bad for the Humans.
This was because the Pseudo-Royal Lords that the Red Flame Army were up against were far too decisive and ruthless.
The Black Ink Clan’s large numbers of Pseudo-Royal Lords imposed a heavy burden on the Red Flame Army. None of the Eighth-Order Masters or the Divine Spirits could face off against the Pseudo-Royal Lords alone after all.
Yet, the Black Ink Clan had sent nearly 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords to E-5 Territory, which ended up occupying a sizable portion of the Red Flame Army’s top combat power.
To hold their ground, the Eighth-Order Masters fought valiantly with no regard for their lives as they confronted the Pseudo-Royal Lords. They figured that even if they could not kill the Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were still going to do their best to injure them. As long as the injuries kept mounting, they would have a chance to kill the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Therefore, though the Pseudo-Royal Lords were injured time and time again, many of the Eighth-Order Masters had been sacrificed as well.
In the last 10 years, nearly 200 Eighth-Order Masters had died at the hands of these Pseudo-Royal Lords, but right up till their deaths, these Eighth-Order Masters had given their all to inflict wounds that would make it hard for their enemies to recover.
200 Eighth-Order Masters was not a number that could be overlooked. Back on the Black Ink Battlefield, no Great Pass would even have 100 Eighth-Order Masters in total.
The Humans were only able to withstand such heavy losses because their heritage had strengthened and more Eighth-Order Masters kept rising.
While the Humans used this method to fight against the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan’s strategy to counter them was just as simple. They sent the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were too injured to fight back to No-Return Pass to recuperate and deployed unscathed ones to join the battle.
This meant that the Pseudo-Royal Lords the Red Flame Army was dealing with had changed throughout the last 10 years, though the total number on the field remained the same.
There was still a large group of Pseudo-Royal Lords hanging around at the No-Return Pass. That being said, Mo Na Ye did not send all of them out. Firstly, it was because there had to be Masters standing guard at No-Return Pass, and secondly, it was feeding into the strategy he had in mind.
This was the best way to consistently deplete the Human Race’s strength.
In this way, Mo Na Ye actually shared Mi Jing Lun’s stance. The current battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan was not for the sake of claiming Great Territories for themselves, but to weaken the enemy’s forces. The fact that both parties had the same idea led to the devastating battle at E-5 Territory.
Aboard a Purifying Black Ink Battleship in the Red Flame Eastern Army’s possession, the Eastern Army Commander Zuo Qiu Yang Hua was going through the reports he received from the battlefield and giving out orders as needed. His expression was grave, and the atmosphere inside the Warship was tense as well.
The Humans’ 12 Armies had all fought against the Black Ink Clan on the Great Territory Battlefields for thousands of years, so without enough Ninth-Order Masters available, Armies were still under the command of experienced Eighth-Order Masters like Zuo Qiu Yang Hua.
All 12 Armies had massive numbers, so it was hard for an Eighth-Order Master to take control over the entire situation alone. Thus, the Armies mimicked the system of the Great Passes of the past, splitting into Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern Armies which formed a single Grand Army when combined. Naturally, each Army had a Master leading them.
Doing so made things a little more complicated as the four Army Commanders would have disagreements along the way, but there was no other choice. Without a Ninth-Order Master to take the lead, the Humans had to rely on the veteran Eighth-Order Masters’ battle experience and perceptiveness to make appropriate arrangements.
Thankfully, they had spent several millennia getting into the right mindset, and the four Army Commanders of the Red Flame Army had formed an impossibly close relationship. They were able to work as one to command the entire Army smoothly.
Their rapport and mutual understanding after so many years of working together enabled the Red Flame Army to display their maximum strength at all times and fend off the Black Ink Clan’s attacks time and time again. The Black Ink Clan failed to gain any upper hand in their fights so far.
Out on the battlefield, things could change at any moment. Amid the intense fighting, everyone was focused on their immediate vicinity and it was difficult for them to pay attention to the situation happening elsewhere. Thus, it was easy to get into the situation of having great success on one battlefield while losing miserably on another. Masters could break through the enemy lines and slaughter their troops or suddenly be under siege and in need of rescue with little to no warning.
The Red Flame Army’s Masters were only able to maintain an equilibrium across all the fights because the Commanders kept moving them around as necessary.
Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua had only just given out an order when the observer who was keeping an eye on the situation out on the battlefields called out in alarm, “Sir, a group of Black Ink Clan members have broken through the lines and are charging straight at us. They’re coming over now with two Pseudo-Royal Lords in the lead…” He checked the Monitoring Array and was able to quickly confirm their identities.
His voice trembled as he exclaimed, “It’s Jiang Chi and Hu Yu!”
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s eyes flashed as he scoffed, “Here I was wondering why they’d gone into hiding. So, this is what they were up to!”
After clashing all these years, the Red Flame Army knew full well who the Pseudo-Royal Lords they were facing were. Although the Pseudo-Royal Lords were rotated in and out a lot more than the Territory Lords, there were a few Pseudo-Royal Lords that the Red Flame Army considered their biggest threats.
Jiang Chi and Hu Yu were two such Pseudo-Royal Lords. Though they were not necessarily stronger than other Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were more cunning and harder to anticipate.
The Eastern Army had fought against these two Pseudo-Royal Lords many times. The Eighth-Order Masters had formed Battle Formations to try and injure the two of them, but they never succeeded and a few Eighth-Order Masters had been sacrificed along the way.
Ever since the start of the current battle, the Eastern Army had paid close attention to the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ movements, but they never found any trace of these two; thus, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua, who was in command here, was not surprised that they showed up now.
The fact that they were charging over so openly made it clear what the two Pseudo-Royal Lords’ goal was. They wanted to defeat the enemy by slaughtering the leader first. As long as they killed Zuo Qiu Yang Hua, the Eastern Army would be left without a Commander. Even though someone else could take over the task of giving out orders to the Eastern Army, that would take time to organize, and would leave an opening to strike at.
Thus, the Black Ink Clan would have the chance to overwhelm the Eastern Army.
The Black Ink Clan’s determination was seen from the fact that they were sending two Pseudo-Royal Lords to accomplish this goal; furthermore, they also brought a large group of Territory Lords with them.
As the Black Ink Clan assault team surged forward, the Eighth-Order Masters moved to intercept them, but the two Pseudo-Royal Lords did not even bother to look at the Humans. Instead, the Territory Lords broke off to keep these Eighth-Order Masters occupied.
Black Ink Strength kept spreading out wherever they went, and with the strength of the many Black Ink Clan members, they were able to clear a bloody path through the Human Army and charge towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
“We can’t hold them back, Sir!” The Master who was reporting on the situation cried out in alarm. With the way things were going, their enemies would soon be able to fly right up to them, and when that happened, everyone inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship would meet a disastrous fate.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua eyed the two figures in the distance with a cold gaze. Despite not being their equal in terms of combat strength, he showed no sign of wavering as he commanded, “Execute Operation Jade!”
His voice was steely and left no room for objections.
Everyone was shocked and some wanted to advise against it, but they could not bring themselves to do so. They had been under Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s leadership for many years now as they fought against the Black Ink Clan all this time. They had killed countless enemies and received immeasurable glory. They had a deep reverence for Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and knew what kind of person the Eastern Army Commander was.
Thus, once he gave the command, all of the Masters inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship jumped into action.
Human silhouettes whizzed about as the other Warships began breaking off from the massive Purifying Black Ink Battleship and flying off into the distance. Meanwhile, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and a few other Eighth-Order Masters stayed behind. Not only did they not leave, but they even began flaring their auras.
It was obvious what they were doing.
[I’m right here!]
When the two Pseudo-Royal Lords who were charging over saw the Warships leaving the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and flying off with many Human Race Masters onboard, they thought that Zuo Qiu Yang Hua had fled; however, when they sensed his aura, they no longer had that worry.
In fact, they chuckled to themselves, [Is he trying to let his subordinates escape because he knows he’s doomed to die?]
They did not mind. Their goal was to kill Zuo Qiu Yang Hua. Once they killed the Army Commander here, they were confident that the Black Ink Clan would be able to slaughter the entire Red Flame Eastern Army before swallowing up the rest of the three Armies. By doing so, they could deal a catastrophic blow to the Humans.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua came from Profound Sword Paradise and entered the Black Ink Battlefield when he was a Sixth-Order Master. After spending over 10,000 years serving at Profound Sword Pass, he went from being a Sixth-Order Master to an Eighth-Order Master, and also exhibited a talent in strategy and command that surpassed his peers.
When the Profound Sword Pass was still in existence, he served as Eastern Army Commander. Later on, the Human Crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction ended in defeat and the Army was forced to retreat. Profound Sword Pass had stayed back to delay the enemy, but the Black Ink Giant Spirit God attacked them viciously. In the end, Profound Sword Paradise’s Ninth-Order Old Ancestor died in that battle.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua had been fortunate enough to escape with his life. With the help of others, he was able to stay alive and retreat to No-Return Pass. Later on, the No-Return Pass had been lost as well and war broke out in the Barren Territory as the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds.
Thus, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua could be considered an extremely experienced Eighth-Order Master. Not many Eighth-Order Masters had a longer service record than him.
No one could object to him being in charge of the Red Flame Army’s Eastern Army and by default the Army Commander of the entire Red Flame Army.
Throughout all these years, he did not let the Human Race down. Under his leadership, the Red Flame Army had slaughtered countless enemies and gained a massive amount of Military Merits; however, now that two Pseudo-Royal Lords had their eyes on him, he knew he would not be getting lucky this time. The many millennia of fighting had made him intimately familiar with matters of life and death. Thus, now that his predestined time was upon him, he was neither fearful nor frantic. His heart was at peace, though he did have some regrets; after all, he had spent nearly all of his life engaged in the war against the Black Ink Clan, but he would not have the chance to witness the Human Race’s ultimate victory.
It was not to say that he did not see this day coming. As an Army Commander, he had already planned for a situation such as this beforehand. He knew that sooner or later, the Black Ink Clan would rely on the strength of their Pseudo-Royal Lords to execute the strategy they were currently using, so he prepared for it in advance.
Operation Jade was the counter he created for such a situation.
If a powerful enemy came to strike him down and he had no chance of victory, he was going to take them down with him!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were picking up speed and closing the distance as a powerful aura locked onto Zuo Qiu Yang Hua. As he stood unmoving, he declared, “Brothers, Sister, it has been my honour to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with you today. After today, we will join hands and conquer the afterlife next!”
One of the Eighth-Order Masters chuckled, “That’s the way it should be!”
“It’s a shame we won’t be around to witness the end of this war,” another one remarked.
Another voice rang out, saying, “The time to kill has come!”
The Eighth-Order Masters who remained behind had known from the start that they were most likely headed for their doom, but none of them felt any fear. On the contrary, when faced with such enormous pressure, their thirst for battle intensified.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s typically calm face broke out into a wide grin as he exclaimed, “In that case… charge!”
As he spoke, the Eighth-Order Masters channeled their World Force into the arrays, and in the very next breath, the massive Purifying Black Ink Battleship which had been quietly floating shook before shooting forward in a flash.
The two Pseudo-Royal Lords who were charging over had been completely calm at first, but they were startled when they saw what was happening.
Though they knew full well just how stubborn and full of resolve the Humans were, they were taken aback by such an aggressive response despite the obvious power differential.
Hu Yu, the larger of the two with a pair of wings growing out behind him, coldly snorted, “Overconfidence.”
He had seen similar situations many times. When confronted with a significant disparity in power, the Humans would usually react more aggressively, though that choice tended to be driven by unrealistic fantasies.
If he was still merely an Innate Territory Lord, he would have to dodge situations like these; however, ever since he became a Pseudo-Royal Lord, there were few Human Race Masters that required him to proceed with caution.
Jiang Chi, who was charging along beside him, warned, “Don’t let your guard down!”
Despite saying so, they did not slow their pace. They had brought some Territory Lords along with them, but they had all stopped to block the Eighth-Order Masters who came to intercept them, so right now, it was just the two Pseudo-Royal Lords who were fearlessly rushing straight towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship with nothing but their mighty power to back them up.
From a distance, the large artifacts that had been installed into the Purifying Black Ink Battleship began unleashing their power under the control of the remaining Eighth-Order Masters. However, these artifacts were only standard issue, so even though they were strengthened by Spirit Arrays and powered by Eighth-Order Masters, it was hard for these attacks to wound the two Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The two Pseudo-Royal Lords dodged or deflected the formidable attacks as they drew nearer to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Once the gap had shrunk to a critical point, Jiang Chi and Hu Yu both unleashed their powers at the same time. A wave of intense Black Ink Strength coursed through the void towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
A dazzling light barrier lit up and shielded the Purifying Black Ink Battleship as Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others used the Defensive Array to block the attacks.
The neverending stream of Black Ink Strength kept colliding against the Defensive Array, making it ripple violently. The Defensive Array was under constant strain and its light quickly faded.
Before the Pseudo-Royal Lords entered close quarters, the powerful shield had already been breached.
This was not because the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Defensive Array was weak by any means; however, there were not enough Masters on board the Purifying Black Ink Battleship right now. Only a pair of Eighth-Order Masters were maintaining the Array, so it was hard for it to display its full strength.
If there had been sufficient Masters to keep the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Defensive Array up, then even though it would not be able to withstand the relentless attacks from two Pseudo-Royal Lords for long, it would not have broken this quickly either.
Without the protection of the Defensive Array, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was akin to a Human who had been stripped naked of all defences and stood unprotected in front of two menacing Pseudo-Royal Lords.
As the overwhelming attacks rained down on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, its bow shattered and many artifacts were destroyed.
The remaining Eighth-Order Masters had no choice but to assume Battle Formations to defend themselves, but with only a handful of Eighth-Order Masters, it wasn’t enough to fend off two Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were caught in a hopeless situation!
Jiang Chi and Hu Yu grinned as they lunged towards the Humans.
Just then, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s gaze hardened. He was squeezing an Array Jade in his hand as he channelled a huge amount of energy into it.
In the next instant, the tattered Purifying Black Ink Battleship broke apart and the Eighth-Order Masters could barely keep their Formation as a shockwave burst forth.
The taunting looks on the two approaching Pseudo-Royal Lords’ faces had disappeared, only to be replaced by alarm and terror.
Jiang Chi’s eyes grew large while Hu Yu’s expression rapidly shifted.
As the Purifying Black Ink Battleship exploded, a pure, dazzling white light burst into existence. It was as if a Great Sun had exploded and its light scattered across the enormous void.
“Purifying Light!” Jiang Chi snarled, not hesitating for even a moment as both he and Hu Yu swiftly retreated.
This was the exact moment Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were waiting for, so they were not about to let the Pseudo-Royal Lords back away so easily. They were still in their Battle Formation and began casting Secret Techniques towards Jiang Chi.
These Secret Techniques were not particularly damaging, but they had one thing in common, which was the ability to restrain one’s opponent.
The Eighth-Order Masters did not think they would truly be able to pin down a powerful Pseudo-Royal Lord, their goal was only to delay him as long as possible.
Their efforts paid off; due to the effects of the Secret Techniques, Jiang Chi’s figure grew sluggish and the burst of Purifying Light was able to engulf him. At the very next moment, Jiang Chi’s furious, anguished cries escaped from the depths of the dazzling white light.
Hu Yu was more fortunate as Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others did not target him, but even so, he still suffered during the explosion of Purifying Light too. Although he had only been surrounded by the light for a brief moment, he was still in agony as he felt as if his body was on fire.
Once he stumbled out of the area that was covered in Purifying Light, he turned back with a look of lingering fear.
The Black Ink Clan naturally knew about the large amounts of Purifying Light that were sealed inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleships. Over the years, many Humans had fallen into the hands of the Black Ink Clan and were turned into Black Ink Disciples; thus, the Black Ink Clan had a fairly good understanding of their enemy.
The Humans also had artifacts known as Evil Purging Divine Spears that contained Purifying Light and were used to defeat powerful Black Ink Clansmen.
However, the Humans had never used the Purifying Light inside a Purifying Black Ink Battleship to directly attack the Black Ink Clan before; therefore, the latter had no idea that the Humans could utilize such a strategy.
It cost a great deal to create a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, and out on the battlefields, they were generally command ships where the leaders of the Human Race Armies gathered to strategize. Throughout all the battles, as long as the Humans were not completely routed, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were never destroyed.
But, today, Hu Yu witnessed something new.
When the huge amount of Purifying Light exploded out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, even a Pseudo-Royal Lord like him had great difficulty in confronting it head-on.
[How is Jiang Chi … He can’t be dead, right?]
Amid such thoughts, the dazzling light gradually faded away, and Jiang Chi’s silhouette reappeared. When Hu Yu spotted him, his heart dropped.
Jiang Chi was in a terrible state right now as Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the other Eighth-Order Masters were attacking him with such ferocity that black blood was constantly splashing. Hu Yu could sense that Jiang Chi’s aura was greatly weakened.
[He’s severely injured!] With wounds as grave as this, Jiang Chi would have to return to a Black Ink Nest to recuperate for at least 100 years.
Hu Yu could not help but feel relieved for his good fortune. [Thank goodness they didn’t target me.] He knew that if they did, he would not have fared any better than Jiang Chi.
At this moment, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were going all out. Two Pseudo-Royal Lords had come to attack them and one of them was now severely injured by Purifying Light. It was the perfect opportunity for the Humans to double down on the offensive. If they could not kill off this injured Pseudo-Royal Lord quickly enough, they would be out of their depth once the other returned to render aid.
With this in mind, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others did not hold back at all. Paying no mind to defence, they went all out to unleash their most devastating Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities, even though it meant that they would be injured in the process too.
Jiang Chi was battered by the relentless attacks and suddenly found himself in an extremely dangerous situation.
Fortunately for him, Hu Yu soon came to his rescue and shouldered the brunt of the attacks.
The two Pseudo-Royal Lords came over to kill Zuo Qiu Yang Hua, and even though they had carelessly suffered in the process, Hu Yu was not about to abandon Jiang Chi and flee on his own.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship had exploded, so the Humans no longer had any means of defending themselves against them.
With Hu Yu joining the fight, the pressure that Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others faced increased manifold and all of the Eighth-Order Masters knew that their battle had been lost. They did not manage to kill Jiang Chi in time, so they no longer stood a fighting chance.
However, this only made them even more determined to fight to the bitter end. Initially, even with their combined strength, they would have only been able to hold their own against a single Pseudo-Royal Lord. Right now, Jiang Chi was not in peak condition, and while Hu Yu was relatively unscathed, the fight was still intense between both parties.
That being said, both sides knew what the outcome would be; the Humans were destined to die. This was just their final desperate show of resistance, with them being too injured to even use those mutually destructive Secret Techniques again.
The battle was intense, and with each passing moment, more lives were lost on both sides. The other Eighth-Order Masters saw the predicament that Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others had fallen into and they were beside themselves with worry, but they were all occupied with their own opponents and could not lend a hand.
After just moments of clashing, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others’ frenzied strength was beginning to weaken.
For the sake of killing Jiang Chi, the Eighth-Order Masters had unleashed their most powerful Secret Techniques, but these methods were similar to Yang Kai’s Soul Rending Thorn in that they not only harmed their enemy, but also themselves. Alas, they failed to kill Jiang Chi in time and were now injured themselves, so it was challenging for them to continue putting up a fight.
Even so, the Eighth-Order Masters were determined to fight to the end.
Jiang Chi and Hu Yu seemed to have noticed this as well and were no longer in a rush. They remained defensive the whole time to prolong the fight as they were waiting for Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others to expend all their strength before dealing the final, crushing blow. This was the safest way for them to proceed with this battle. After many years of clashing against the Humans, they had garnered numerous experiences and learned the hard way to never underestimate their enemy, especially when they were desperate.
Many a time, the Humans who were on the verge of defeat were able to unleash startlingly powerful attacks at the very last breath, just before perishing. If the Pseudo-Royal Lords were not careful, there was a high chance that they could end up with an unexpected failure instead of a complete victory.
Such incidents had happened numerous times in the past.
Thus, even Jiang Chi, who was heavily injured, was able to remain patient and quell his ferocious murderous intent. He did not allow his rage to overpower his reason.
Amidst the devastation across the battlefield, an undetectable silhouette was rushing unnoticed towards Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others.
Yang Kai, now a Ninth-Order Master, was using Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to stealthily infiltrate the battlefield. It was highly unlikely that a true Royal Lord would be able to sense his approach, let alone these Pseudo-Royal Lords.
This Innate Divine Ability was incredibly useful; for instance, inside the Universe Furnace, Yang Kai had used it to snatch the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill away from the Chaos Spirit King.
However, despite its usefulness, there was still a disadvantage. When Yang Kai was using it, he could not use Space Principles for as soon as he did, he could no longer conceal himself.
That being said, it was not a bad trade-off as he was immensely powerful now and could move at great speed even without Instantaneous Movement.
When the Purifying Black Ink Battleship exploded, it caused a huge commotion with Purifying Light lighting up half the battlefield. Yang Kai’s attention had naturally been drawn to it right away, so he immediately noticed the situation.
Knowing that Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were in a perilous position, he did not waste a single breath as he rushed to their aid.
Yang Kai avoided all the fights between the two Armies and in just over a dozen breaths of time, he arrived at the part of the battlefield where Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were clashing with the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
At the moment, the Eighth-Order Masters’ strength had greatly diminished. Hu Yu knew that now was his chance to strike, so he charged at the Humans and threw a punch with his full force, delivering a shock to the Humans as their strength declined at once.
To make matters worse, as the Humans’ injuries were piling up and their auras had grown unstable. Even the Battle Formation was beginning to show signs of cracking.
The Eighth-Order Masters’ hearts sank. There were two reasons why they could put up a fight against the two Pseudo-Royal Lords until now. The first was that Jiang Chi and Hu Yu were being cautious in their attacks, but secondly, and more importantly, they were relying on their Battle Formation. They had formed a Six Paths Formation which allowed them to combine their strengths as one.
However, if the Battle Formation broke, they would no longer be able to pose a threat to the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Jiang Chi was already seething with rage because the Humans had managed to severely injure him earlier, so when he saw the situation now, he knew he could not let this chance slip away from him. He stopped acting passively and instead followed up Hu Yu’s attack with a powerful Secret Technique of his own that hurled straight towards the Humans.
Someone of his strength and power would certainly have enough discernment to strike at the most opportune moment.
As Black Ink Strength loomed over them, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were now in an even more precarious situation. The Battle Formation that they tried so hard to maintain was on the verge of crumbling apart.
“They can’t hold out any longer!” Hu Yu noticed what was happening and growled, “Kill!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he began charging towards Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others murderously; however, at that very moment, he had a strange feeling. His senses tingled with the warning of danger and alarms seemed to ring in his head. He then seemed to hear the churning of a river rushing towards him…
[What’s that?] Hu Yu was confused, but soon really saw a rampaging river appear out of nowhere and crash down on him. He instinctively tried to move away, but all at once, space solidified around him and he could not escape.
Once the river washed over him, Hu Yu disappeared.
Jiang Chi jumped in fright at the abrupt turn of events. He looked over to see what was happening, but all he saw was a massive river cutting through the void. As the currents surged along the great river, he could vaguely see Hu Yu’s figure struggling within, but once one of the waves came crashing down, the figure disappeared.
All at once, Jiang Chi’s scalp grew numb and his hair raised on end as he spotted the figure standing in front of the great river.
One look and he knew who this was.
[Yang Kai!]
It was the killing star, the one whose name was known far and wide among both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, the one who made the Black Ink Clan suffer countless terrible losses over the last few thousand years!
Jiang Chi had never met Yang Kai in person before. He was one of the many Innate Territory Lords who managed to sneak out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and upon his arrival at the No-Return Pass, he hibernated in a Black Ink Nest to recuperate from his injuries. That went on until a few centuries ago when the war broke out in full between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. Under Mo Yu’s command, many of the Innate Territory Lords used the Source Fusion Technique to create a large group of Pseudo-Royal Lords to deal with the Ninth-Order Masters. Jiang Chi was fortunate enough to survive the process and become a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Thus, he had only heard of Yang Kai and how terrifying he was.
He was only able to recognise Yang Kai because Mo Na Ye had once shown Yang Kai’s face and image to all the Black Ink Clansmen before they were sent out.
Even now, Jiang Chi could still recall Mo Na Ye’s instructions. If they were to encounter this person on the battlefield, their first priority should be to flee. However, if they could not flee, they were to do their best to take on Yang Kai in groups, and under no circumstances were they to fight him alone as they would not be able to hold their own against him.
At the time, Jiang Chi did not think much of it. Based on the information the Black Ink Clan received, Yang Kai was sealed up inside the Universe Furnace and would most likely only be able to leave the next time it opened; thus, what were his chances of running into this Human on the battlefield?
All along, Jiang Chi thought that Mo Na Ye was panicking over nothing. Nevertheless, Mo Na Ye was a true Royal Lord, so as a Pseudo-Royal Lord himself, he could not make any objections.
Despite thinking that there was very little chance of running into the Human killing star, Jiang Chi did not look down on Yang Kai’s strength.
Multiple Pseudo-Royal Lords died at Yang Kai’s hands after he became a Ninth-Order Master inside the Universe Furnace. Even a true Royal Lord had fallen to the killing star. None of this information had been kept a secret, so naturally, Jiang Chi heard about everything.
However, he never thought that the impossible would happen right in front of him.
The killing star, who was supposed to be confined to the Universe Furnace, had appeared on the E-5 Territory battlefield, and as soon as he showed up, he used some kind of mysterious ability to incapacitate Hu Yu.
[He has his eyes on me now!]
Jiang Chi felt chills running down his spine. The cold look in the eyes of his opponent made him feel as if death itself was staring at him.
Just as the wheels in Jiang Chi’s mind finished spinning, Yang Kai hoisted the spear in his hand and thrust it out. A torrent of spear shadows instantly loomed over Jiang Chi’s head!
Jiang Chi had been extremely wary of the strange river where Hu Yu had vanished, but he did not expect Yang Kai to forego using it against him; thus, he was completely unprepared for the attack.
He had no way of retaliating against the sudden attack. If he had been at his peak, he might have been able to hold out against Yang Kai for a little while, but he had been gravely injured by the Purifying Light that burst forth when the Purifying Black Ink Battleship exploded; thus, he was no match at the moment.
Black blood splattered everywhere as Jiang Chi gasped in agony. He stumbled backwards from the onslaught of never-ending attacks. No matter how much strength he tried to muster, he could not do anything to block his opponent.
A few short breaths later, Jiang Chi froze in place, his eyes wide with terror and bitterness.
Yang Kai casually raised his spear with one hand before jabbing it through Jiang Chi’s chest. The spear jerked and unleashed a ferocious force that turned the Pseudo-Royal Lord into a cloud of blood mist.
It had been less than 10 breaths of time since Yang Kai’s sudden appearance, but in that time, he managed to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord while restraining another.
Meanwhile, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others had come to terms with their impending deaths and were about to make one last attempt to gravely injure their opponents; but now, they were simply standing to the side in complete shock…
They were all struck with disbelief.
[How did he… show up here?]
However, they quickly snapped out of it as they filled up with renewed energy. Regardless of why he came, the fact that he was here meant that the Black Ink Clan in E-5 Territory were doomed.
After dealing with the two Pseudo-Royal Lords, Yang Kai glanced at Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others. When he confirmed that there was no threat to their lives despite their depleted strength and serious injuries, he was able to relax and nod lightly to them before his figure vanished.
After witnessing Yang Kai summoning the Space-Time River to confine Hu Yu and slaughtering Jiang Chi right after, Masters across the battlefield, be they Humans or Black Ink Clansmen, were shaken to their core.
The sudden eruption of a Ninth-Order Master’s strength was akin to a brilliant sun that illuminated the darkness of the chaotic battlefield.
Furthermore, it was accompanied by the disturbance of the death of a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
The Humans’ spirits soared! Even though they had no clue which Master had come to their aid, they knew for certain that it was a Ninth-Order Master.
On the other hand, those from the Black Ink Clan were petrified and filled with dread.
[Since that Human killed a Pseudo-Royal Lord that quickly, it’s probably one of the two Old Ancestors, right?] Though the other Ninth-Order Masters were powerful as well, they had only recently reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so it was impossible for them to unleash a force this imposing.
The Black Ink Clan Masters were busy making their guesses when all of a sudden, a Pseudo-Royal Lord’s furious yet terrified roar rang out from a corner of the battlefield, “Yang Kai!?”
As soon as the Pseudo-Royal Lord managed to get the name out, his aura vanished. No one knew what happened to him.
All at once, all from the Black Ink Clan fell into a stunned daze.
It would not have been as serious of a situation if either Xiao Xiao or Wu Qing had come. Though these two veteran Ninth-Order Masters were stronger than the other Ninth-Order Humans, the Black Ink Clan was still able to deal with them; after all, the Pseudo-Royal Lords had a lot of experience going up against the Ninth-Order Masters by now. By forming a Three Fortunes Formation with three Pseudo-Royal Lords, they could put up a fight against any Ninth-Order Master.
However, if it was Yang Kai who came, then things were going to be a lot more difficult for them.
The roar of shock and bewilderment echoed across the void, startling the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai’s fame preceded him, and out of all the Ninth-Order Masters, the Black Ink Clan was most afraid of him, the one who should have been confined inside the Universe Furnace right now.
Though they had no clue as to how he managed to escape, he did indeed show up here.
Following the cry of fury and alarm, the aura of yet another Pseudo-Royal Lord disappeared without a trace. It did not seem as if he had died; instead, it was as though he was isolated somewhere and his aura became undetectable.
“Formations! Get into Battle Formations!” A Pseudo-Royal Lord roared. The Pseudo-Royal Lords then swiftly withdrew from the fights they were in to gather among themselves.
The Red Flame Army did not have a Ninth-Order Master among their ranks, so most of the time, the Pseudo-Royal Lords did not team up into Formations. Although they could form a Three Fortunes Formation, usually, they would only do so if they were under some kind of pressure from the situation they were in. They were under no such threat in E-5 Territory, so they mostly chose to fight alone. This allowed them to occupy the attention of even more Eighth-Order Masters, and it also gave them more freedom to move around.
However, a real threat had arrived and they were immediately under great pressure; so naturally, they chose to link up their auras and quickly form Three Fortunes Formations. This allowed them to feel a little more secure.
Nearly 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords had been sent to E-5 Territory. Their high number explained why the Red Flame Army failed to claim this Territory despite being a mighty army with the finest fighters and arms, assisted by numerous powerful Divine Spirits.
Now that most of the Pseudo-Royal Lords had formed Battle Formations, there were two of them remaining who could not form one and were stuck in an awkward predicament.
A Battle Formation could not be formed with just two Pseudo-Royal Lords, but there was no other Pseudo-Royal Lord around to form a trio with them. It was as if they had been abandoned by their allies. They felt annoyed and resentful for having been too slow.
Nevertheless, they had their wits about them still. Since they could not form a Battle Formation, they immediately withdrew from the battlefield and moved to the rear.
Once the Pseudo-Royal Lords had their Battle Formations to rely upon, they felt more confident; however, when they looked around and saw what was happening in front of them, their expressions morphed into shock and terror.
Yang Kai was cutting across the battlefield without hiding himself at all. He had a long, meandering river around him that was like a massive Dragon swimming through the void. Wherever he went, the great river surged and its currents washed over countless Black Ink Clansmen, all of whom disappeared as a result. On the other hand, even if some Humans were entangled with the captured Black Ink Clansmen, they were completely unaffected.
No one could stand in Yang Kai’s way. Even the Territory Lords could not defend themselves from the rampaging river.
Yang Kai was single-handedly carving out a path through the intense battlefield!
[What the Hell is that thing?!]
All the Pseudo-Royal Lords were thunderstruck by the river that was circling around Yang Kai. They were formidable Masters in their own right, but even though they had such power, they did not have the confidence that they could cut through the battlefield this easily; after all, the Humans were not pushovers.
However, Yang Kai was doing what they could not. He did not stop moving and did not have to do anything else either. He simply relied on that strange river to accomplish this feat!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords could not help but recall the information Mo Na Ye had provided in the past. When Yang Kai was inside the Universe Furnace, he used a strange river to kill multiple Pseudo-Royal Lords. It seemed to be a river that was formed by a multitude of Dao Strengths. Falling into the river was essentially a death sentence.
Yang Kai was rushing about, seemingly charging straight at the Pseudo-Royal Lords, causing them to feel trepidatious.
They knew that they could not defend themselves from Yang Kai’s attacks, but as Pseudo-Royal Lords, they could not allow themselves to flee at the mere sight of him either; after all, they should be able to put up a fight against him now!
After composing themselves, the Pseudo-Royal Lords began communicating with each other, and they soon came up with a strategy.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai, who was flying across the battlefield, was feeling a little helpless. Initially, he wanted to use Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to sneak up on the Pseudo-Royal Lords. With the difference in strength between him and a Pseudo-Royal Lord, as well as the help of Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, he would certainly be able to kill them off one by one. Anyone he had his eyes on would not be able to escape.
He did not need to kill too many, just a third of them would do.
However, he was forced to expose himself in order to save Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others, and now that he had summoned the Space-Time River, there was no way he could hide his presence any longer.
That being said, the Space-Time River proved to be highly effective on this battlefield with massive numbers on both sides. Even though the size of his Space-Time River could not compare with the Infinite River that flowed through the Universe Furnace World, it was still quite expansive. Wherever the river flowed, Yang Kai could clear the place in a flash as all from the Black Ink Clansmen would be sucked into the river.
With so many violent Dao Strengths filling the Space-Time River, most of the Black Ink Clansmen died the moment they fell into it. Even the few stronger ones could only barely survive for a few breaths.
In just a few moments, Yang Kai had cut across the entire battlefield. He instantly saw three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a Battle Formation charging over to him while even more of them were trying to come around from the sides.
Yang Kai did not care about the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were taking the longer route; instead, he met the three in front of him head-on.
Chills ran down the spines of the three. It took a lot of courage for them to face off against the killing star. They were only able to muster up the courage to do so because they were now Pseudo-Royal Lords and had allies of similar strength to back them up. When they saw Yang Kai rushing towards them, they had to force down their urge to run away as they desperately began hurling powerful Secret Techniques at him.
Yang Kai did not attempt to dodge these attacks at all. The dark bolts of light all shot into the Space-Time River, causing the waves to become even more turbulent as it churned with great ferocity, but Yang Kai remained unscathed.
The distance between them continued to shorten, and all of a sudden, Yang Kai lunged forward. He abruptly appeared near the three Pseudo-Royal Lords and eyed them coldly as he sneered, “You’re quite bold!”
He made a grabbing motion and was somehow able to hold the Space-Time River in his hand. With a quick, forceful flick, the great river seemed to turn into a long whip that closed in around the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
They never thought that the Space-Time River could take on a new form in such a strange way. As they were caught off guard, they could not avoid the river whip. The Dao Strengths swirled around them and cut into their flesh and Souls. Their Battle Formation, which had been weak in the first place, instantly crumbled apart!
An enormous wave crashed down upon the three Pseudo-Royal Lords, and they were all sucked into the Space-Time River.
Filled with terror, they immediately tried to resist and drag themselves out of the Space-Time River, but it was as if the waters had turned into quicksand. No matter how hard they struggled, it did them no good. Waves of Dao Strengths continued to crash down on them and, one by one, their struggling silhouettes disappeared into the depths of the river.
After a brief encounter with Yang Kai, all three Pseudo-Royal Lords vanished and there was no way of ascertaining whether or not they were even alive or dead…
When the other Pseudo-Royal Lords saw what happened, their hair stood on end and they were chilled to the bone.
After many years of battle experience, the Black Ink Clan confirmed that a Battle Formation of three Pseudo-Royal Lords was powerful enough to take on a Ninth-Order Master. All of the current Ninth-Order Masters, be it the new ones or the older, more experienced ones, could not do much against three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a Battle Formation.
Even though a trio of Pseudo-Royal Lords would not be able to defeat a Ninth-Order Master either, they were still enough to keep the latter occupied.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were fully aware of Yang Kai’s terrifying reputation, and they had also done their best to avoid underestimating him; thus, when they noticed his presence, they all abandoned their original opponents and formed Battle Formations before attempting to take him on. They wanted to rely on the strength of all the Pseudo-Royal Lords combined to deal with Yang Kai.
They knew Yang Kai had his Space Secret Techniques which allowed him to escape from a losing fight, but they were also willing to accept the possibility of simply driving him off.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords never imagined that Yang Kai’s formidability in battle and the horror of going up against him would far exceed their estimations.
As soon as the three Pseudo-Royal Lords crossed paths with him, they were immediately lost to the great river, their fates completely unknown…
The Pseudo-Royal Lords began wondering whether they could truly take on such an opponent.
Yang Kai did not waste any time. He swivelled around and began charging at another group of three Pseudo-Royal Lords who no longer had the guts to face him head-on. They had just seen what happened to their fellow Pseudo-Royal Lords earlier and were not keen on sharing the same end.
Therefore, after a brief moment of hesitation, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords split up and started fleeing in three different directions.
Yang Kai was amused as he roared, “Where are you trying to run?!”
He dragged the Space-Time River with one hand and rushed after one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords. When the latter turned around and saw this, he immediately panicked.
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords had scattered to escape on their own, so he had no idea why he was the unlucky one who was now targeted by the killing star. He could not hesitate for even a single moment as he quickly used a life-saving Secret Technique, spitting out a huge mouthful of black blood as his speed dramatically increased.
All at once, the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ attempt to surround and confine Yang Kai had been negated. They lost all their will to fight after seeing the first group of Pseudo-Royal Lords vanishing into the Space-Time River. The Pseudo-Royal Lord that Yang Kai had his eye on was not the only one who was trying to flee now. All the other Pseudo-Royal Lords were running off as well. They were afraid that Yang Kai would turn around and hunt them down next.
As Yang Kai went after the Pseudo-Royal Lord, he had to focus on using his might to quell the commotion inside the Space-Time River.
Meanwhile, out on the battlefield, without the Pseudo-Royal Lords to aid in combat and lead the battle, the Black Ink Clan Army was severely weakened. The Eighth-Order Masters and the Divine Spirits naturally seized this chance to cut into the enemy lines.
Soon, the battle that had been a virtual stalemate for years dramatically tipped in favour of one side. The Humans had the upper hand, whereas the Black Ink Clan was losing miserably.
The leaders of the Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern Armies made the most of this opportunity. Orders went out to all four Armies that made up the Red Flame Army, and they charged onto the battlefield to secure a landslide victory by wiping out the Black Ink Clan.
In just half a day, the Black Ink Clan Army had been routed and the scattered handfuls of survivors quickly retreated towards their stronghold. Alas, the Humans were not going to let this chance slip away from them.
The Commanders made the call and the Red Flame Army hunted down the remaining Black Ink Clansmen. They were able to slaughter many along the way, and Black Ink Strength that escaped from the dead corpses seemed to fill nearly half the void.
It was an overwhelming victory for the Red Flame Army, and they only stopped the chase once they were half a day’s travel away from the Black Ink Clan’s main base.
As the battle came to an end, the Red Flame Army at last tasted victory that had long eluded them. Many lives had been sacrificed in the process, but even so, they could not hide their joy.
The Army Commanders gave the order and everyone began cleaning up the battlefield. Universe Fragments were dragged over and a temporary base was created in the void. The Human Race Army gathered at the spot which was directly opposite the Black Ink Clan’s main base in the distance.
The two bases were only half a day’s travel apart, so the stronger Masters with keener eyesight could even see what was happening inside their enemy’s stronghold.
They could tell that the Black Ink Clan was on high alert. Now and then, the aura of a Pseudo-Royal Lord would flicker and flash. It was as if the Black Ink Clan was trying to scare the Humans, but that only proved that they were putting up a strong front.
Throughout the war, the Red Flame Army reclaimed many Great Territories, but they faced the most resistance in E-5 Territory by far. In the previous Great Territories, the Black Ink Clan rarely engaged the Humans in large-scale battles. It was almost as if they surrendered without much of a fight.
The Red Flame Army had suffered many losses throughout the decade of war in E-5 Territory, but in the battle today, they managed to deal a crushing blow to the Black Ink Clan Army and slaughter many of their Masters. The Humans were thrilled, and they were even more excited because it seemed as if a Ninth-Order Master was joining them!
All along, the Red Flame Army and five other Armies did not have a Ninth-Order Master assuming command, leaving them deeply envious of the Azure Sun Army, the Profound Nether Army, and others with Ninth-Order Masters leading them. The presence or absence of a Ninth-Order Master made things feel entirely different. Having a Ninth-Order Master made them feel as if they were children who were well-loved and cared for, and not having one made them feel like orphans that no one cared about.
Nevertheless, they soon regrouped and prepared themselves for the next battle.
On a Universe Fragment that was just 10,000 kilometres away from the temporary base, Yang Kai sat cross-legged with the Space-Time River weaving around him.
The long river was churning with a violent undercurrent that sent tumultuous waves crashing all over.
This could not be helped as the river was currently suppressing five Pseudo-Royal Lords. Even with the power that Yang Kai had now, this was his limit.
During the battle, he first used the Space-Time River to restrain Hu Yu before killing Jiang Chi who was already heavily injured. Then, he used the Space-Time River to suck up the three Pseudo-Royal Lords who charged at him. He already felt the pressure when there were four of them inside there. The Pseudo-Royal Lords would not just stand idly by and allow themselves to die inside the Space-Time River. They kept struggling relentlessly and Yang Kai had to dedicate a large amount of his strength and focus to keep them suppressed.
Witnessing Yang Kai suppress and capture three Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been in a Battle Formation in one go, the rest of the Pseudo-Royal Lords became terrified and began fleeing. In reality, if they had chosen to gang up on Yang Kai at that moment, he would have had to flee from them at once too.
Approximately two-thirds of Yang Kai’s strength was currently being used to quell the commotion inside the Space-Time River. Even he could not hold his own against that many formidable opponents.
Still, the Black Ink Clan had never witnessed such a bizarre method before. They were frightened by the way the three Pseudo-Royal Lords disappeared after simply coming face-to-face with Yang Kai.
Thus, knowing how fearsome Yang Kai was, they did not have the guts to stick around anymore and they immediately ran off.
The last Pseudo-Royal Lord that Yang Kai targeted did not manage to escape either. Yang Kai had purposely delayed for a little while before swallowing that Pseudo-Royal Lord up with the river, allowing the others to think they had gotten away on their own as opposed to him not being able to go after them.
Therefore, there were five Pseudo-Royal Lords sealed up inside the Space-Time River right now, and around four-fifths of Yang Kai’s strength was tied up suppressing them. If that had not been the case, he would have charged straight into the Black Ink Clan’s stronghold by now rather than letting them delay the inevitable.
Silhouettes began moving swiftly from the Humans’ temporary base towards Yang Kai’s position. The four Army Commanders of the Red Flame Army’s Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Armies were in the lead, and they were followed by over a dozen powerful Divine Spirits.
When this group came over and saw Yang Kai with the Space-Time River around him, reverence coloured their expressions.
“Greetings, Sir!” Everyone bowed in greeting.
Yang Kai smiled and raised his hand, “At ease.”
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua was pale-faced as he and the other Eighth-Order Masters had been injured during their earlier fight when Jiang Chi and Hu Yu came to attack them. They would have surely met their doom if Yang Kai had not come to their rescue at the last moment.
Now that Yang Kai had summoned the various Army and Division Commanders, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua did not waste any time recuperating from his injuries and immediately rushed over with everyone else.
In terms of age and generational seniority, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua was far above Yang Kai; however, in this chaotic world where many geniuses were born, a person’s strength determined their authority.
Zuo Qiu Yang thanked Yang Kai for saving his life before asking, “Why did you call us over, Sir?”
“To kill the enemy!” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua immediately turned his eyes to the Space-Time River. He already guessed as much when he came over and spotted the Space-Time River still flowing about, and Yang Kai’s words confirmed it for him.
He was not the only one who figured this out as it was far too obvious. All of them could see that a struggling figure would occasionally be visible within the Space-Time River. It was clear that the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were confined inside were not about to go down without a fight.
It dawned on the crowd that though the strange river was useful when it came to restraining enemies, it was not strong enough to take the lives of Pseudo-Royal Lords.
There was no reason for them to hesitate, so the Eighth-Order Masters and Divine Spirits immediately formed Battle Formations and prepared themselves.
Once they were all in position, Yang Kai raised his hand, and in the very next breath, a figure stormed back out of the Space-Time River.
It was Hu Yu, the first one who had been suppressed inside the river. As soon as he appeared, brutal attacks were launched at him from all directions before he could even grasp what was happening.
Hu Yu was terrified and quickly tried to defend himself, but how could he react in time? Even though a Pseudo-Royal Lord was immensely powerful, the combined strength of nearly 100 Eighth-Order Masters and Divine Spirits was not something he was capable of resisting even at his peak.
Thus, in the face of the avalanche of attacks, Hu Yu exploded into a cloud of blood before he could even cry out in agony.
Many of the Humans were stunned at this sight. After so many years of battling against the Black Ink Clan, it was their first time killing a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and they had done it so easily too. They could not help but feel as if they were dreaming…
Then again, even a true Ninth-Order Master would not necessarily be able to withstand the attacks of that many Masters, let alone a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Hu Yu was dead, but Yang Kai did not stop there. The Space-Time River rippled once more and another figure stumbled out. Similarly, he was greeted with a barrage of ferocious attacks from all directions.
The Black Ink Clan’s base camp was situated on a large Universe Fragment that was covered in Black Ink Nests. Their remaining forces had all gathered together and their hearts were heavy with dread.
The killing star was back!
In this battle, the Black Ink Clan lost six Pseudo-Royal Lords and countless other Masters.
Even though they managed to flee back to their stronghold, the Pseudo-Royal Lords did not feel secure at all. The thought of Yang Kai’s earlier display made them extremely fearful.
The strange river seemed to contain a mysterious power that they could not deal with. Now that the Army had suffered a crushing defeat, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were beside themselves with worry as they did not know what to do next.
Previously, the Pseudo-Royal Lords who numbered almost 20 in total had gathered here under Mo Na Ye’s orders to decimate the Red Flame Army by killing as many Human Race Masters as possible.
Everything had been going according to plan. The Black Ink Clan had been in control of the battle as they had the strength of a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords backing them, so they were certain they would achieve their goal in just a few more years.
However, everything fell apart thanks to the arrival of a single Human!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who fled back to their stronghold held a simple discussion. They quickly decided to send news regarding Yang Kai’s arrival back to the No-Return Pass.
In reality, they wanted to immediately retreat, but they dared not leave the area without Mo Na Ye’s orders, so they had no choice but to group together and watch out for any possible attacks on them.
“When Sir Mo Na Ye came back from the Universe Furnace, he brought back some information regarding Yang Kai, including information about that peculiar river. Sir Mo Na Ye said the river seems to be made out of Yang Kai’s Dao Strengths. It can be used to attack or defend and is incredibly effective when used to restrain opponents. So, even though they were captured, they could still be alive.” All was quiet and sombre when a Pseudo-Royal Lord suddenly spoke up. He had an Ox-Head with two horns sticking out. It was as if he did not completely assume Human Form yet.
“They’ve fallen into the hands of the killing star. Does being dead or not make a difference?” One of the Pseudo-Royal Lords retorted darkly.
“What I meant is, since they’re not dead, should we try to rescue them?” The Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord asked.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords all turned towards the Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord at once. It was as if they were staring at a lunatic. [We barely managed to escape from that killing star! It’s good enough that he didn’t chase us down, so how can you even think about trying to pick a fight with him? Do you have a death wish?]
They were all once Innate Territory Lords who became Pseudo-Royal Lords with the help of the Source Fusion Technique. They had all experienced a narrow brush with death in the process, so they cherished their lives even more than the ordinary Black Ink Clansmen. None of them dared to agree with the Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord’s suggestion.
The Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord frowned, “Although Yang Kai is strong, if this many of us Pseudo-Royal Lords join hands, I don’t think we need to fear him. I studied the situation earlier. Even though that river is strange, it’s not impossible to get around it. Yang Kai should be at his limit keeping five Pseudo-Royal Lords confined inside the river. Jiang Chi was killed, but Hu Yu and the others are still alive. If we don’t rescue them, how are we to explain ourselves to Sir Mo Yu and Sir Mo Na Ye if they question us about this?”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords felt exasperated by what he was saying, but they could not refute him either; nevertheless, none of them felt willing to go up against the killing star.
“Furthermore, rescuing them is also a way for us to protect ourselves. By rescuing them, we will strengthen our side and stand a better chance if we must fight Yang Kai in the future,” the Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord added.
One of the Pseudo-Royal Lords agreed, “He has a point. If we don’t rescue them, we’ll be in a disastrous situation the moment Yang Kai comes after us.”
Thus, the dozen or so Pseudo-Royal Lords were caught between two hard choices. On one hand, they did not dare to mount a rescue attempt. The bizarre tactics that Yang Kai had previously used were far too frightening. On the other hand, if they did not try to rescue the captured Pseudo-Royal Lords, those five were surely doomed, and once Yang Kai was freed up again, he would turn his attention back on the rest of them.
However, before the Pseudo-Royal Lords could come to an agreement on what to do, the extinguishing of a top Master’s vitality reverberated across the void.
Even though there was quite a distance between the two bases, the Pseudo-Royal Lords picked up on the commotion with crystal clarity.
“That was Hu Yu…” the Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord turned in the direction the commotion had come from, and he could not help but sigh, “There’s no point going over now.”
Since the Humans had started their slaughter, it was already too late.
True enough, they began sensing the deaths of even more Pseudo-Royal Lords. Each death caused a huge disturbance, and in short order, the fallout occurred five times…
This meant that the five captured Pseudo-Royal Lords had all been executed.
All at once, the surviving Pseudo-Royal Lords could not help but feel grief over the lives that had been lost as it could have very easily been them who suffered this fate.
After sensing the deaths of five Pseudo-Royal Lords, the rest of the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been lucky enough to survive huddled together on the Universe Fragment where the Black Ink Clan’s base was. It was hard to describe what they were feeling as questions ran through their minds. [Isn’t the killing star supposed to be confined inside the Universe Furnace? Why did he show up here out of the blue? How did he manage to get out?]
Regardless of how Yang Kai, who was now a Ninth-Order Master, managed to leave the Universe Furnace, he was bound to be a great threat to the Black Ink Clan. Upon showing up at E-5 Territory, he swung the battle wildly in the Humans’ favour and the Black Ink Clan Army suffered tremendous losses.
The deaths of their clansmen filled their hearts with dread. The Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord squared his chest and said, “Yang Kai is back and none of us can challenge him one-on-one. Even if we form Battle Formations, we might not be able to gain the upper hand when he has that strange river of his. Now that Hu Yu and the rest are dead, Yang Kai will surely seek us out. From now on, we must always travel in groups. No one is to move around alone. We cannot let him get even the slightest chance of attacking us. As for what we’re going to do next… Well, let’s wait for Sir Mo Na Ye’s orders. What do you say?”
All the Pseudo-Royal Lords swiftly nodded in agreement. Grouping up was the only way they could feel a little more secure when they were up against an opponent as strong as Yang Kai and all his peculiar methods.
Now that they were all on the same page, the Pseudo-Royal Lords did not dare to venture away from each other. They gathered together and used their Divine Senses to scan the surrounding area, constantly keeping their guard up against Yang Kai.
Back at the Humans’ temporary base, after killing the five Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been captured, Yang Kai flicked the Space-Time River one last time and countless dead bodies were thrown out.
These were the other Black Ink Clansmen who had been pulled into the Space-Time River earlier.
Pseudo-Royal Lords who were caught inside the Space-Time River could still use their immense power to defend themselves from the torrent of Dao Strengths, but the others who were not as powerful could not do likewise. Even the Territory Lords who had fallen into the river could only survive for a few moments while the weaker ones died as soon as they were sucked in.
During Yang Kai’s dash across the battlefield, over a million Black Ink Clan Soldiers had been swept into the Space-Time River. The dead bodies that fell out created a mountainous pile that made the Eighth-Order Masters and Divine Spirits feel their scalps numbing.
They sighed in awe. Yang Kai had already been known for his fearsomeness when he was just an Eighth-Order Master. Now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, they were certain that he was the most powerful Master among the Humans as they doubted that any other Ninth-Order Master had the ability to decimate as many enemies as he did.
“Wait here, everyone. I’ll be right back,” Yang Kai instructed, putting away the Space-Time River before standing up and taking a step and vanishing.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others had been waiting to ask Yang Kai what they should do next, but since he had given the word, they could only wait patiently, though they were puzzled as to what Yang Kai was doing.
However, they soon found out what Yang Kai was up to.
A great chaotic explosion burst forth from the direction of the Black Ink Clan’s base. Everyone’s attention was drawn to it as they saw flashes of Secret Techniques shooting in all directions. They even heard the sounds of Yang Kai’s laughter and the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ roars of fear and anger…
The Eighth-Order Masters and Divine Spirits were dumbstruck!
[He went to attack the Black Ink Clan’s base alone!? Just how fearless is he?!]
They could not help but feel nervous on Yang Kai’s behalf. Even though Yang Kai had exhibited unparalleled strength in the earlier battle by killing a Pseudo-Royal Lord and capturing five others, the Black Ink Clan still had over a dozen other Pseudo-Royal Lords. Now that they had all gathered at their stronghold, they would surely be vigilant against any possible attacks. Would Yang Kai really be able to do something by charging over there alone?
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were not pushovers, after all. The great success of the earlier battle could be largely attributed to the Black Ink Clan’s lack of defence against Yang Kai. It was their first time dealing with Yang Kai as a Ninth-Order Master and they had no experience handling that strange river.
However, now that the Black Ink Clan Masters were on guard against Yang Kai, he might not be able to attack them successfully.
Even though the Eighth-Order Masters and the Divine Spirits did not think Yang Kai’s attempt would be fruitful, they still felt reverence and were motivated by his drive. It was unlikely that any other Ninth-Order Master would be as bold and courageous as him.
Meanwhile, the Space-Time River was whipping around the Universe Fragment where the Black Ink Clan’s base was, causing a huge ruckus.
Despite losing six Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan still had over a dozen of them who were now gathered in one place, banking on their strength in numbers. Furthermore, they were taking precautions against the possibility of a sneak attack from Yang Kai, so they were highly vigilant.
Never would they have thought that even with such stringent defence measures, Yang Kai would still be able to pop up right next to them without them noticing his approach. The Pseudo-Royal Lords’ strict security measures had been entirely useless as no one noticed Yang Kai’s before he showed himself.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords only noticed the killing star’s presence when he suddenly showed up behind a Pseudo-Royal Lord and summoned that strange river.
Nevertheless, it was too late. The Pseudo-Royal Lord was engulfed by the river, and as the waves crashed down on him, he could only struggle for a brief moment before disappearing into the water. All at once, amid the cries of fury and terror, attacks were launched at Yang Kai from all directions.
It had been less than an hour since the Black Ink Clan Army fled back to their base, but another fight was now breaking out right on their doorstep.
However, the fight ended just as abruptly as it started. It had been less than 10 breaths of time in total since Yang Kai launched his sneak attack, but by now, he had already run off with that strange river of his, taking two Pseudo-Royal Lords with him who had disappeared into the river!
The remaining Pseudo-Royal Lords were shocked and furious as they stared in the direction where Yang Kai had fled, but none of them dared to go after him as they were terrified they would share the same fate as their less fortunate comrades.
The Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord had a look of lingering fear too. He had also been swept into the Space-Time River and had nearly failed to struggle back out of it. He had to thank his fellow Pseudo-Royal Lords for attacking Yang Kai so fiercely that the killing star could not focus on keeping him suppressed inside the river, which enabled his escape. Otherwise, Yang Kai would have been able to capture three Pseudo-Royal Lords instead of just two!
After experiencing this abrupt sneak attack, all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were grim-faced.
They had all heard many stories about Yang Kai.
When Yang Kai was an Eighth-Order Master, his biggest trump card was his Space Secret Technique, allowing him to escape from any opponent he could not defeat.
Now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, it was one thing for him to be able to both fight or flee as he wished, but what was most unnerving was the fact that he could move around so stealthily. Even now, none of the Pseudo-Royal Lords could figure out how Yang Kai evaded their senses.
None of them had picked up on the slightest hint of peculiarity before Yang Kai made his move.
Not only was he adept at both fighting and fleeing, but he also had an even more mysterious and powerful Secret Technique that allowed him to conceal his movements… An opponent like him was far too terrifying!
Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability was even able to evade the detection of Royal Lords and Chaos Spirit Kings to a great extent. This Divine Ability in the hands of Yang Kai only served to make him even more formidable. It would be more surprising if the Pseudo-Royal Lords could detect his presence.
All of a sudden, the Ox-Head Pseudo-Royal Lord said, “Let’s withdraw our forces.”
It was not safe for them to stay any longer. No matter how many precautions they took, all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords could very well die if Yang Kai launched a few more sneak attacks. Under these circumstances, their only choice was to evacuate, and the quicker the better.
None of the remaining Pseudo-Royal Lords dared to oppose his suggestion as all of them quickly nodded in agreement. They had been planning on waiting for Mo Na Ye’s orders, but there was no point in waiting now. If they stuck around any longer, there was a high chance that the entire Army would be massacred.
Back on the other Universe Fragment, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were staring in shock at Yang Kai. Although he looked dishevelled, they still felt nothing but respect for him.
Even Yang Kai had a hard time fighting over a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords head-on. Fortunately, he was a Divine Dragon and had thick skin and strong flesh which could withstand quite a beating. He managed to endure the brunt of the attacks, though he was somewhat disappointed that one of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been drawn into the river managed to escape.
“Sir!” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others quickly went over to Yang Kai, keeping an eye on the Space-Time River as it circled around the latter.
Yang Kai nodded, “Same as before!”
All were thrilled. [He succeeded!]
Without even a moment of hesitation, they immediately gathered their strength and waited.
Just as before, Yang Kai released a Pseudo-Royal Lord from the Space-Time River, and the latter was greeted by a flurry of fierce attacks.
The two Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been captured did not even get the chance to fight back as they both died one after the other.
The Eighth-Order Masters and Divine Spirits were ecstatic. Including the six from earlier, the Black Ink Clan lost a total of eight Pseudo-Royal Lords in E-5 Territory!
Since the Humans and the Black Ink Clan entered a state of all-out war, the Humans had not been able to kill as many Pseudo-Royal Lords as they did today, even when combining the achievements of all 12 Armies.
It was not because the other Ninth-Order Masters were weak, it was just that the Pseudo-Royal Lords were formidable opponents too and could still stay alive even when they were up against the Ninth-Order Masters. Furthermore, the other Ninth-Order Masters did not have all the mysterious and profound means that Yang Kai had.
If Yang Kai had gone off to hunt down Pseudo-Royal Lords by himself, he would not have been able to kill this many of them in such a short span either; however, by relying on the Space-Time River, he could capture some Pseudo-Royal Lords and bring them back to let everyone work together to finish them off. This made things much easier.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others still barely believed the situation happening before their eyes. They never thought there would come a time when they could kill off Pseudo-Royal Lords this easily…
Yang Kai sensed their eager gazes and knew what they were after. They wanted Yang Kai to make a few more trips to the Black Ink Clan’s base. Even if he only brought back two per trip, they would still be able to slaughter all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords if he made six or seven trips.
Yang Kai, however, just chuckled, “It’s not possible anymore. The Black Ink Clan seems to be withdrawing their Army. The remaining Pseudo-Royal Lords would’ve fled by now.”
“Withdrawing their Army?” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were stunned as they stared off into the distance at the Black Ink Clan’s base. True enough, once they focused, they could see the bustle of activity at the Black Ink Clan’s base. A large number of Black Ink Clansmen were rushing towards the Territory Gate to retreat to the adjacent Great Territory. It was less of an orderly withdrawal than a rush to escape.
How could the Humans just let them go though?
The two Armies had been clashing at E-5 Territory for over a decade and countless Humans had died in the process. The bloody feud between them made it impossible for the Red Flame Army to simply allow the Black Ink Clan to retreat in peace.
Moreover, the Black Ink Clan Army’s large-scale retreat was a great chance for the Humans to hunt them down and bolster their victory with even more kills.
With that thought in mind, the Army Commanders exchanged glances and instantly picked up on each other’s intentions.
The Army Commander of the Southern Army patted Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s shoulder and gave him a meaningful look, “You’re injured, Senior Brother, so you should stay here and tend to your wounds. You can keep Sir Yang company and chat with him for a bit. Leave the enemy to us.”
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua got the message and nodded, “Good. I’ll handle the rear this time.”
Soon, the orders went down and the Human Race Masters who had only just finished setting up their camps flew off again. This time, the four Armies rushed straight towards the Black Ink Clan’s base as yet another battle was about to begin.
The Black Ink Clan had set up their base in front of a Territory Gate that led to a nearby Great Territory, which made things convenient in the event that they had to make a hasty retreat. Now that the Pseudo-Royal Lords had been scared off by Yang Kai and had run away, the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army followed suit.
That being said, the Black Ink Clan Army had massive numbers and it was impossible for all of them to retreat at once; thus, even though the two camps had been half a day’s worth of travel apart, the Red Flame Army would still be able to score significant kills if they rushed over now.
The Red Flame Army were not at all afraid of a Black Ink Clan Army without any Pseudo-Royal Lords among them. They knew for certain that it was going to be a one-sided slaughter!
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the other injured Eighth-Order Masters of the Eastern Army looked on with delight as they watched the Red Flame Army fly off into the distance. It had been 10 long years and the Red Flame Army was finally able to claim E-5 Territory; however, the most important aspect to celebrate now was the fact that Yang Kai’s appearance led to the Black Ink Clan suffering significant losses among their top Masters.
The Black Ink Clan would deeply feel this loss for quite some time.
Many years ago, the Humans figured out what the Black Ink Clan were up to and changed their strategy as well. Reclaiming Great Territories was no longer their goal; instead, they aimed to kill the Black Ink Clan’s strongest Masters as that was the only way for them to weaken the Black Ink Clan.
Everything that the Red Flame Army accomplished now was thanks to a single man. Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were exhilarated at the thought that the Red Flame Army might finally be able to count a Ninth-Order Master among them, and one as powerful as Yang Kai to boot.
“Sir, did the Supreme Headquarters send you over to aid us?” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua asked as he withdrew his gaze from the impending battle.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded, “Senior Brother Mi said that the battle was becoming perilous in E-5 Territory, so he asked me to make the trip.”
After seeing the looks of joy on everyone’s faces, Yang Kai could more or less figure out what they were thinking so he chuckled and added, “But, I won’t be staying with the Red Flame Army.”
The Eighth-Order Masters’ delight turned to shock as one of them asked, “What do you mean, Sir?”
It seemed as if things were not quite what they expected…
“We have 12 Armies, but there aren’t enough Ninth-Order Masters to assume command of all of them,” Yang Kai explained, “That’s why I’ll be moving around the six without a Ninth-Order Master to support them. Anyone who runs into any difficulty can ask me for help and I’ll head over at once. As you know, I’m proficient in the use of Space Principles and can travel at great speeds. This is an advantage of mine that the other Ninth-Order Masters can’t match.”
Having heard what Yang Kai said, the Eighth-Order Masters fell deep in thought.
Although they yearned for Yang Kai to stay and assume command of the Red Flame Army, doing so would be too unfair to the other five Armies without a Ninth-Order Master as they too were under a lot of pressure.
An immeasurable number of Humans had sacrificed their lives throughout the many years of war against the Black Ink Clan, and every Human hated the Black Ink Clan to the core. The Humans could not waste any amount of strength they had that could be used to overpower the Black Ink Clan.
Therefore, though they were a little disappointed after hearing what Yang Kai said, they could still accept it as they were leaders of an Army and wise enough to know what was best.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua nodded and said, “You’re right, Sir. Having you take the trouble to move around more is the only way to minimize our losses.”
Yang Kai smiled and assured, “You don’t need to worry. It’s been so many years so I’m sure the next generation of Ninth-Order Masters will come along soon enough. In the future, there’ll be more than enough Ninth-Order Masters to go around.”
His words lifted everyone’s spirits. Just as Yang Kai said, the prolonged war against the Black Ink Clan had given the Human Race Masters enough time to grow and rise up. Right now, every Army had a group of talented Masters who were at the peak of their cultivation and had the chance to become Ninth-Order Masters.
Perhaps some pleasant surprises would happen with these talented youths. When the time came, the Humans would see a sudden jump in the number of Ninth-Order Masters. There would surely be enough of them to lead more than 20 Armies, let alone the 12 they had now. The Humans would no longer be troubled by a lack of Ninth-Order Masters.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua then frowned, “The Black Ink Clan should also be having Territory Lords becoming Royal Lords soon. There are now a lot of Acquired Territory Lords too, all of whom have the ability to become Royal Lords. It’s easier for the Black Ink Clan to ascend to a new realm as well. Who knows what kind of heritage they have now after so many years? It’s a shame that the Territory Lords who have a chance to become Royal Lords have all been kept within the No-Return Pass to grow with the help of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests there. The Humans have no way of gathering any intelligence on them.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow, “What a coincidence, I was just planning on making a trip over there to take a look.”
“You’re heading to the No-Return Pass, Sir?” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua asked, startled.
“That’s right,” Yang Kai affirmed, “I’m heading over to bring something back.”
He was perfectly calm and relaxed, but the Eighth-Order Masters froze in shock as they exchanged glances. Deep down inside, they were all in awe of just how bold Yang Kai was.
None of the other Ninth-Order Masters would ever think of doing something like that, but on second thought, even when Yang Kai was still an Eighth-Order Master, he had already gone to the No-Return Pass to cause trouble for the Black Ink Clan. Now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, it would only be easier for him and it was unlikely for him to get into any real danger.
In any case, they were not in a position to worry about a Ninth-Order Master’s safety.
“Be careful, Sir,” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua said seriously.
Yang Kai nodded and instructed them, “After reclaiming E-5 Territory, stay here for a while and re-organize yourselves. Wait for orders from the Supreme Headquarters to see what the next step is going to be.”
“Yes, Sir!” The group of Eighth-Order Masters promised. Even if Yang Kai had not said anything, they would not have attempted anything on their own accord either. The Supreme Headquarters was in charge of directing all of the Armies. Even though each Army seemed to be fighting independently, in reality, they were able to provide each other with some level of support thanks to centralized coordination. If any one Army moved too far ahead and broke off contact from the rest, they would be in a terrible situation if the Black Ink Clan seized that opportunity to target them.
Yang Kai did not stick around to say anything else. He got to his feet and dashed off into the void while Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others saw him off.
Over at the Territory Gate, the Black Ink Clan Army was hurriedly evacuating. The Pseudo-Royal Lords had been the first to flee and most of the Territory Lords sensed that things were not looking good for the Black Ink Clan and had fled as well. The Black Ink Clan Army was akin to a headless chicken as they were without a clear leader. Even though a fair number of Territory Lords had stayed back to keep things in order, it was hard for them to maintain any semblance of it as the Army was in a state of disarray.
Moreover, when they realised that the Red Flame Army was coming over to attack them, the situation became even more chaotic. Though the Humans would have to travel for half a day, the Territory Gate was only so big so there was a limit to how many could pass through at a time. Half a day was not nearly enough time for the Black Ink Clan Army to retreat as a whole. At least half of them would have to stay back to keep the Humans occupied in order to give the rest a chance to escape.
Thus, a few Territory Lords began organizing the troops and most of the expendable Black Ink Clansmen had been left behind to delay the enemy while the stronger Masters and those with more potential were allowed to leave first.
Just as soon as they finished making their arrangements though, a powerful aura began rapidly approaching them.
The aura was accompanied by a brilliant light that seemed to leave a dazzling trail against the darkness of the void.
“It’s Yang Kai!” A Territory Lord screamed in terror.
Every single Black Ink Clansman feared the killing star and just a while ago, he was able to sneak into their camp and capture two Pseudo-Royal Lords alive. It had not been long since then, but he was already coming at them again. He was simply relentless.
Upon noticing this, the Territory Lords who stayed back to keep the Army in order could not hold still. They could not bother about anyone else anymore as they started fleeing towards the Territory Gate in a bid to escape as soon as possible.
All at once, the already disorderly Black Ink Clan Army descended into utter chaos.
The sound of rushing water was heard as Yang Kai summoned the Space-Time River. The many Dao Strengths surged with the waves and crashed down on the Black Ink Clan Army.
None could stop it as entire swaths of Black Ink Clansmen were instantly swept up and sunk into the Space-Time River where they were immediately killed.
Yang Kai kept pushing forward as his Space-Time River continued to rampage along. The Black Ink Clansmen who were sucked into the river were instantly tossed out again, but they had all lost their vitality.
There was no Pseudo-Royal Lord around and the Black Ink Clan Army did not even have Innate Territory Lords leading them. It was impossible to imagine the damage and deaths that a single Ninth-Order Master could inflict on them now.
Although some of the Black Ink Clansmen tried to fight back, their efforts were meaningless. Their attacks did not even manage to reach Yang Kai. Some were absorbed by the Space-Time River while others were deflected by the twisted Space-Time around it.
In just a few moments, Yang Kai arrived at the Territory Gate and rushed headlong into it.
The moment he entered the Territory Gate, the once-stable portal started shaking violently. It was as if the Territory Gate was about to shatter as Void Cracks weaved across its surface.
Many of the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen could not stop in time and crashed into the shattered space only to be instantly slashed to pieces.
Many more rushed in but they fell dead the moment they touched the Territory Gate.
Some of the Territory Lords finally realised what was happening. Yang Kai had done something to the Territory Gate so they could no longer use it.
It would have been hard for anyone else to do such a thing. Territory Gates had existed since ancient times and had always been an extremely stable passageway between Great Territories; however, for someone like Yang Kai who was a Master of the Dao of Space, it was easy enough for him to turn the Territory Gate into a death trap. At this point, his mastery of the Dao of Space far exceeded what he had before he entered the Universe Furnace.
This allowed him to kill many enemies without even having to make a move personally!
The Territory Lords who chose to hang back were sorely regretting their decision now. If they had known this would happen, they would have fled with the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
However, at the time, they had been feeling lucky about their chances, and it took a lot of effort for them to gather the soldiers they had under their command, so they were reluctant to simply abandon them. None of them expected this cruel twist of fate.
They could no longer use the Territory Gate and the Red Flame Army was rapidly closing in. Those who had already gone through the Territory Gate had managed to escape, but the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army who remained behind did not have anywhere to run.
Though they were still massive in numbers, without any Pseudo-Royal Lords and only a few Territory Lords, they were not a match for the Red Flame Army that was hungry for slaughter. It was only a matter of time before they were all killed.
Thus, they began to drown in their own sorrow. The killing star had used a simple trick to guarantee the deaths of millions of the Black Ink Clansmen. They lamented his cruelty.
In the distance, the leaders of the Red Flame Army had seen this scene playing out in front of them. Initially, they were rushing over as fast as they could as they were afraid that the Black Ink Clan Army would have left through the Territory Gate before they could arrive; however, the Territory Gate had been turned into a deathly trap now and the Black Ink Clan Army had no way out. They were stuck here.
Since that was the case, the Humans no longer had to make a mad dash and instead began to form coherent formations as they proceeded steadily.
The Black Ink Clan had claimed the No-Return Pass for many years now. It had been thousands of years since the Human Race Army withdrew, and after being in the Black Ink Clan’s possession all these years, this place that once belonged to the Humans was now the Black Ink Clan’s stronghold and core base.
All of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests had been gathered here, along with countless Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. A large number of Black Ink Clansmen stood guard, including the only two true Royal Lords.
Of the two Royal Lords, Mo Yu did not take charge of things. Ever since he got Mo Na Ye to help him deal with the Black Ink Clan’s matters, he spent nearly all of his time inside his Black Ink Nest, strengthening himself.
It had been ages since he last fought against a Human and no one knew just how strong he was now.
News of the situation on each battlefield was transmitted back to the No-Return Pass through the Black Ink Nests.
Mo Na Ye was inside a Grand Hall reading the reports sent in from all the different places. His long bout of gloominess finally eased when he saw the Humans’ casualties across all the fronts.
Previously, he had mounted an attack on Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God regain its freedom. He thought it would have been an extremely easy task, but alas, the Humans summoned a powerful weapon in the form of a real Giant Spirit God.
Not only did he fail in his mission, but he also freed up the two veteran Ninth-Order Masters. As for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that he had been banking his hopes on, the newly-summoned Giant Spirit God kept it occupied; thus, the plan backfired on him.
Whenever Mo Na Ye recalled this, his heart would throb in pain. It was as if anything he did would end in defeat if Yang Kai was involved.
After returning from the failure of that incident, Mo Yu had given Mo Na Ye a harsh scolding. Thankfully, Mo Na Ye was also a true Royal Lord now and Mo Yu could not actually do anything to him, but even so, it was enough to make him depressed.
In recent years, Mo Na Ye did not get personally involved in the fighting. He simply stood guard at the No-Return Pass and watched over the Black Ink Clan Army that was fighting against the Humans from afar, and he did manage to produce fairly good results.
This was especially true for E-5 Territory, which he had been targeting. After all the battles over there thus far, the Red Flame Army had lost many of their Masters, including a lot in the Eighth Order.
If this continued, it would take less than a century for the Red Flame Army to be beaten half to death by the Black Ink Clan.
Mo Na Ye did not dream of wiping out the Humans in one fell swoop as he knew that none of the Human Race’s Armies could be underestimated. Even if they did not have a Ninth-Order Master with them, there were still a lot of powerful Masters, including the Divine Spirits who were especially tricky in a fight. Thus, if he wanted to decimate the Red Flame Army, he had to take things one step at a time.
Although the Humans continually added new rising stars to their ranks, as long as the Black Ink Clan acted decisively enough, they could kill off more Masters than what the Humans could produce and the time would eventually come when the Red Flame Army could no longer hold out.
To carry out this strategy, the Black Ink Clan had to make a lot of sacrifices too. Not a single Innate Territory Lord was left behind at the No-Return Pass or the front lines of other battlefields. Under the command of both Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, all of the Innate Territory Lords who snuck out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been turned into Pseudo-Royal Lords using the Source Fusion Technique.
A huge number of Innate Territory Lords had been sacrificed to create a sizeable number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, which was the reason why the Black Ink Clan could still hold out against the Humans; otherwise, how would they be able to maintain the fight on the battlefield when the Humans had Ninth-Order Masters while they did not have any Royal Lords with them?
Furthermore, after all the years of accumulation, the Black Ink Clan was about to witness the birth of new Royal Lords!
During the early days when Mo Na Ye first assumed command over the Black Ink Clan, he had already selected a large group of Territory Lords who had the potential to become Royal Lords and kept them hidden inside the No-Return Pass to cultivate. At long last, he was about to reap the fruits of his labour.
So long as more Royal Lords were born, the Black Ink Clan would be able to make up for the disadvantages they faced due to the Ninth-Order Masters, and when that happened, the Human Race’s situation would become even more disastrous!
[Do the Humans think they’re winning just because they reclaimed a few Great Territories? What a joke!]
Mo Na Ye set down the reports in his hand and leaned back against his chair. He tapped his fingers on his desk with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He was considering whether he should increase the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords in E-5 Territory to put the Red Flame Army under even more pressure. Right now, the Black Ink Clan was in a position to do so as there were many Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass who were restless and could not stay put. They often came to him to ask for the chance to join the fights, though he rejected them all.
What he wanted was to kill as many of the Humans’ most powerful Masters as possible to weaken them overall. There were often Eighth-Order Masters of the Red Flame Army who willingly sacrificed their lives to injure Pseudo-Royal Lords and force them to leave the battlefield.
Mo Na Ye was more than happy with this situation as he did not care about the deaths of any of the Black Ink Clansmen weaker than Territory Lords. All that mattered was that the Territory Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords remained alive. Even if they were heavily injured, they just had to return to the No-Return Pass and rest for some time where they would easily be able to make a full recovery.
However, before he could make up his mind, a Territory Lord under his command came barging in.
Mo Na Ye looked at the Territory Lord and frowned. Judging by the look on the latter’s face, he could tell that something bad must have happened.
He was unperturbed by this though. Out on the battlefield, things could change at any moment, and while he had been receiving mostly good news from the front lines, there would still be times when things did not go their way.
After all his years of commanding the Black Ink Clan Army, Mo Na Ye had long since developed the ability to maintain his composure even in the face of the most devastating situations.
His fingers stopped tapping as he asked coolly, “What is it?”
The Territory Lord eyed Mo Na Ye with a worried look and held out a jade slip with both hands, “It’s a message from E-5 Territory! The situation on the battlefield has changed!”
“E-5 Territory?” Mo Na Ye’s eyes flashed with surprise.
The reports he was reading just now had been from E-5 Territory, and according to them, everything was going swimmingly for the Black Ink Clan. The Pseudo-Royal Lords had prepared a strategy to target the Red Flame Army’s leaders and there was a high chance they would be able to kill one of the Army Commanders. Once they succeeded, the Red Flame Army would not only be losing a strong and experienced Eighth-Order Master but the Eastern Army would be left leaderless as well. It would be a huge boost to the Black Ink Clan’s plan to destroy the Red Flame Army, so why would things change all of a sudden?
Mo Na Ye raised his hand and took the jade slip before using his Divine Sense to study it.
The very next breath, Mo Na Ye leapt out of his chair with his eyes the widest they could stretch. He was filled with shock and disbelief as he cried out, “That’s impossible!”
Even when Xiao Xiao used the World Bead and let out the long-slumbering Giant Spirit God, Mo Na Ye had not been as flustered as he was now, and it was all due to how unbelievable the battle report he received was.
He could not believe his eyes and seemed to think he had misread it as he quickly took another look. Alas, his eyes were perfectly fine. The report stated that Yang Kai had suddenly appeared in E-5 Territory before slaughtering Jiang Chi and capturing Hu Yu, along with four other Pseudo-Royal Lords. The Black Ink Clan Army had fled in defeat as they suffered massive casualties. They had gathered back at their main base and were on high alert for possible skirmishes.
[Yang Kai showed up at the E-5 Territory? This must be a bad joke! He’s supposed to be confined inside the Universe Furnace! How could he show up at E-5 Territory?]
Mo Na Ye did not want to believe this, but he scrutinised the report that clearly described everything Yang Kai had done. [He was able to capture five Pseudo-Royal Lords because he used a strange Dao Strength River…]
The so-called Dao Strength River was not at all unfamiliar to Mo Na Ye. Back inside the Universe Furnace, he had gotten into a fight with Yang Kai and knew just how frightening that Dao Strength River was.
During that fight, if Meng Que had not sacrificed his own life to help Mo Na Ye, the latter could very well have been killed by Yang Kai. However, even with Meng Que’s help, Mo Na Ye was only able to prolong the fight for a little while longer before fleeing in defeat and narrowly managing to stay alive.
Mo Na Ye had never seen any other Human using a Dao Strength River apart from Yang Kai.
[Is it really Yang Kai?] Even Mo Na Ye’s heart was quaking, [Why would it be him? How could it be him?]
Mo Na Ye could not figure it out at all, [Isn’t that Bastard supposed to be confined inside the Universe Furnace? Didn’t he have to wait until the next time the Universe Furnace opened to have the chance to come back out? It has only been a few centuries and there has been no sign of the Universe Furnace opening up again, so how did he come out?]
Mo Na Ye was uneasy and his mind was riddled with chaotic thoughts.
It took quite a while before he was able to regain his composure.
Based on the report, it had to have been Yang Kai who showed up at E-5 Territory. He was the only one with a Dao Strength River and only he could capture five Pseudo-Royal Lords alive. No other Ninth-Order Master could do such a thing.
After giving it some more thought, Mo Na Ye realised it was true that there had not been any proof to confirm that Yang Kai was confined inside the Universe Furnace, he had only thought so for two reasons. The first was that, when the Universe Furnace closed up again, he did not see Yang Kai who should have reappeared with him, and that had given him the chance to avoid disaster. Secondly, it was based on the news the Black Ink Clan gleaned out of the Black Ink Disciples.
The Humans also thought that Yang Kai was stuck inside the Universe Furnace; otherwise, there was no reason why he did not show up after so many years since the Universe Furnace’s closure.
However, no one could be sure whether or not he was indeed confined inside the Universe Furnace as no one saw it for themselves.
Moreover, even if Yang Kai had been stuck inside the Universe Furnace, it was not necessarily true that he had to wait for it to open up again before he could escape… [That Bastard always has some mysterious trick up his sleeve that allows him to do things no one else can.]
Mo Na Ye rubbed his temples, feeling like his head was about to explode. His cheerful mood from earlier had vanished entirely.
All along, he thought he would no longer have to deal with Yang Kai, the thorn in his side. Over the last few centuries, he accepted the possibility of Yang Kai being locked up inside the Universe Furnace as fact; however, now that the battle report was right before his eyes, the terror that had been buried deep inside his heart was pouring out again.
He was not afraid of any of the other Ninth-Order Masters, be it the newer ones or the two more experienced ones; Yang Kai, the one behind his suffering and numerous defeats, was the only one he was truly wary of.
There was no point for him to continue with his earlier considerations now. Since Yang Kai had shown up at E-5 Territory, things were not going to go according to the Black Ink Clan’s plans anymore. As someone who fought against Yang Kai inside the Universe Furnace, Mo Na Ye knew Yang Kai’s strength better than anyone else.
The report from E-5 Territory clearly stated that Jiang Chi had been killed and five other Pseudo-Royal Lords, including Hu Yu, had been captured. Mo Na Ye knew without a doubt what their fate would be.
Thus, he swiftly gave the order, “Send a message back to E-5 Territory. Tell the Pseudo-Royal Lords to group up and keep a close eye on Yang Kai. Don’t let him get a chance to strike again.”
The Territory Lord left to do as told.
However, a few moments later, he came running back again. Seeing the ashen look on his face, Mo Na Ye had a bad feeling. He gritted his teeth and asked, “What happened now?”
The Territory Lord hung his head low and held out another jade slip with trembling hands. His voice quivered as he informed, “A second report came from E-5 Territory…”
Mo Na Ye glanced at the jade slip but did not check it right away. First, he took a deep breath.
If a second report was sent so soon after the first, it could only mean one thing. Mo Na Ye knew that something terrible must have happened in E-5 Territory. More importantly, the Black Ink Clan had to have been the ones who suffered; otherwise, they would not have sent two reports in a row within such a short period.
The situation was probably even worse than he feared!
Mo Na Ye slowly took a seat before taking the jade slip. He composed himself and checked the dispatch. Despite being mentally prepared for it, he nearly fainted from the latest report.
The previous one stated that Yang Kai showed up at E-5 Territory, slaughtered Jiang Chi, and captured five Pseudo-Royal Lords, including Hu Yu.
This second report said that Yang Kai had snuck up on the remaining Pseudo-Royal Lords despite their vigilance. He withstood the attacks of all of them and used the Dao Strength River to capture two more Pseudo-Royal Lords. None of the Pseudo-Royal Lords had noticed him approaching and there had been no sign of him at all before his appearance.
In just half a day, the Black Ink Clan lost eight Pseudo-Royal Lords in E-5 Territory. Even though there were many of them posted there, it did not mean that the Black Ink Clan could afford to let them be killed off in such rapid succession.
The surviving Pseudo-Royal Lords knew the situation was dire and had retreated from E-5 Territory immediately after the second raid. Many of the Territory Lords followed suit and were fleeing as well.
Though the report did not mention the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army in E-5 Territory, it made no difference.
Since the Pseudo-Royal Lords and a majority of the Territory Lords had fled, the Army could only offer their heads up to the enemy if they stuck around any longer. Mo Na Ye was certain that they were already fleeing in defeat as well, but the Humans would not be merciful given this incredibly rare opportunity. He could foresee how bloody the chase would be. Without the more powerful Black Ink Clansmen, the Black Ink Clan Army would not be able to put up any resistance against the Human Race Army.
Many emotions flashed across Mo Na Ye’s face as he sat there after reading the second report, ultimately crushing the jade slip by accident in the end.
The Territory Lord carefully eyed Mo Na Ye’s expression as he asked, “Sir, should we order the army in E-5 Territory to retreat?”
He knew that the situation did not look good for the Black Ink Clan and was worried about their Army.
Mo Na Ye just took a deep breath and slowly shook his head, “They can’t retreat.”
Even if others did not know what Yang Kai was capable of, he did. The Black Ink Clan had set up their base near the Territory Gate because it made it easy for them to deploy more manpower or make a quick retreat. If they did fail to hold out against their enemy, they could withdraw through the Territory Gate and prevent further losses.
However, that was no longer possible with Yang Kai around. He, who was unmatched in the Dao of Space, would surely lock down the Territory Gate at once.
There was a high chance that a mass slaughter was taking place in E-5 Territory at this very moment!
Mo Na Ye did not know how many members of the Black Ink Clan would successfully escape, but the only silver lining was the fact that the Pseudo-Royal Lords had fled in advance with many of the Territory Lords as well. Although the losses were heavy, it was not a complete massacre of everyone there. Furthermore, the ones who escaped in time were the more powerful ones, so it was a bit of good news amidst all the bad.
That being said, Yang Kai was bound to hunt the Pseudo-Royal Lords down. While they might have escaped for now, they were not entirely out of danger yet.
Mo Na Ye composed himself and gave the order, “Send word out for everyone to be on high alert for any sign of Yang Kai. If there is even the slightest hint of him, report back to me right away!”
“Yes, Sir!” The Territory Lord replied before leaving to carry out the order.
Soon, a slew of reports were transmitted back to the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai had left E-5 Territory and entered Silver Frost Territory…
Yang Kai showed up in Thunderbolt Territory, found the Black Ink Clan’s forward outpost there, and was swiftly making his way over…
The Black Ink Clan lost contact with a mining Squad in Sun Dragon Territory and suspected that they had been eliminated by Yang Kai…
…
As the reports gathered in front of Mo Na Ye, he fixed his eyes on the Universe Chart and mapped out Yang Kai’s movements. Soon, he figured out Yang Kai’s true intentions.
[The No-Return Pass!]
[He’s heading straight for the No-Return Pass!]
Mo Na Ye’s expression darkened, though it was not a complete surprise to him. Yang Kai had often shown up at the No-Return Pass to cause trouble even when he was only an Eighth-Order Master. He was the perfect example of someone who had both brains and brawn, as well as the boldness to go with them. Now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, he was even less wary of the Black Ink Clan. Sooner or later, he would have shown up at the No-Return Pass.
Nevertheless, Mo Na Ye did not expect Yang Kai to be this impatient and head straight for the No-Return Pass after helping the Red Flame Army at E-5 Territory. Based on the reports he received from the various Great Territories, Yang Kai did not seem to be pausing for anything, save for dealing with the Black Ink Clansmen he happened to encounter along the way.
[That Bastard sure has the guts!]
Mo Na Ye was shocked and also a little expectant.
Yang Kai’s confidence also provided the Black Ink Clan with a chance to deal with him. To arrive at the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai would need to pass through the Barren Territory Territory Gate; thus, the Black Ink Clan could set up an ambush in advance there and catch him off guard the moment he appeared. They had a fighting chance of taking him down if all the powerful Masters at the No-Return Pass joined forces.
The Black Ink Clan had attempted this strategy before. They had set up a Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array at the Territory Gate in advance and isolated the surrounding space; however, Yang Kai did not appear at the Territory Gate back then. He used some kind of method that allowed him to travel through a path that the Black Ink Clan did not know about, and appeared on the Black Ink Battlefield instead, which led to the failure of that plan.
However, things were not the same now. At the time, Yang Kai was an Eighth-Order Master who was vigilant enough to take precautions. Now that Yang Kai was a Ninth-Order Master and his power multiplied many times over, Mo Na Ye was fairly certain that the former had become rather arrogant. Based on Yang Kai’s movements, he was bound to enter the No-Return Pass through the Territory Gate, so the Black Ink Clan had an opportunity.
With this thought in mind, Mo Na Ye quickly went to meet with Mo Yu, who was currently cultivating in seclusion, and informed him about Yang Kai.
Mo Yu was stunned, furious, and sorrowful over the news that Yang Kai had shown up at E-5 Territory, killed numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords, and caused the loss of the majority of the Black Ink Clan Army stationed over there.
He did not care about the Black Ink Clan Army’s casualties, only the deaths of the Pseudo-Royal Lords, but even that was hard to accept. Ever since all the Innate Territory Lords that snuck out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been turned into Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan had no way of increasing the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords they had.
After several centuries of not hearing any news about Yang Kai, Mo Yu thought he would never have to see that Human again. Who would have thought that Yang Kai would show up in such a manner and cause such heavy losses for the Black Ink Clan?
It was just as Mo Na Ye had said once, it was one thing to deal with Yang Kai if he was still an Eighth-Order Master, but after he became a Ninth-Order Master, he had become the Black Ink Clan’s most formidable opponent.
However, when Mo Na Ye informed Mo Yu of his plan, Mo Yu could see that it was a good opportunity as well and readily agreed to it.
All at once, the Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass, along with Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, the two true Royal Lords, began setting up outside the Territory Gate before waiting with dire expressions.
While they were busy setting up their trap, Yang Kai was steadily making his way across many Great Territories where the Universe Worlds seemed to be lifeless as they were all covered in Black Ink Strength. He could not detect any vitality from them.
Yang Kai knew that his movements were not hidden from the Black Ink Clan right now, but he did not intend to hide from them in the first place; after all, the Black Ink Clan would not have been able to discover his tracks if he used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability.
He was making this trip to the No-Return Pass to stir things up and take back a few things while he was at it.
Yang Kai made his way through one Great Territory after another, dealing with any of the Black Ink Clan’s outposts that he stumbled across along the way. At last, after over a month of travelling, Yang Kai passed through the Territory Gate from the Shattered Heaven to the Barren Territory.
Similar to its name, the Barren Territory was empty and devoid of everything. All along, the Humans considered it an important battleground and prepared it appropriately. The leaders at the Supreme Headquarters had long since fleshed out the idea of besieging the No-Return Pass, and the moment they did, the Barren Territory would be where the ultimate battle was fought. The final confrontation between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan would take place here.
Millennia ago, the Human Race Army had achieved great results when the Black Ink Clan first invaded this place, and if it had not been for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s interference, breaking through the boundary wall between the Barren Territory and Wind Mist Territory, the Black Ink Clan would not have been able to invade the 3,000 Worlds so easily.
The bodies of countless Masters from both sides littered the battlefield back then. It was also the final resting place of many top Masters, including both Ninth-Order Old Ancestors and Royal Lords.
The moment Yang Kai stepped into the Barren Territory, he sensed alarming shockwaves coming from a place deep within the void. Though the waves were somewhat spaced out, each one was powerful enough to make his heart pound and the surrounding area shake.
He focused his sight and stared into the distance, only to find four towering silhouettes clashing in the depths of the void. The fight was intense and space itself was crumbling around them.
A fight between a Giant Spirit God and a Black Ink Giant Spirit God did not involve any kind of tactics or even any form of techniques. It was a completely physical fight with simple punches and slaps thrown around.
However, as both parties possessed Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering strength, even such a simple physical battle was enough to cause terrifying impact and fallout.
It was not surprising that Mi Jing Lun said the battle in the Barren Territory resulted in needless losses for the Black Ink Clan. If the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass wanted to send soldiers out as reinforcements to the various front lines, they would need to pass through the Barren Territory, and considering how strong the aftershocks of the fight were, weaker Black Ink Clansmen would not be able to survive unless they had powerful Masters protecting them.
This was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. When Yang Kai gave that World Bead to Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, he had only done so as a means of countering the Black Ink Clan’s possible strategy. He did not expect it to result in such a boon for the Humans.
The four Giant Spirit Gods were split up onto two different battlefields. Yang Kai spotted Ah Da, who was bald, and Ah Er, who had a lock of hair.
As for the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, Yang Kai had to spend some time figuring out which was which.
The one Ah Da was up against was most likely the one who was revived from the Late Ancient Era Battlefield, while the one fighting against Ah Er was the one from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. Though the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods looked similar at first glance, upon closer inspection, there were still minor differences that one could pick up on.
Initially, the Black Ink Clan had a third Black Ink Giant Spirit God, which was the one that escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Nevertheless, many Human Race Masters had joined forces and defeated that one in the Barren Territory, which was something to celebrate. Otherwise, if the Black Ink Clan had another Black Ink Giant Spirit God with them now, the Human Race would be in an extremely difficult predicament.
The clash between the Giant Spirit Gods stirred up Yang Kai’s urge to join the fight, but he had to force himself to quell that desire of his.
He still had some self-awareness. Despite being a Ninth-Order Master now and possessing strength that seemed to touch the limits of Martial Dao, it was still not enough for him to go up against a being as strong as a Giant Spirit God.
If he did insert himself into the fight, he would only end up fleeing in defeat.
Furthermore, if he was not mistaken, the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass would have already set up the stage for him to put on a grand show!
Thus, he decided to stay out of the battle between the four Giant Spirit Gods. He cupped his hand around his mouth and hollered, “Ah Da, Ah Er, fight!”
His voice rang like a dragon’s roar and spread far and wide.
Ah Da, who was in the middle of his battle, could not resist turning his head around to take a look, but he ended up being caught off guard as his opponent landed a punch against his face which caused him to stagger.
Infuriated, Ah Da steadied himself and bent down before charging at his opponent and grabbing him by the waist. He landed a series of blows with his elbows and knees which caused the Black Ink Giant Spirit God to stumble. Then, Ah Da climbed on top of his opponent and began pounding the latter with his fists. The pummelling was so intense that every punch rang out like thunder across the entire Barren Territory.
Yang Kai’s eyes twitched at the sight.
[I better not disturb them…]
He then suppressed his aura and started rushing towards the Territory Gate to the No-Return Pass.
There were many Black Ink Clansmen on guard at the Territory Gate all the time. This was not only to maintain control over the Territory Gate but also to keep an eye on the fight between the Giant Spirit Gods; thus, when they heard Yang Kai’s voice, their expressions stiffened as they immediately rushed through the Territory Gate and headed back to the No-Return Pass.
Soon, the news of Yang Kai’s appearance in the Barren Territory reached Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. The two Royal Lords had grim expressions as they exchanged looks.
[That Bastard came all the way here after all! Even though he’s now a Ninth-Order Master, if he does pass through the Territory Gate, we might have the chance to take him down.]
The trap for Yang Kai was already in place, and once Mo Na Ye gave the order, the Black Ink Clansmen got into their positions.
Yang Kai whizzed through the Barren Territory and arrived at the Territory Gate that led to the No-Return Pass. He glanced at it and stepped through without even pausing.
As soon as he did, Space Principles enveloped him and he felt everything around him shake ever so slightly. The sight before him blurred for a moment, and at the very next moment, he popped up in front of the No-Return Pass.
All at once, dozens of powerful auras shot at him from all directions to lock him in place. Two of them stood out among the rest.
Yang Kai smirked as he studied Mo Yu and Mo Na Ye, the two Royal Lords, with a strange feeling in his heart.
In the past, he came to raise chaos at the No-Return Pass a few times, but he always snuck around and took extreme precautions to avoid being discovered whenever possible; however, he could now afford to walk right in without needing to be cautious at all. He could openly step through the Territory Gate and make his way to the No-Return Pass.
The Black Ink Clan did not attack Yang Kai right away as there was no point in doing so. The Territory Gate was right behind him and he could return to the Barren Territory at any time. Even though the Black Ink Clan gathered every available Master here, they did not feel confident about their ability to take him down immediately.
They knew their best chance to strike was not when Yang Kai first showed up and had planned accordingly; thus, they patiently waited…
The atmosphere was incredibly tense.
Mo Na Ye’s expression was the grimmest it could be. Even though he could tell from the various dispatches that it was indeed Yang Kai who showed up in E-5 Territory and all the other Great Territories along the way, he still harboured the barest glimmer of hope that the reports had been mistaken as he had not seen Yang Kai himself. However, now that Yang Kai was before his very eyes, even that glimmer of hope was dashed.
[He’s really back…]
As someone who suffered multiple miserable losses at Yang Kai’s hands, Mo Na Ye was more cautious of him than anyone else.
“That’s it?” Yang Kai abruptly chuckled in the middle of the standoff. He thought the Black Ink Clan would attack him the moment he appeared and had not thought they would be able to hold themselves back so well. However, he had an idea as to why they did not attack him. The Territory Gate was right behind him, so if they did attack him, he could still make an easy retreat.
His taunting smile aggravated many from the Black Ink Clan and most of the auras that had honed in on him grew aggressive.
Ever since the Black Ink Clan’s invasion into the 3,000 Worlds, the Human Race had been the ones at a disadvantage. No Human had ever been this arrogant when standing right on the doorstep of the Black Ink Clan’s greatest stronghold. The Black Ink Clan naturally felt deeply humiliated.
“You’ve got quite the nerve, Yang Kai!” Mo Na Ye coldly snorted.
Yang Kai studied Mo Na Ye for a moment as if it were his first time seeing the latter before remarking, “And you’re quite lucky!”
Mo Na Ye frowned, and soon, he realised what Yang Kai meant. When the Universe Furnace closed up, Mo Na Ye thought that he was doomed to die. He had been badly injured at the time so if Yang Kai had returned to the same spot as him, he would not have been able to put up a fight. Yang Kai would have killed him off at once.
He was indeed rather lucky to be able to stand here now. Mo Na Ye did not know what Yang Kai had gone through and why he was only returning after all these years, but either way, he had barely managed to escape from Yang Kai with his life the last time they met.
“You’re quite lucky yourself!” Mo Na Ye snapped back coolly. He looked into Yang Kai’s cultivation journey and realised that the latter was what the Humans considered someone blessed by destiny. Yang Kai had stumbled across many opportunities throughout his cultivation journey; otherwise, he would not have been able to rise as quickly as he did.
Yang Kai grinned, “Luck is also a form of strength.” Then, his eyes flitted around him as he taunted, “What’s wrong? Weren’t all of you waiting for me? I’m here now. Aren’t you going to attack?”
[What’s the point of attacking you now!?] Mo Na Ye growled to himself, [Take a few steps forward, if you dare!]
To ensure that their plan could be executed flawlessly, they had to find a way to get Yang Kai away from the Territory Gate first; otherwise, if Yang Kai was unwilling to engage in battle with them, the trap that they set up would go to waste.
“Oh, I get it now,” Yang Kai commented, seemingly to himself, “You’re afraid I’ll run off, right?”
As soon as he said that, he waved his hand, and as Space Principles vibrated, the Territory Gate behind him suddenly started shaking. At the very next moment, the Territory Gate began freezing up like a lake in winter. In the blink of an eye, the Territory Gate that had remained stable for countless years was completely frozen, the swirling ripples on its surface now completely locked in place.
[!!!]
Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu were stupefied, and all the other Pseudo-Royal Lords were agape as well.
[What the Hell… is he doing?]
“How about now?” Yang Kai smirked at the Black Ink Clan.
“Begin!” Mo Na Ye roared at once.
Though they were boggled by Yang Kai’s actions, they believed that he was still too arrogant for cutting off his only path of retreat. Their original plan involved luring Yang Kai away from the Territory Gate to avoid letting him escape at any given moment, but since they no longer had to worry about that, Mo Na Ye did not hesitate anymore.
Since Yang Kai had voluntarily made the situation work in the Black Ink Clan’s favour, Mo Na Ye was not going to disappoint him.
As soon as his roar rang out, a series of powerful attacks shot out from all directions as nearly 20 silhouettes dashed towards Yang Kai. These were all Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Furthermore, they were not the only ones around as 12 more Pseudo-Royal Lords were tasked with powering the Grand Array. They quickly moved with the intention of setting up a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array. Once they got into position, with the help of the Array Boards and Banners they held, they could lock up the local space, making it impossible for Yang Kai to escape.
Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu attacked as well. Since they were up against an opponent as formidable as Yang Kai, neither of the Royal Lords held back as they unleashed their full strength.
Instantly, Black Ink Strength flooded over from all directions as a myriad of Secret Techniques showered down on Yang Kai.
A loud Dragon Roar rang out as golden light shot out. This was followed by some commotion, and the moment the Pseudo-Royal Lords got near Yang Kai, they suddenly realised that the originally small Human had transformed into something a lot more massive.
He was covered in Golden Dragon Scales and his Dragon Beard fluttered in the aura wind. A pair of intimidating Dragon Horns grew out of his forehead and intense Dragon Pressure emanated from him, seemingly solidifying the Void around him.
“A Divine Dragon?”
Mo Yu, who was launching off a Secret Technique at Yang Kai, was completely taken aback and his face twitched at the sight.
He did know that Yang Kai was a Ninth-Order Master and could take a Dragon Form, but when did he become a Divine Dragon?
Mo Yu had taken part in the first battle at the No-Return Pass and could still remember the power of the Divine Dragons from back then, both of whom were even stronger than the average Ninth-Order Human Master. He had once suffered at the hands of the previous Head of the Dragon Clan.
[He’s both a Ninth-Order Master and a Divine Dragon!? Just how strong is he now?!]
“Let me see what you can do!” Yang Kai roared. After switching into his Dragon Form, his thirst for battle intensified!
After becoming a Ninth-Order Master, he had only had an all-out fight once against Mo Na Ye, and even though he won that battle, his enemy was not in peak condition.
Yang Kai was already heavily injured at the time; furthermore, he had just used the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to combine with his two other Selves; thus, he did not have the time to stabilize his cultivation and could not wield his full power.
Centuries had passed since then and his cultivation realm had been solidified. Yang Kai was at his peak right now, and the only way he could test his limits, apart from doing it here at the No-Return Pass, was to challenge a Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
However, a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was too powerful and Yang Kai figured he would not be able to take one on, so it was best for him to target the No-Return Pass instead.
That was the reason why Yang Kai chose not to travel stealthily.
He wanted to know what his current limits were! Furthermore, for certain reasons, this fight was unavoidable for him as well.
Yang Kai roared as he stretched out in a grabbing motion. Considering Yang Kai’s size right now, even just a Dragon Claw of his was enough to cover half the sky.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were in that direction immediately saw the world darkening around them as the gigantic shadow loomed over their heads. It was accompanied by an immense sense of pressure that made them quake. It was the Dragon Pressure of a Divine Dragon and it weighed down on them so heavily that their knees nearly buckled.
Space-Time Dao Strength began surging as Time was thrown into disarray and Space warped. The Pseudo-Royal Lords’ senses were thrown completely off and they could not dodge in time; thus, Yang Kai caught them with his Dragon Claw.
Yang Kai tightened his Dragon Claw with a powerful squeeze that resulted in the sound of bones cracking, followed by a litany of pained cries.
Just as Yang Kai grabbed onto the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the attacks from the Black Ink Clan landed on him as well. Even though Yang Kai had thick skin and strong flesh, the attacks still managed to make him shake and tremble.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were not to be underestimated; furthermore, the attacks from two Royal Lords were also in the mix. All in all, it was an avalanche of formidable attacks that blasted off his Dragon Scales.
There were pros and cons to having a massive body. The good thing about it was that regardless of what Yang Kai did, even the simple action of clawing at his enemies was shockingly grand and powerful. On the other hand, the downside was that it was hard for him to dodge attacks.
Nevertheless, a Divine Dragon’s physical body was exceedingly strong, and with the protection of his Dragon Scales, Yang Kai was able to withstand their torrent attacks for now, though there was no telling how long he would actually be able to hold out.
As the Black Ink Clan unleashed their attacks in full force, the Pseudo-Royal Lords that Yang Kai had caught were also beginning to fight back. Though they had accidentally allowed themselves to be captured, they were still Pseudo-Royal Lords and would not die so easily. They began channeling their power and using their Secret Techniques to batter Yang Kai.
With the help of Mo Na Ye and the others, the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been caught inside Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw were finally able to escape three breaths later.
Nevertheless, they bore expressions of lingering fear. The moment they had been caught, they thought they were going to die. Even though they managed to escape, they were all heavily injured as Yang Kai’s clutch had not been for nothing.
The gigantic Dragon Form loomed large just outside the No-Return Pass and the silhouettes that flew around him looked like flies. The fight that broke out in a flash intensified even further.
This was Yang Kai’s first time taking on his Dragon Form after becoming a Divine Dragon. From the eyes of a Divine Dragon, everything in the vicinity looked incredibly small. He could not help but feel an innate sense of pride. It was as if all the tiny beings around him could not even withstand the slightest blow from him.
All of a sudden, he realised why the Divine Spirits tended to be so arrogant. For one thing, they were the first generation of rulers under the Heavens, giving them a sense of superiority over all others. Secondly, they possessed enormous bodies and incredible power. It made sense that they did not view other beings as equals.
This was entirely due to the strength of Divine Spirits and had nothing to do with their personal character. Yang Kai realised it now. Though he did want to find out what his limits were, he was not about to underestimate the Black Ink Clan. The situation could very well backfire on him if he viewed them as nothing more than pesky flies.
Battles between Masters were never easy, and although Yang Kai unleashed a series of Dragon Clan Secret Techniques, the situation did not look good for him. He was up against too many opponents and they were all powerful in their own right. Soon, he was bleeding all over.
During the intense fight, Yang Kai kept scanning the area around him. At some point, he turned his massive Dragon Form around and his Dragon Tail swept across a specific spot where a Pseudo-Royal Lord who was carrying an Array Board had not gotten into his position yet, hurling him away with ferocious force.
Mo Na Ye ground his teeth.
They needed the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array to deal with Yang Kai. Even though it looked as if Yang Kai was suffering under their relentless attacks, without the Grand Array to seal the local Space, he would be able to leave whenever he wished and no one would be able to stop him.
Thus, as soon as the fight broke out, the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were in charge of arranging the Grand Array had begun moving. They only had one Array Board left to put in place before activating it, but they failed to do so at the last moment.
[He sensed it a long time ago and had his guard up the whole time!] Mo Na Ye deduced.
That was indeed the case. Yang Kai had detected the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array the moment he appeared at the Territory Gate. He did not seal the Territory Gate out of foolish overconfidence, however; instead, he wanted to use it to make the fight break out on his terms.
If he did not seal the Territory Gate, the Black Ink Clan would not have made their move this quickly, despite how many of them there were. They would wait until he entered the Grand Array first.
By sealing the Territory Gate, Yang Kai had cut off his path of retreat, but at the same time, he forced the Black Ink Clan’s hand. Thus, the Spirit Array that the Black Ink Clan had set up beforehand was no longer of any use and they had to re-position themselves before trying again.
All Yang Kai needed to do now was to keep his guard up against the Grand Array and prevent them from activating it. As long as he did that, it was basically impossible for him to be defeated here.
Dragon Roars echoed across the void as Secret Techniques flew in all directions. Numerous silhouettes flitted about as the Pseudo-Royal Lords fought with great caution. They dared not give Yang Kai the chance to strike them dead-on. While their attacks did land on Yang Kai, they did not seem to do much harm to him. On the other hand, if Yang Kai found the right opportunity to hit them, just a simple attack from him could very well leave them heavily injured.
Only Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, the two true Royal Lords, posed any real threat to Yang Kai on their own. That being said, the longer these two fought, the more frightened they became.
Yang Kai looked as if he was injured and bedraggled, but he remained as spirited as ever; in fact, it felt as if the longer he fought, the more powerful he became.
Mo Na Ye had fought against Yang Kai back inside the Universe Furnace and had suffered badly at the latter’s hands at the time, but even he knew that Yang Kai was not at his best back then and could not wield his full strength. Thus, Mo Na Ye had done his best to avoid underestimating Yang Kai’s power.
However, at this moment, he realised that Yang Kai was much stronger than even he imagined.
No one had ever possessed the combined power of a Ninth-Order cultivation and a Divine Dragon physique before. Furthermore, when Yang Kai ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he also absorbed the Small Universe that belonged to Fang Tian Ci. On top of all that, what Yang Kai found inside the Universe Furnace allowed him to enhance his proficiency over many Grand Daos, greatly bolstering his strength.
No ordinary Ninth-Order Master was anywhere near as powerful as him.
Mo Yu was not as calm as he seemed to be either. Even just a couple thousand years ago, he had been able to toy with Yang Kai like a predator playing with its prey as the latter was far too weak to fight him head-on. However, in just a short amount of time, Yang Kai had already grown this strong.
Based on what Mo Yu saw of Yang Kai’s power now, he knew he would not be able to engage the latter in a one-on-one fight.
[Don’t Humans need a lot of time to increase their heritage once they rise up to a higher cultivation realm? This bastard became a Ninth-Order Master inside the Universe Furnace just a few centuries ago. He’s still a newly promoted Ninth-Order Master yet he’s already this strong! What will he be like if he is given even more time to grow?]
The stronger Yang Kai seemed now, the more alarmed the Black Ink Clan was.
Several more Pseudo-Royal Lords were swept off into the distance; however, Mo Yu and Mo Na Ye’s expressions brightened as they finally found their chance. In the next instant, they joined forces and fired off fearsome Secret Techniques at the Golden Dragon.
Black Ink Strength exploded as hundreds of Dragon Scales were blown off to reveal the body hidden beneath them, sending the massive Dragon reeling backwards.
[We did it!]
The two Royal Lords were smiling happily at first, but their smiles froze immediately after they saw Yang Kai’s enormous figure crash into a Black Ink Nest.
It was a High-Rank Black Ink Nest…
The towering High-Rank Black Ink Nest could not withstand such force and was instantly flattened.
There was a flash of golden light as Yang Kai transformed back into his Human Form and got to his feet. He then reached out and grabbed a figure that was caught within the destroyed Black Ink Nest.
It was a Territory Lord whose aura was fluctuating. It was evident that he was still a little dazed from the destruction of the Black Ink Nest; however, his expression changed the moment he saw Yang Kai’s face.
Yang Kai glanced at the Territory Lord before wiping off the blood from his lips, his eyes flashed as he looked up at the Black Ink Clansmen who rushed over.
The Two Royal Lords were in the lead while the rest of the Pseudo-Royal Lords followed close behind, just several thousand kilometres away.
With how strong everyone was, the distance of several thousand kilometres was basically the same as being face-to-face.
Mo Na Ye pursed his lips with a gloomy expression on his face. By now, he figured out that Yang Kai had simply gone along with the attacks and had purposely crashed into the High-Rank Black Ink Nest, which was the foundation upon which the Black Ink Clan had built itself. Although the Innate Territory Lords had brought a lot of High-Rank Black Ink Nests with them when they came out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, quite a large number of those had been used up to create Pseudo-Royal Lords. Every remaining High-Rank Black Ink Nest right now was incredibly precious as they had no way of replacing them once they were lost.
This time, the Black Ink Clan did not attack Yang Kai. Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu both knew that their plan to kill Yang Kai had failed. Based on the strength that Yang Kai had exhibited earlier, they had no way of restraining him and setting up the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array; therefore, there was no reason for them to keep the fight going.
A moment later, Mo Na Ye growled, “Let him go!”
Yang Kai tapped his head and queried mockingly, “Are you sleep-talking?”
As he spoke, he squeezed his hand and the Territory Lord he captured instantly exploded into a cloud of blood.
Mo Na Ye was seething with rage, but in the end, he was able to hold himself back.
Yang Kai looked around at all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests and grinned, “It looks to me that you’re about to have the new generation of Royal Lords. Allow me to offer my congratulations in advance.”
The aura of the Territory Lord he caught earlier had been unusually strong, which made it clear that he was no ordinary Territory Lord. He was one of those who could become a Royal Lord, and the Black Ink Clan clearly had a lot of hope in him. That was why they arranged for him to cultivate inside a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
However, regardless of what he could have become, he was dead now.
There were quite a few High-Rank Black Ink Nests at the No-Return Pass. At the very least, there were 300 of them. Some of them housed Pseudo-Royal Lords who were recuperating from their injuries, but many of them had Territory Lords cultivating inside. The Black Ink Clan’s future would be bleak if all of these High-Rank Black Ink Nests were somehow destroyed.
Upon seeing the calculating look in Yang Kai’s eyes, the Black Ink Clan grew nervous. The earlier fight had allowed them to realise just how strong Yang Kai was, and if he was hellbent on targeting these High-Rank Black Ink Nests, they had no good way of stopping him. It was hard to secure everything in the middle of a fight and they could very well lose even more High-Rank Black Ink Nests.
Thankfully, Yang Kai did not act out. He dusted the dirt off his hands and glanced at Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, “Let’s end the fight here for today. I can’t do much to you and you can’t keep me here either. I’ll be off then!”
Thus, with a wave of his hand, he turned and left.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords turned to the two Royal Lords as they awaited their orders.
It took all of Mo Na Ye’s willpower to hold himself back, and in the end, he did not say anything. Nevertheless, his heart was filled with vexation and a sense of helplessness over what Yang Kai did to them at the No-Return Pass. One man alone barged into their home, destroyed a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and killed a fine candidate who could have become a Royal Lord, then left without so much as a care.
In the past, the Black Ink Clan was annoyed by Yang Kai’s propensity for messing with them at the No-Return Pass, but they were still able to put a stop to it then. However, now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, the Black Ink Clan did not seem to have a way to stop him anymore. This was the reason behind the sense of hopelessness they felt.
Mo Na Ye could not help but regret the fact that he had not been more cautious of Yang Kai in the past. They would not be in this unfortunate predicament now if they had found a way to kill him back then.
However, based on the information they gleaned from the Black Ink Disciples in the past, the Eighth Order was supposed to be Yang Kai’s limit. No one would have thought that the legendary Universe Furnace would suddenly open up just as the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were carefully building up their Armies in preparation for their ultimate showdown, which led to Yang Kai becoming a Ninth-Order Master.
At the end of the day, Mo Na Ye did not have the power to see the future. At the time, he was entirely focused on creating more Royal Lords which meant that the threat of an Eighth-Order Master such as Yang Kai would naturally diminish and he would not have to specifically target this Human menace.
When the Universe Furnace appeared, the Black Ink Clan did attempt to target Yang Kai and put in a lot of effort to do so, but they ended up failing and being the ones who suffered a great loss instead.
“Did he come here just to take a beating?” Mo Yu stared off in the direction Yang Kai had left with his brow tightly knitted as he commented in confusion, “Why is he heading deeper into the Black Ink Battlefield?”
Mo Na Ye could not figure out what Yang Kai was up to either. He considered all of the things Yang Kai had done so far and thought to himself, [That bastard’s always so hard to decipher…]
“Damn it!” All of a sudden, Mo Na Ye whipped his head around and growled, “The Territory Gate!”
Mo Na Ye had been too caught up in the fight with Yang Kai that he did not spare much thought for anything else, but now that things had settled down, it dawned on him that they had a grave problem on their hands.
Yang Kai had used his Space Secret Technique to seal off the Territory Gate!
He had done this before when he returned from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon and gathered the remnants of what was left of the Human Race Army outside the No-Return Pass before leading them to charge through the No-Return Pass and into the Barren Territory. Back then, Yang Kai wheeled around after accomplishing his goal and invaded the No-Return Pass once more to save Ji Lao San, who had been captured.
When Yang Kai made his way back from the Barren Territory, he used some Secret Technique to seal up the Territory Gate. At the time, he had only just become an Eighth-Order Master so both his abilities and his mastery over the Dao of Space were nowhere near what they were now, so it had taken him some significant effort.
After rescuing Ji Lao San, Yang Kai brought the former to the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield and used a secret passageway in the Blue Sky Theatre to return to Black Territory.
When that happened, the Black Ink Clan had to put in a lot of effort to reopen the Territory Gate.
Yang Kai had not done anything like that since, until now.
The No-Return Pass was the Black Ink Clan’s main base and largest spawning ground. Many from the Black Ink Clan were being born here at any given moment and they constantly sent out reinforcements to the front lines. The injured Pseudo-Royal Lords would also return to the No-Return Pass to slumber and recover when they were injured.
Now that the Territory Gate was sealed, it meant that the No-Return Pass had been cut off from the rest of the 3,000 Worlds. This greatly threatened the Black Ink Clan Army which was still out fighting in the 3,000 Worlds.
Even though the Black Ink Clan had an exceedingly high number of Masters and could muster up enough force to break open the Territory Gate once more, it would take time for them to do so!
The situation out on the battlefield could change at any moment, so they could not afford to waste any time at all.
In the blink of an eye, all manner of thoughts raced through Mo Na Ye’s mind.
All at once, he realised that this could have been Yang Kai’s main reason for coming over to the No-Return Pass!
Nevertheless, even if he figured this out now, nothing changed. The Territory Gate was still sealed and the Black Ink Clan had to find a way to break it open again as soon as possible.
And so, under the command of Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, the Black Ink Clan began attacking the Territory Gate. Immense force surged as the Black Ink Clan felt as if they had swallowed a fly.
In the void some distance away from the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai came to a stop atop a Universe Fragment where he adjusted his breathing and began to tend to his injuries.
As a result of going up against that many Black Ink Clan Masters alone, he had taken a heavy beating. If it had not been for the thick skin and strong flesh he had thanks to his Dragon Form, he would not have been able to hold out as long as he did. Although he injured some of the Pseudo-Royal Lords, he lamented the fact that he could not kill any of them.
Alas, he had not been in a position to do so at the time.
In any case, he accomplished what he set out to accomplish.
The destruction of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and the slaughter of a Territory Lord who could have become a Royal Lord was nothing more than his way of giving the Black Ink Clan a warning. He still had other things to do now.
[The Black Ink Clan would’ve come to a realisation by now, right? The sealed-up Territory Gate would surely give them a headache and keep them occupied for some time. Well, the bigger the headache, the better. It would make it even easier for me to carry out the rest of my plan.]
Several days later, Yang Kai rose to his feet as mighty as a Dragon and as fierce as a Tiger once more.
Even serious physical injuries did not mean much to him now as he could easily recover from them. He glanced in the direction of the No-Return Pass before turning around and heading deep into the Black Ink Battlefield. He had a Space Beacon in hand and was continually pouring his strength into it in search of a response.
One could say that the Black Ink Battlefield was made up of many different Theatres. Still, the expansiveness of the Black Ink Battlefield paled in comparison to the vastness of the Universe. It was like comparing a pond to an ocean.
For countless years, the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan clashed time and time again across the Black Ink Battlefield; however, following the Humans’ defeat, the once-frenetic battlefields became silent with none of the commotion of yore.
The Black Ink Clan claimed the No-Return Pass and made it their base as they fixed their eyes upon the 3,000 Worlds. Of course, they would send teams out to the Black Ink Battlefield to mine for resources, but they would not venture too far as there was plenty to harvest nearby.
The Theatres were situated in the part of the void much closer to the Late Ancient Era battlefield. At this moment, on a still and lifeless piece of land there, two silhouettes were hidden from sight with their auras suppressed. These two wizened-looking men were both Eighth-Order Masters, their aged visages coloured with looks of worry.
After a long bout of silence, the black-robed old man on the left spoke up, “It’s been nearly 700 years and we haven’t heard anything from Junior Brother Yang. Do you think something happened to him?”
Back then, they had agreed with Yang Kai that he would come and collect mined resources from them every 100 years; however, it had been nearly 700 years since the last exchange so it was unsurprising for them to be worried after not having seen Yang Kai for so long.
The other old man who was dressed in a hemp robe replied, “Out on the deathly battlefields, anything is possible.” Although he did not voice his agreement with his companion’s guess, he figured that Yang Kai must have gotten into some sort of unexpected situation; otherwise, he couldn’t avoid making the trip throughout all these years.
“What should we do then? Where can we go?”
They were deep inside the Black Ink Battlefield, and without Yang Kai to assist them, they would never be able to return to the 3,000 Worlds. They could not even get past the No-Return Pass.
“Junior Brother Zhao and the others sent messages asking about this too. They think we should use our fallback plan.”
“You mean, head over to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?” The black-robed old man frowned.
The hemp-robed old man nodded and said, “Junior Brother Yang also said that it was our only means of escape as a last resort.”
“The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction is quite some distance away. It would take at least two or three decades for our group to get there. We are Eighth-Order Masters so it would be fine for us, but considering how dangerous the journey would be, the little ones who are in the Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order might not be able to make it. We would end up losing a lot of them.”
“That’s indeed a problem, which is why Junior Brother Zhao didn’t suggest we leave for the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction right away. Although 700 years is not a short time, it’s not all that long for those in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Perhaps Junior Brother Yang is being held up by something he encountered. It’s been so many years and the Black Ink Clan hasn’t detected us yet, so it’s still safe here for now.”
“So, shall we continue waiting?”
“That’s all we can do now.”
They fell silent for a while before the black-robed old man remarked, “I wonder what’s happening with the war in the 3,000 Worlds.”
“Hopefully, everything is going well.”
Silence befell them yet again.
They were all alone out here and could not get any news about the situation back in the 3,000 Worlds. It was incredibly hard to get by without knowing how the war was going.
That being said, they knew what their mission was. Someone had to do it, even though not many people were aware of the sacrifices they made.
Time continued trickling by. Several days later, the hemp-robed old man suddenly opened his eyes and gasped. He flipped his hand over and a round bead appeared. It was a Space Beacon.
When he focused on the Space Beacon, he found that there was something unusual happening. A mysterious energy was pulsing from it.
“That’s…” The hemp-robed old man looked pleasantly surprised.
Something like this had happened many times before. Each time the Space Beacon reacted this way, it meant that Yang Kai was on his way over. The old man kept this Space Beacon on him at all times as he waited and waited. Now, what he was waiting for was finally happening.
The black-robed old man was startled as well. He gazed at the Space Beacon with a hopeful, expectant expression.
The Space Beacon began reacting even more noticeably until at one point, the hemp-robed old man could sense that it had connected with something a great distance away.
In the very next moment, the Void in front of them rippled and a figure solidified in front of them.
[He’s here at last!] The two Eighth-Order Masters exhaled in relief and immediately transmitted the message out to everyone else.
“Junior Brother Yang! You’re finally… Huh?” The hemp-robed old man trailed off as he eyed Yang Kai in confusion. He had a look of complete shock as he exclaimed, “You’re… a Ninth-Order Master now?”
The black-robed old man beside him also noticed that something was different, but as Yang Kai did not exhibit his power clearly, the former could not be certain about it.
“Greetings, Senior Brothers. I’ve kept you waiting,” Yang Kai greeted them with a bow.
“You broke through to the Ninth Order?” The hemp-robed old man pressed again.
Yang Kai nodded, “You have good eyes, Senior Brother. I am indeed a Ninth-Order Master now!”
The two Eighth-Order Masters could not help but exchange looks. They felt both stunned and glad as they cheered, “Good! Very good!”
While they were busy with their conversation, the Space around them quivered as more figures began popping up. These were the other Eighth-Order Masters who were gathering here after receiving the message.
The moment they laid eyes on Yang Kai, the one they spent several centuries waiting for, they could not resist exhaling in relief. If Yang Kai did not show up soon, they would have to follow his instructions and head towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to convene with the Suppressing Black Ink Army over there. However, if they chose to make that journey, it would be a long and perilous one, with many of them falling along the way. Thus, it was an extremely dangerous path of retreat that had to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
But now that Yang Kai was here, they would not need to head over to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
When these older, more experienced Eighth-Order Masters heard the hemp-robed old man saying that Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master, they were just as shocked and felt a tinge of suspicion that the old man had made a mistake. However, upon closer inspection, they realised that Yang Kai was indeed a Ninth-Order Master. Though they were no longer suspicious, they could not figure out how Yang Kai managed to do it.
Several millennia had passed since the Black Ink Clan’s invasion of the 3,000 Worlds. Before the Universe Furnace appeared, the Humans had been stuck guarding the dozen or so Great Territory battlefields. Apart from those Great Territories as well as High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory, the rest of the other Great Territories largely fell into the Black Ink Clan’s hands.
Thus, the Humans had been facing a very difficult conundrum all this while.
It was the issue of resources. The fewer Great Territories they controlled, the fewer resources they had access to. A single New Great Territory was not enough to supply the needs of the entire Human Race.
During the great evacuation back then, all the Sects, including the Cave Heavens, and Paradises, brought along everything they could carry from their storehouses and treasuries. This was especially true of the Cave Heavens and Paradises who had hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated resources in their collections.
Nevertheless, in the thousands of years that passed since then, they had used up most of what they brought with them and their resources were nearly drained as well.
Furthermore, as the Human Race’s rising stars flourished and many new Open Heaven Realm Masters emerged in the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World, the need for resources constantly grew.
In the past, the Human Race’s many Great Forces were spread throughout thousands of Great Territories across the 3,000 Worlds and were basically self-sufficient, but that could no longer be the case now.
As such, many years ago, the Humans started looking for ways to overcome this crisis.
It was a matter of resources, and the only options were to use them sparingly and find new sources.
It was easy enough to keep usage to a minimum. The Humans scrimped and saved wherever they could to avoid any needless usage of materials. They even stopped Squads from customizing their Warships hundreds of years ago.
However, the Humans had a hard time finding new sources. Earlier on, quite a lot of Hunters attempted to loot the Black Ink Clan teams who were moving resources around. They did manage to get what they wanted, but it was incredibly dangerous as well as things would end in disaster for them the moment a Master from the Black Ink Clan targeted them.
Many of the Black Ink Disciples among the Black Ink Clan now were such Hunters in the past.
Yang Kai had ‘negotiated’ with the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass before and was richly rewarded for his efforts, but that was not a long-term solution.
Therefore, after much discussion with Mi Jing Lun back then, they created a group that was dedicated to mining resources. Several veteran Eighth-Order Masters were appointed as leaders and the whole group was snuck into the Black Ink Battlefield to carry out this mission.
The group consisted of tens of thousands of Human Masters, but their overall cultivation was fairly low, mainly in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth-Order. They could not contribute much on the battlefield, but they were able to gather resources which was a job that did not require much strength.
There were countless lifeless areas across the Black Ink Battlefield where an abundance of resources could be found, so it was a suitable place for them to exploit.
The Eighth-Order Masters who had been chosen were either the older ones with failing bodies or those with deep injuries to their foundations, leading to a noticeable decline in their strength. At the time, Ou Yang Lie had been one of them, but Yang Kai later sent him back as a messenger during the escaped Territory Lord emergency.
Yang Kai promised them that he would meet them once every century to retrieve the resources. Over a thousand years had passed and everything had gone smoothly until 700 years ago which was the last time he showed up, until today.
The many Eighth-Order Masters had been eagerly waiting this whole time. 700 years was not necessarily a long time, but they were all alone out here and had no clue what was happening in the 3,000 Worlds. That was the reason why they felt disproportionately on edge and often felt despairing.
Thus, when they received the message from the hemp-robed old man, the Eighth-Order Masters who had been scattered nearby immediately rushed over. They were pleasantly surprised to find that Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master.
“Did you not show up all these years because you were in seclusion to make your breakthrough, Junior Brother?” The hemp-robed old man asked. His guess made sense.
“No, that’s not why,” Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s a long story.”
“Take your time! There’s no rush,” another Eighth-Order Master quickly said. He even took out a futon and passed it to Yang Kai.
They could not wait to be updated on everything that happened to the Human Race throughout the last 700 years. Now that Yang Kai had finally shown up again, they were going to make sure they gleaned all the information they could get.
Soon, everyone had taken a seat, and Yang Kai finally filled them in on all the changes that had occurred with the Human Race.
Their faces froze in shock when they heard that the Universe Furnace had surfaced and the stalemate between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan had been broken; however, they were thrilled to hear that four new Ninth-Order Masters had emerged from the Universe Furnace World.
Their reactions grew even more animated when they found out that Ou Yang Lie was one of those four.
“That old dog is now a Ninth-Order Master?” A white-haired Eighth-Order Master’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets in shock as his face twitched violently.
“How did he get so damn lucky?” Another Eighth-Order Master commented enviously.
Initially, all of the Eighth-Order Masters who were assigned to this team were part of the older generation who had fought against the Black Ink Clan for thousands of years even before the invasion of the 3,000 Worlds and each of them had many fine accomplishments to their names. It was their long and storied histories that led to them having so many injuries that left a significant mark on them as well. They had no hope of becoming Ninth-Order Masters, and even if they went back to the battlefield, they could not wield their full strength anymore unless they put their lives on the line to do so.
They were perfectly willing to accept the arrangement and protect the group of miners as that was still contributing to the Human Race’s ultimate victory.
Yet, due to the incident back then, Yang Kai sent Ou Yang Lie back to the 3,000 Worlds to pass the news along, which ended up turning into an opportunity for the latter.
The old veterans here had complicated feelings about this as they felt as if they had missed out on a lot…
“Oh well, fortune favours fools. So be it that he’s now a Ninth-Order Master. It’s good news that we have one more Ninth-Order Master among us,” the hemp-robed old man cleared his throat and declared.
Everyone else nodded in agreement, “That’s true.”
Despite their envy, they knew that Ou Yang Lie’s ascension to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was a great boost to the Human Race’s strength. They were merely boggled by his incredible stroke of fortune. They had been assigned here together to contribute what little they could, and yet Ou Yang Lie was fortunate enough to make a huge leap in his cultivation.
“Seems to me that the Black Ink Clan suffered significant losses inside the Universe Furnace.”
Yang Kai nodded, “They lost a few Pseudo-Royal Lords and a Royal Lord too, but Mo Na Ye became a Royal Lord and narrowly avoided meeting his doom. Apart from the four Ninth-Order Masters who ascended inside the Universe Furnace, Senior Brother Wei Jun Yang and Senior Sister Luo Ting He also successfully broke through beforehand. Right now, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing have been freed up as well, so they’re each leading an Army.”
Someone silently made the calculations, “Does that mean we have eight Ninth-Order Masters now?”
“We have nine!” Yang Kai turned to the person who spoke, “There’s one more that all of you aren’t familiar with. He’s in charge of guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and is the reincarnation of Martial Ancestor Shi.”
Yang Kai was referring to Wu Kuang, but Wu Kuang did not interact much with the Masters from Cave Heavens and Paradises. His name was not known to the masses and few even knew of his existence.
Wu Kuang had only been a Seventh-Order Master when Yang Kai brought him to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but he was able to cultivate and reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm thanks to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Still, everyone was greatly heartened by this news.
During the great war in the Barren Territory all those years ago, nearly all of the Ninth-Order Masters sacrificed their lives in the fight. Even the Heads of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans died in battle. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were the only Ninth-Order Masters left at the time, but they had to keep the Black Ink Giant Spirit God occupied and thus could not move from Wind Mist Territory.
Several millennia passed since then and the Humans finally had new Ninth-Order Masters among their ranks. There were quite a number of them too.
It was a ray of light that shone through after all their years of fighting and resistance efforts.
Following that, Yang Kai informed them about the Humans’ current situation out on the battlefields. Once they heard what was happening, the Eighth-Order Masters were itching to join the fighting and do their part in slaughtering the enemy.
Thankfully, they still recalled what their mission was and were able to stamp down their thirst for battle.
So much had changed with the situation for both Races in just 700 years. Though they did not expect any of it, they were not surprised by it either.
During the previous clashes between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan, both parties had consistently held back. It was partly due to the Black Ink Clan being wary of Yang Kai, but the primary reason was that the Humans and the Black Ink Clan were both building up their strength.
The appearance of the Universe Furnace disrupted the stalemate that had persisted for many millennia and kicked off the all-out war.
“Something happened and I was delayed all these years, forcing you all to wait for far too long.” Yang Kai only gave a brief explanation as to why he had not shown up for the past 700 years. He did not speak of all that had happened to him inside the Universe Furnace as there was no need for others to hear of these things.
The hemp-robed old man waved his hand and said, “It was only 700 years. There’s no harm in waiting. The others are out on the battlefield shedding their blood and making great sacrifices while we remain in safety here.”
Yang Kai’s expression grew serious, “I came here today for two reasons. The first is to collect the resources you’ve gathered all these years, and the second is to ask if any of you wish to return. If you do, I can take you back.”
Everyone brightened up at those words. They had been gathering resources across the Black Ink Battlefield for over 1,000 years now and had nothing much else to do. Considering the cultivation they had right now, they did not need to cultivate any further as it would not be useful anyway. Since they did not get into any fights with the enemy, their lives felt extremely mundane. They missed the old days of fighting on the battlefield.
Therefore, they livened up at Yang Kai’s words and many of them nodded fervently in agreement.
Nevertheless, the hemp-robed old man pondered in silence for a moment before asking, “Are we still stretched thin for resources at the moment?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s still a problem that’s hard to resolve. Although we’ve reclaimed many Great Territories, we can’t gather much from those places. The Black Ink Clan destroyed basically everything before they retreated.”
Many of the Great Territories the Humans reclaimed were nothing more than empty shells. It was clear that the Black Ink Clan would not allow the Humans to reclaim a Great Territory that was abundant in resources. Furthermore, after being under the control of the Black Ink Clan for all those years, all of the valuable areas had been almost completely stripped of resources as well.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clan took the resources with them when they evacuated. They were not going to leave them behind and allow their enemy to reap the benefits.
Everyone went quiet as their expressions fell.
“You don’t need to worry about resources,” Yang Kai said, “I will think of something.”
“What’s your idea?” the hemp-robed old man asked.
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “We lack resources, but the Black Ink Clan doesn’t. They’ve never had to fret over the lack of resources. Well, since they have more than enough, I’ll just borrow some from them.”
He had spoken in such a calm and relaxed manner that it was almost as if the Black Ink Clan would truly lend their resources to the Humans. Nevertheless, the Eighth-Order Masters knew better. Even though Yang Kai was a Ninth-Order Master, it would not be easy for him to target the Black Ink Clan, especially since they were not the same as they once were. Just as the Humans had grown stronger, the Black Ink Clan’s heritage had increased as well.
The hemp-robed old man remained silent in thought for a moment before saying, “All Humans are one, sharing glory and downfall together. We must gather resources, and even though we’re not doing so at a speedy rate, we’re still able to make some gains. Moreover, we’ve stayed well-hidden all these years and the Black Ink Clan has never discovered our presence. Let’s stay here and continue gathering the resources we need. As for the battlefield, let’s leave it to the younger generation. What do you think, everyone?”
This question of his was addressed to the other Eighth-Order Masters as he could not represent them all.
The Eighth-Order Masters were sensible enough to know what to choose. Though they longed to return to the battlefield and kill their share of the enemy, someone needed to stand guard where they were right now; thus, after hearing what the hemp-robed old man said, they swiftly nodded in agreement.
“I’m old now after spending all my life fighting the Black Ink Clan, I should enjoy some peace and quiet. Staying here isn’t a bad idea.”
“That’s right. We’ll leave all that violence and bloodshed to the young ones.”
“The next generation will be inheriting the mantle from us someday. We had to go through this ourselves back then, so we should give them a chance to train themselves too.”
“…”
Everyone voiced their support.
The hemp-robed old man smiled as he swept his eyes across them before turning back to Yang Kai, “Us old folks wish to stay here and enjoy the peace, so just leave us here. Although we can’t gather all that many resources, what we do collect will still be useful in some way.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Many thanks, everyone, but do prepare yourselves too. The situation won’t stay the same forever. There’ll come a day when the Humans will launch an all-out offensive, and when the time comes, perhaps we’ll need all of your help too.”
One of them guffawed right away, “We may be old, but we’re strong and mighty! It won’t be a problem for us to slaughter those Black Ink Clan punks when the time comes.”
After a brief chat, everyone started pulling out the resources they had gathered and passing everything over to Yang Kai. They managed to gather quite a lot, and as there was the danger of being detected by the Black Ink Clan, they did not store everything together. Instead, the resources were kept separately in over a dozen Space Rings. Thus, even if something bad happened, they would not lose everything that they gathered at once.
Fortunately, even after all these years, the Black Ink Clan had yet to discover their presence and had no idea that a team of Humans was secretly mining resources deep inside the Black Ink Battlefield. This was mainly due to the Humans being hidden so deep that they were nearly at the Late Ancient Era battlefield, and the Black Ink Clan never ventured this far from the No-Return Pass.
After collecting the Space Rings, Yang Kai bade them farewell and the Eighth-Order Masters watched as he left. Their many centuries of waiting had finally come to an end, and they found out that the Human Race’s situation was not as dire as they thought; therefore, they were all in a good mood.
Yang Kai took his leave of them and began his journey back.
It took him quite some time to find them, but it was far easier for him to head back now. With the help of some Space Beacons, he went back down the route he had used to come over, and in less than half a day, he arrived on the outskirts of the No-Return Pass.
He looked over and saw that the Territory Gate he sealed up earlier had already been opened, but he wasn’t surprised by that.
There were quite a number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen now, with two Royal Lords and several dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass alone. Even if Yang Kai did seal up the Territory Gate, it would be easy for that many Masters to force it open again. It was just a matter of time.
[But, considering how shrewd Mo Na Ye is, he should have realised the severity of the situation, right?] It was a simple matter for Yang Kai to seal up the Territory Gate, but to the Black Ink Clan, it was a grave predicament.
This was especially true for the Black Ink Clan Army which was still out there fighting!
Yang Kai carefully sensed his surroundings and picked up on the many strong auras that were scattered across the No-Return Pass. The auras were not hidden in any way. It was almost as if they were bright lights shining in the middle of darkness. Now and then, Black Ink Clan teams would move around as they did their patrols. Everyone at the No-Return Pass was clearly on edge.
It could not be helped. Two months ago, Yang Kai had suddenly shown up at the No-Return Pass and transformed into a Divine Dragon to engage the Black Ink Clan Masters in a battle. Though they managed to give Yang Kai a fierce beating before forcing him to leave, they also suffered losses of their own.
Even if they ignored the injuries the Pseudo-Royal Lords received during the fight, there was also the loss of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest, which had been destroyed by Yang Kai, and the death of a Territory Lord who had the potential to become a Royal Lord.
Yang Kai did head towards the Black Ink Battlefield, but Mo Na Ye understood him well enough to know that he would surely be back.
As the Black Ink Clan had no way of ascertaining when Yang Kai would return, they could only be as vigilant as possible and keep the entire No-Return Pass on constant alert.
Although Yang Kai was just a single Human, his existence was enough to make all the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass feel discomfited, vexed, and overwrought.
After a moment of observation, Yang Kai used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to conceal himself, hiding his physical form and aura; then, he headed straight towards the No-Return Pass.
At a certain moment, a Pseudo-Royal Lord positioned somewhere inside the No-Return Pass felt a flicker of danger. If this had been at any other time, he would not have paid much attention to such an insignificant sensation; however, Mo Na Ye had given clear orders beforehand, so the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s eyes flew open as he immediately made his presence even more imposing.
Mo Na Ye came over in a flash and glanced at the Pseudo-Royal Lord who grimly nodded.
Thus, Mo Na Ye began scanning all around with his Divine Sense, but his search came up empty.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai could not help but frown. He was still some distance away from them and had thought that he could use Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to sneak over there and kill that Pseudo-Royal Lord, but he did not expect the latter to be on such high alert.
At the very least, he knew for certain that the Pseudo-Royal Lord did not discover his whereabouts. That being said, a being as strong as Pseudo-Royal Lord would still be able to instinctively sense danger. If Yang Kai wanted to attack the Pseudo-Royal Lord and prepared himself to do so, the latter would surely detect something.
However, Yang Kai was taken aback to find that the Pseudo-Royal Lord reacted this strongly to the barest hint of danger.
[He’s being far too cautious!] Yang Kai was speechless.
Alas, Yang Kai did not consider how the Black Ink Clan’s estimation of his strength had soared after what he did the last time he was here, as well as based on the information they had gathered.
Reactions as extreme as this had happened several times before this, but they had all been false alarms; still, the Black Ink Clan remained vigilant.
Mo Na Ye had no way of confirming whether or not Yang Kai was here, so he called out in a random direction, “I know you’re here, Yang Kai. Why are you hiding like a coward? Why don’t you show yourself?”
Yang Kai eyed Mo Na Ye who was not even facing his direction and could not resist rolling his eyes when he heard how confident the Royal Lord sounded.
[As if you know anything!]
There was no response, and Mo Na Ye did not make another attempt. He moved back to his previous spot and began scanning the area around him once more while the Pseudo-Royal Lord exhaled in relief.
Yang Kai could not resist scoffing from his hiding spot. It would be difficult for him to get anything done with the Black Ink Clan fiercely guarding against him like this!
Still, though the situation made it tough for Yang Kai to strike at the Black Ink Clan, the situation was even harder on them as they had to be on guard at all times in case he launched a surprise attack. The Pseudo-Royal Lords were under a lot of pressure, and even Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu were feeling extremely tense.
Right now, Yang Kai was the one who had the upper hand as all the possibility of danger stemmed from him. The Black Ink Clan could only react based on what he did.
Yang Kai stroked his chin before retreating and circling over to a different part of the No-Return Pass; then, he began sneaking over to one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
However, that Pseudo-Royal Lord soon sensed something and intensified his aura as well, and at the very next moment, Mo Yu who had been hidden somewhere popped up and scanned the area.
Yang Kai was incensed! [Why are all of them frightened by the slightest sound now?! Why are they making such a big fuss over just the tiniest hint of danger?! How am I supposed to make my move if they’re this wary?]
Alas, a Pseudo-Royal Lord was indeed powerful enough to have a keen sense for danger. Yang Kai wanted to attack them, but even if he used Thunder Shadow’s Divine Ability to hide his presence, he could not remove his opponent’s innate ability to sense crisis. It was a natural instinct that all Masters had.
Yang Kai frowned and moved his gaze towards a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
[I can’t do anything to the Pseudo-Royal Lords when they’re this vigilant, but it shouldn’t be a problem if I target these Black Ink Nests, right?]
Black Ink Nests were inanimate objects and every single High-Rank Black Ink Nest was crucial to the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. The destruction of several would also be a huge loss for the Black Ink Clan. Furthermore, these ones at the No-Return Pass either housed Pseudo-Royal Lords in recovery or Territory Lords who were cultivating. There was a high chance that Yang Kai would get an unexpected bonus when he destroyed one of these High-Rank Black Ink Nests.
With that thought in mind, Yang Kai moved over to a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and slammed his fist into it.
All the Pseudo-Royal Lords jumped in shock when the ferocious force exploded out of nowhere. Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu also appeared at once and came charging over from different directions.
The next instant, the Pseudo-Royal Lords flew into action as well and they immediately began rushing over.
However, Yang Kai did not intend to engage them in a fight. A single punch from him was enough to make the humongous Black Ink Nest shatter into pieces, and a figure stumbled out looking rather dishevelled.
Yang Kai glanced at the figure and was pleased by what he saw. It was a Pseudo-Royal Lord who had been slumbering inside the Black Ink Nest to recuperate.
[An excellent find!]
Instead of killing the Territory Lords who had the potential to become Royal Lords, Yang Kai would much rather kill off some Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were undeniably powerful and killing any one of them was a great boon. As for the Territory Lords, they merely had the possibility of becoming Royal Lords and it was uncertain whether or not they would succeed.
This Pseudo-Royal Lord had been abruptly awakened from his deep sleep and it was clear that he had not figured out what was happening yet. Thus, he was caught off guard and was swept into a large river that crashed down on him.
“Yang Kai!” Mo Na Ye’s teeth nearly cracked from how hard he clenched his jaw. A flurry of Secret Techniques burst out from him before he even arrived.
Mo Yu had done the same.
Yang Kai grabbed onto the Space-Time River and dashed off at once. Nevertheless, though he made a quick escape, he did stumble a little from the torrent of attacks from such a large group of Black Ink Clansmen.
Yang Kai was moving further and further away and the Black Ink Clan had no hope of catching up to him. Mo Na Ye swiftly came to a stop and the Pseudo-Royal Lords followed suit.
It was not as if they were reluctant to give chase, but they feared what could happen if they did. Had they given chase, Yang Kai would surely put up a fight. Space Secret Techniques were too unnerving to them as they allowed Yang Kai to move around elusively. Furthermore, Yang Kai also had a Secret Technique that allowed him to perfectly conceal himself, which made them feel even more distraught.
The Black Ink Clan Masters were seething with rage as they glared in the direction where Yang Kai had fled.
“Why didn’t you use the Grand Array?” Mo Na Ye was infuriated as he glared at a few of the Pseudo-Royal Lords beside him.
To defend themselves from Yang Kai’s sneak attack, Mo Na Ye had arranged for Grand Arrays to be set up all across the No-Return Pass. The moment Yang Kai showed up, they were to activate the Grand Arrays to seal off the Void.
One of the Pseudo-Royal Lords cowered under Mo Na Ye’s furious gaze and explained, “We did, but he didn’t use any Space Secret Techniques.”
Mo Na Ye’s expression froze.
The Grand Array which sealed off the Void could indeed remove Yang Kai’s ability to use Instantaneous Movement, but moments ago, he had simply dashed off into the distance and the Grand Array had no effect on that. Mo Na Ye had been so blinded by his fury that he forgot about this possibility.
All of a sudden, Mo Yu spoke up, “He stopped.”
Mo Na Ye looked over and saw that Yang Kai had indeed come to a stop just barely within his view. Even though Yang Kai did not say anything, it looked as if he was silently taunting them and daring them to come after him…
Mo Na Ye’s eyes dimmed and he was so infuriated that he nearly passed out.
The Space-Time River was churning with ferocious waves and it was clear that the Pseudo-Royal Lord stuck inside it was struggling to get out; however, considering the power Yang Kai had right now, the Pseudo-Royal Lord was not going to succeed when he was the only one Yang Kai had to suppress.
“Not coming after me, huh…” Yang Kai eyed the Black Ink Clan with flashing eyes. [They’re all so cautious. I guess they’re scared that I’ll turn around and attack them again.]
[In that case…]
A thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind and his silhouette rippled as he dashed into the Space-Time River. All at once, the already choppy water of the Space-Time River began swirling even more fiercely.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed as he viewed this from a distance. He nearly rushed over, but before he could do anything, the churning river quietened down as Yang Kai reappeared.
He was holding onto the Pseudo-Royal Lord, who was barely breathing and whose vitality was weak.
The Pseudo-Royal had returned to the No-Return Pass to recuperate inside the Black Ink Nest after being heavily injured during a fight with the Eighth-Order Masters out on the battlefield.
He had not fully recovered yet and was not at the peak of his strength; furthermore, he had been trapped inside the Space-Time River, so it took Yang Kai no effort to subdue him.
With the Pseudo-Royal Lord in hand, Yang Kai gazed coldly at the powerful Masters from the Black Ink Clan who stood in a group some distance away from him and his grip began tightening.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord sensed what was happening and tried to struggle with the last of his strength, but it was to no avail. He could only look up at Mo Na Ye and the others as he cried out, “Save…”
Before he could finish, he burst into a cloud of blood as Black Ink Strength exploded and turned into a huge Black Ink Cloud.
Yang Kai scoffed and flicked his hand a few times.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords opposite him were beside themselves with rage while Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu were livid as well. They could not stay calm in the face of Yang Kai’s repeated taunts, but they could not do anything about it either.
The previous fight proved just how powerful Yang Kai was. Even with the combined strength of two Royal Lords and several dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords, they failed to kill him and could only chase him off. Even if they started a fight now, it was unlikely that they would benefit from it.
It could be said that Yang Kai, who was now a Ninth-Order Master and a Divine Dragon at the same time, was entirely capable of freely moving about among the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai did not leave right away after killing the Pseudo-Royal Lord though. Instead, he eyed Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu with interest and asked, “Between you two, who’s in charge now?”
Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu stayed silent. Their gazes were dark and they appeared to be uninterested in entertaining Yang Kai.
Yang Kai snorted, “The feud between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan runs deeper than the ocean of blood that has been spilt. The relationship between us is absolutely irreconcilable and we will forever be at each other’s throats trying to kill each other. Have the Humans not lost countless lives to your Black Ink Clan as well? All I did was kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord, so why are you reacting in this manner? What’s wrong? Are you just sore losers?”
[Just one!? Eight Pseudo-Royal Lords died at your hands when you showed up at E-5 Territory!] The thought of this made Mo Na Ye’s blood boil, [You would’ve killed the rest of them there if it had not been for the fact that they fled the moment they realised the situation didn’t look good for them.]
Mo Na Ye took a deep breath to quell his anger before gritting his teeth and spitting out, “What do you want? Just spit it out.”
At last, he deduced from Yang Kai’s game of cat and mouse that the latter must want something from them, so instead of wasting time staring each other down, Mo Na Ye figured it was better to just address things head-on.
Yang Kai looked at him with a startled expression, “Are you the one in control of the Black Ink Clan now? Did you manage to overthrow Mo Yu’s rule?”
He turned to Mo Yu, “You’re the Senior Royal Lord, you know? Even if Mo Na Ye has become a Royal Lord, he’s still your Junior. How can you let someone younger climb up on your head and order you around? That’s not the way things should be.”
Mo Yu was unphased as Yang Kai’s words meant nothing to him.
Meanwhile, Mo Na Ye’s expression was cold as he growled, “Don’t bother trying to instigate conflict. We don’t scheme and stab each other in the back the way you Humans do!”
Yang Kai pursed his lips as he was merely giving it a try. It would be great if he successfully drove a wedge between the two Royal Lords, but either way, he would not be losing anything by trying.
Nevertheless, it did not seem to be effective.
Yang Kai shrugged and said, “Since you’re in charge, it’s all good to me. We’re well-acquainted with each other and have never done each other wrong. I came here today to do business with the Black Ink Clan.”
Mo Na Ye’s brow twitched. Just the word ‘business’ was enough to give him a headache as he recalled what it had been like when Yang Kai ripped him off last time.
Thus, when he heard what Yang Kai said, he had a bad feeling and sorely wished he could sew Yang Kai’s mouth shut…
He did not respond and Yang Kai did not care as he continued, “I want to retrieve something from the No-Return Pass, so I hope you all know what’s good for you and cooperate with me.”
Mo Na Ye’s eyelids twitched even harder, “What is it?”
Yang Kai pointed with his finger.
Mo Na Ye turned to see what he was pointing at and saw a few towering Black Ink Nests. These were all Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests save for one High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
“A Black Ink Nest?” Mo Na Ye queried in confusion.
He could not figure it out. Why would Yang Kai want a Black Ink Nest?
Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, but they were fairly useless to the Humans. Back then, the Humans did grab a few Black Ink Nests to study, and during the first crusade, they also used the Black Ink Nests’ communicative functions to make arrangements for their separated Armies.
However, ever since then, the Humans stopped having any ideas about the Black Ink Nests.
“You misunderstand. Why would I want a Black Ink Nest?” Yang Kai pointed once more, “I want what’s beneath those Black Ink Nests.”
Mo Na Ye was startled but he soon realised what Yang Kai meant and could not resist snorting, “You’re quite greedy, aren’t you?!”
The only thing beneath the Black Ink Nests was a Great Pass.
Back then, when the Human Race’s Crusade Force had been defeated outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, they had been forced to retreat to the No-Return Pass; however, during that time, some of the Great Passes remained behind to delay the enemy. They suffered heavy casualties and most of the Great Passes were also either badly damaged or destroyed.
In the end, only some 70 to 80 Great Passes gathered back at the No-Return Pass. Following that, several more had been destroyed when the Black Ink Clan invaded the No-Return Pass. The only Great Passes remaining here at the No-Return Pass numbered approximately half of what the Humans had at their peak, and most were heavily damaged.
The majestic Great Passes were legacies from the Human Race’s Ancestors. It was the heritage that was collected and passed down from generation to generation. These Great Passes greatly contributed to the Humans’ ability to resist the Black Ink Clan across the many Theatres of the Black Ink Battlefield.
Every Great Pass was a massive Mobile Palace Artifact that could be used for both offence and defence.
The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress had been created to mimic these Great Passes, but it was far smaller in comparison. It was like comparing a child to an adult.
However, due to the overwhelmingly large size of these Great Passes, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors had no way of taking them with them when they retreated; thus, when the Humans lost the No-Return Pass, the Great Passes had been left behind.
Even though the Black Ink Clan took over the No-Return Pass, they could not use these Great Passes, so they simply used them as platforms to plant their Black Ink Nests.
So many years had passed since then and the Humans had never considered reclaiming these Great Passes as they could not do so. Mo Na Ye never expected Yang Kai to make this request now.
The Black Ink Clan could not do anything with these Great Passes because the Humans had taken all the Cores with them when they evacuated. Even the arrays and artifacts built into the Great Passes had been destroyed. They left nothing but empty shells for the Black Ink Clan.
Thus, Mo Na Ye was puzzled by Yang Kai’s request for a Great Pass. It was no big deal to give one to Yang Kai, but since they were enemies, he was not going to agree to it.
Mo Na Ye was about to reject the request when he heard Yang Kai adding airily, “I only wish to take a Great Pass. I’ll let you move your Black Ink Nests away first. All you have to do is agree to my request, but if you refuse… Well, I have nothing much to do anyway. I guess I’ll just drop by for a visit every now and then.”
Mo Na Ye had to choke down what he was about to say. No words could describe the bitter taste in his mouth right now.
If Yang Kai had made this request two months ago when he first showed up, there was no way Mo Na Ye would have agreed; however, the fight two months ago allowed the Black Ink Clan to witness Yang Kai’s might. Furthermore, his sneak attack earlier resulted in the loss of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
How could they afford to bear such losses if this situation happened a few more times? The Pseudo-Royal Lords did have the ability to sense danger approaching, but the Black Ink Nests were inanimate objects. If Yang Kai focused on attacking the Black Ink Nests, then no matter how many High-Rank Black Ink Nests they had at the No-Return Pass, the number would eventually drop to zero someday. Yang Kai had proven himself capable of doing such a thing.
Therefore, after taking everything into account, Mo Na Ye realised he had no way of rejecting the request.
He could not resist glancing at Mo Yu. Although Mo Yu trusted him and allowed him to be in charge of all military matters, he could not decide such a thing by himself so he had to discuss it with Mo Yu first.
The two Royal Lords communicated with their Divine Sense and Yang Kai did not rush them.
Moments later, Mo Na Ye gritted his teeth and declared, “We can give you the Great Pass, but I want something from you as well.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Well, this is a business transaction. As always, the price starts off sky-high before coming back down to close the deal. Go ahead and say what you want.”
“Once we give you the Great Pass, you are not to come back to the No-Return Pass ever again,” Mo Na Ye declared.
“Do you want to go back to sleep and carry on with your dreams?” Yang Kai eyed Mo Na Ye as if he were staring at a fool.
Mo Na Ye shrugged, “You’re the one who said the asking price should start off high. Who knows? Maybe you might’ve agreed to it.”
Yang Kai’s mood soured, “Do I look like a fool to you?”
“1,000 years then! Don’t come back to the No-Return Pass for 1,000 years!”
The veins along Yang Kai’s forehead started to pulse, “I said the price starts off high, but I didn’t say it should be ridiculous!”
“I learned from you…” Mo Na Ye fired back mockingly.
Yang Kai glared at him before waving his hand, “10 years. I’ll stay away from the No-Return Pass for 10 years!”
“900 years!” Mo Na Ye started bargaining.
“I think you have misunderstood the situation you’re currently in,” Yang Kai remarked incredulously, “It’s not a must for me to retrieve something today. I can always come back to the No-Return Pass whenever I want. Staying away for a decade is the most sincerity I can offer, so don’t push your luck!”
10 years seemed like a long time to a normal Human without any cultivation, but for top Masters, especially those whose cultivation had reached that of Mo Na Ye and Yang Kai, it was nothing more than a flick of the hand.
Thus, it was only natural that Mo Na Ye was dissatisfied with Yang Kai’s proposal and immediately began to haggle as if he were arguing with a merchant at the market.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was the one with all the leverage, and he insisted on 10 years. Mo Na Ye was so frustrated that he fumed, “Since you want to do business, shouldn’t you at least show some sincerity? I don’t detect even the tiniest bit of sincerity from your stance at all. Sure, you may be able to throw your weight around right now, but you won’t always get so lucky. Don’t the Humans have a saying, Yang Kai? He who often walks by the river can’t avoid getting his shoes wet! You’re not invincible; moreover, we will be on guard from now on, so how often will you get to succeed in the future?”
Mo Na Ye hit the nail on the head. After Yang Kai’s latest stunt, the No-Return Pass was bound to impose even tighter security measures. Even though Yang Kai was banking on his superior strength, he would still get himself into a sticky situation if he was unlucky.
That was why Yang Kai was willing to strike a deal with the Black Ink Clan. He would not have bothered wasting his breath with them if he was certain he could destroy all of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests. If he had such confidence, he would have focused on doing just that no matter how long it took him.
The High-Rank Black Ink Nests were the very foundation of the Black Ink Clan, so if they were all destroyed, the Black Ink Clan would no longer have the means to replenish their Army. They would not be getting any new Royal Lords either.
With the heritage that the Black Ink Clan had right now, if they could not increase their numbers and create more Royal Lords, the Humans would simply need to keep fighting at a steady pace and sooner or later they would be able to wipe out the enemy.
Yang Kai could not resist clicking his tongue; alas, he could not pull one over Mo Na Ye. After mulling it over briefly, he declared, “Fine. 30 years. I won’t come back to the No-Return Pass for 30 years. This is my final offer. If you don’t agree, then the deal’s off.”
Mo Na Ye opened his mouth to speak, but Yang Kai gave him a hard look and swiftly added, “Think carefully before you speak. If you so much as utter the word ‘no’, I will turn around and leave at once!”
Mo Na Ye’s mouth remained open, but he could not say anything…
He glared at Yang Kai before communicating with Mo Yu with his Divine Sense.
Yang Kai calmly waited for their decision, but his eyes swept over all the Pseudo-Royal Lords, his sinister gaze making them tremble in fear…
A moment later, Mo Na Ye spoke up, “It’s a deal. You can take one Great Pass in exchange for staying away from the No-Return Pass for 30 years. I hope you’ll honour your end of the deal.”
Yang Kai grinned, “You can rest assured that I’ll do just that. We’ve dealt with each other many times, but have I ever broken my word?”
Mo Na Ye did not respond.
It was true that Yang Kai had never broken his promise before, but the situation at this point was a far cry from what it had been back then. In the past, though they were on opposing sides, both Races were busy building up their strength and thus acted with restraint. That was the reason why Yang Kai did not do anything reckless back then; however, the situation was different now. A full-scale war had broken out between the two sides and they were constantly at each other’s throats. In all honesty, Mo Na Ye had little faith in Yang Kai’s likelihood of keeping his promise. Even if Yang Kai had no intention of following through though, the Black Ink Clan could not do anything about it.
Mo Na Ye agreed to the deal for two reasons. The first was that he could not do anything anyway, but secondly, it was also his way of sounding out Yang Kai.
“The Humans left a total of 49 Great Passes here, which one do you want?” Mo Na Ye asked.
“I’ll take a look first,” Yang Kai replied. Naturally, he wanted to take the one that was the least damaged; otherwise, even if he did retrieve one, the Humans would have to use a hefty amount of their resources to repair it, and resources were exactly what they currently had the least of.
Thus, Yang Kai flew towards the No-Return Pass while the Black Ink Clan instinctually backed away.
Once Yang Kai got close to the No-Return Pass, he stopped and carefully studied the Great Passes.
Although he had made trips to the No-Return Pass numerous times, he was always busy trying to cause damage to the Black Ink Clan and had not paid much attention to the condition of the Great Passes that had been left here. Now that he was scrutinising them, he could sense just how intense the war back then had been.
During the great battle at the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai was still inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, and by the time he managed to escape and return to the fight, the Humans had lost the No-Return Pass and retreated to the Barren Territory.
Therefore, he had not been a part of that battle and only knew that the Humans suffered terrible casualties, including the deaths of over a dozen Ninth-Order Old Ancestors.
The Black Ink Clan did not come out unscathed either of course. One of the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods had been heavily wounded by the Humans during the Black Ink Clan’s siege of the No-Return Pass. It was that Black Ink Giant Spirit God that was killed in the Barren Territory with Ah Er’s assistance. If it had not been for that, there would not be just two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods remaining.
None of the many Great Passes left here at the No-Return Pass was in perfect condition. All of them were littered with traces from that battle, including blood stains from both Races.
In the end, Yang Kai’s eyes fell on one of the Great Passes and he pointed at it, “I’ll take that one.”
He could vaguely see two characters on one of the walls, but it was hard to decipher them, possibly due to the passage of time as well as the damage sustained during the battle. However, Yang Kai could just barely make out their meaning.
[That should be Pure Yang Pass!]
The Old Ancestor of Pure Yang Cave Heaven was the one who was in charge of Pure Yang Pass, and among all of the Old Ancestors back then, he was one of the oldest and most powerful.
Yang Kai had long admired the Old Ancestor, but he never got the chance to meet the latter. He heard it was that very Old Ancestor who rallied all the others and led the final charge during the waning moments of the Barren Territory War where they took on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and all the Royal Lords. He and the other Old Ancestors had chosen to sacrifice their lives for the future of the Human Race.
After being reminded of the valiant Old Ancestor, Yang Kai became emotional and levelled a cold glare at Mo Na Ye, “Move your Black Ink Nests away!”
There were four Black Ink Nests on Pure Yang Pass. One was a High-Rank Black Ink Nest while the other three were Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. Quite a number of Black Ink Clansmen were also stationed there.
It had been agreed upon earlier that Yang Kai would allow the Black Ink Clan to move their Black Ink Nests away beforehand. Even though a murderous feeling rose in his heart, he did not want to get into a conflict with Mo Na Ye right now.
Mo Na Ye flicked his hand and over a dozen Territory Lords swiftly came over in a group. They kept a wary eye on Yang Kai as they began moving their Black Ink Nests.
During this process, Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu kept their auras locked on Yang Kai. It was clear they were heavily guarding against him.
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not do anything. Once all the Black Ink Nests had been moved and the Black Ink Clansmen left, Yang Kai moved over to Pure Yang Pass in a flash.
“Can he take it with him?” Mo Yu secretly asked Mo Na Ye.
Mo Na Ye shook his head, “I don’t know, but since he proposed this deal, it’s obvious that he’s confident about it.”
Yang Kai would not have made such a proposition if he did not feel confident.
“What a frightening enemy,” Mo Yu remarked with a complicated expression.
These Great Passes had been left behind at the No-Return Pass because they were too massive. Even the Old Ancestors back then could not easily store them inside their Small Universes.
The Pure Yang Old Ancestor, who was one of the mightiest Ninth-Order Masters, could probably accomplish this, but at the time, the Humans had to make a hasty retreat from the No-Return Pass as the situation had been fairly dire for them, and he did not have the time to do something like that. Furthermore, if he did move Pure Yang Pass into his Small Universe, it would have had a huge effect on his combat strength. Under those circumstances, he had to ensure he was at his strongest and could not jeopardise the situation just for the sake of a Great Pass.
[If Yang Kai manages to store a Great Pass inside his Small Universe, doesn’t that mean his heritage is even stronger than the previous generation’s top Ninth-Order Masters?]
[He hasn’t even been a Ninth-Order Master for long! He still has the potential to grow stronger!] Mo Yu was secretly horrified at the thought of Yang Kai’s terrifying talent and potential.
“Stick to the plan,” Mo Na Ye secretly communicated to everyone.
He had no choice but to compromise and agree to let Yang Kai retrieve a Great Pass, but at the same time, he wanted to use this chance to see Yang Kai’s limits. After all these years of battling the Humans, the Black Ink Clan was familiar enough with the mysteries of the Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe.
Even if Yang Kai had the ability to take such an enormous Great Pass with him, it would surely affect his strength. If Yang Kai so much as showed signs of weakness, the Black Ink Clan would not hesitate to gang up on him and try to get rid of him once and for all!
The deal would not have been struck so easily if this had not been what the Black Ink Clan was hoping for.
The Black Ink Clan were eyeing Yang Kai with the eyes of hunters when he turned abruptly, looked up, and grinned at them. After all these years of dealing with Mo Na Ye, it was only natural that he figured out what this Royal Lord was up to.
Yang Kai chuckled to himself, [If that’s what Mo Na Ye is hoping for, then he’s going to be sorely disappointed.]
As that thought flickered in his head, he summoned the Space-Time River. This move startled the Black Ink Clan. They had assumed that Yang Kai would have to use the strength of his Small Universe to retrieve Pure Yang Pass; after all, something as massive as a Great Pass could only be stored inside a Ninth-Order Master’s Small Universe if they wanted to move it on their own.
[Why did he summon this Dao Strength River?]
Mo Na Ye’s expression darkened as he realized he had been mistaken…
The sound of flowing water rang in their ears as the Space-Time River slowly unfurled, and under Yang Kai’s control, it looped around Pure Yang Pass until the entire Great Pass was completely engulfed by it.
Inside the river, Space-Time Dao Strength pulsed and the water suddenly started churning as a highly concentrated amount of the Space Dao Strength was released and the space covered by the river began to ripple.
Yang Kai made a grabbing motion at the Space-Time River and carelessly clutched it before turning to Mo Na Ye, “If you don’t make a move now, it’s going to be too late.”
Mo Na Ye stared right back at him with a neutral expression, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yang Kai snorted and paid him no mind as he began channelling his strength through his hand.
Space quivered as cracks began to appear.
All at once, the Void where Pure Yang Pass was looked as if it was a block of tofu that had been sliced out by something sharp. The area that was enveloped by the Space-Time River broke off from the rest of the surrounding Space.
All Black Ink Clansmen were stunned while disbelief flashed in the eyes of the two Royal Lords. They were powerful and experienced Masters, but even to them, the power Yang Kai exhibited was far too unimaginable.
The Space-Time River began surging even more. It seemed as if the Space Dao Strength was about to explode and send thunderous waves crashing out of the great river.
Yang Kai slowly curled his fist, and as he did that, the piece of the Void that had been cut out began shrinking as if something was squeezing it.
Each time the water of the Space-Time River made a full circle, the chunk of Void grew a little smaller. From the looks of it, the entire piece of Space was going to be compressed by the pressure from the great river.
Yang Kai’s mysterious power was far beyond the realm of what the Black Ink Clan thought possible.
A quarter-hour later, the dust cleared. Yang Kai raised his hand and a ball the size of his fist shot into it.
In the distance, those from the Black Ink Clan were looking on with widened eyes and gaping mouths.
Mo Na Ye sighed to himself, [I was mistaken!] He assumed that Yang Kai would use his Small Universe to retrieve Pure Yang Pass and never thought the latter would exhibit such an ability instead.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai fiddled with the Space-Time River ball in his hand as he secretly smirked.
He was able to turn a Universe World into a World Bead, so how difficult would it be to do the same to Pure Yang Pass?
Of course, there was a difference between refining a Universe World into a World Bead and what he just did. He had been able to refine those Universe Worlds because their World Principles had not perished yet. In other words, the Universe Worlds were still alive, so in a sense they were cooperating with him which allowed him to refine each one of them before leaving them with the World Tree. That was also how he managed to build a strange connection with the World Tree and use the power of the Old Tree to traverse the Void.
However, Pure Yang Pass was completely inanimate and could not be communicated with in any way, so Yang Kai could not refine it in the same way. He could only wrap the Space-Time River around Pure Yang Pass and slice away the local Space where it was before using the power of his Space-Time River to compress everything.
With his present command over the Dao of Space, it was well within his means to do such a thing; furthermore, after encountering those tiny Celestial Phenomena inside the Universe Furnace’s Infinite River, he had gained much inspiration from them.
It could be said that his Space-Time River was the most crucial part of this whole plan. Without the Space-Time River, Yang Kai would have a hard time cutting out such a huge piece of the Void.
Yang Kai played with the Space-Time River ball in his hand before looking over at Mo Na Ye, “Why don’t I take another Great Pass in exchange for staying away from the No-Return Pass for 60 years?”
“Get lost!” Mo Na Ye was incensed as he had abruptly realised that the more powerful Yang Kai was, the more outrageous he became. [How dare he make such a shameless request?!]
The Humans’ Great Passes were extremely lethal weapons of war. It was bad enough to let Yang Kai take one with him, so why would they let him take two?
What’s more, there was barely a difference between 30 years and 60 years.
“Stingy!” Yang Kai pursed his lips, but he had only made this remark off-handedly as he knew for certain that the Black Ink Clan would not agree to it. Even if they did, he would not be able to do it anyway. He only had one Space-Time River and could not pull out another one.
“You’ve gotten what you wanted, so hurry up and leave,” Mo Na Ye could not resist urging. In a single trip to the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai managed to cause the loss of a Pseudo-Royal Lord and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. He even took the Pure Yang Pass with him. All in all, the Black Ink Clan lost quite a fair bit.
Fortunately, if Yang Kai kept his word, they would not have to see him for another 30 years, and in that time, they could hopefully find a way to deal with such situations; otherwise, if Yang Kai returned once the 30 years were up, they would still be unable to do anything about him.
“There’s no rush,” Yang Kai smiled faintly as he eyed Mo Na Ye and said, “I’d like to discuss a second business proposal with you.”
Mo Na Ye’s head was throbbing by now and immediately raised his hand and said, “No thanks. You said it yourself, the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan are irreconcilable enemies and the bloodshed between us is enough to fill even the deepest oceans. There’s nothing we need to discuss. Leave at once with what you’ve taken!”
Nothing good came out of anything that was related to Yang Kai. Mo Na Ye was on his guard and did not want to waste any more time on this Human.
He did not expect Yang Kai to ignore what he said entirely and carry on speaking anyway, “The battlefields between both sides are similar to what it was back then. Right now, 12 Great Territories are being fought over with quite a number of Pseudo-Royal Lords standing guard at each one, along with massive Armies. Even if you don’t care about the lives of those in your Army, you’d still have to care about the lives of the Pseudo-Royal Lords, right?”
Mo Na Ye’s heart skipped a beat and his expression darkened, “What do you mean by that?”
Yang Kai chuckled and took a step forward. With the use of Space Principles, he reappeared in front of the Territory Gate and looked down upon the Black Ink Clan Masters beneath him as he taunted, “Don’t tell me you have no idea what I meant by that. Do you insist on forcing me to spell it out for you?”
Mo Yu’s expression was as dark as night and Mo Na Ye’s was not any better, but the latter stubbornly refuted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yang Kai scoffed, “Seems to me you won’t admit it until I force your hand!” Then, he continued, “Why don’t I make a guess? When I left the No-Return Pass and all of you began prying open the Territory Gate, you must’ve gotten the word out at once for all the Pseudo-Royal Lords to retreat from the battlefields, right? Oh, wait. It won’t just be them. The Territory Lords and many of the Feudal Lords too, right? After all, you went through all that effort building them up, so it won’t be good if too many died. Based on the timing, the ones nearest to the No-Return Pass should arrive at the Barren Territory soon. Maybe I should head over there and greet them.”
Mo Na Ye’s eyes were flaming as murderous intent swelled up. He clenched his jaw and spat out, “You’ve known all along!”
Initially, he hoped that Yang Kai would not be able to figure this out, but the moment Yang Kai said it aloud, he knew he had been far too hopeful.
After all, with how shrewd Yang Kai was; it was impossible for him to not have thought of this possibility. Nevertheless, the fact that he did not show any signs of having thought about it earlier gave the Black Ink Clan a trace of hope.
That being said, the moment Yang Kai brought it up, Mo Na Ye knew that the situation was heading down the worst possible path for them.
Mo Na Ye instantly realised the severity of the situation when Yang Kai left the No-Return Pass and headed for the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield. The fact that Yang Kai could cause even more trouble at the No-Return Pass now was not the most serious issue. Although the Black Ink Clan could not be pleased by the way he messed around at the No-Return Pass, destroyed a Black Ink Nest, and killed a recovering Pseudo-Royal Lord, it did not have much of an effect on the fights out on the various battlefields.
On the contrary, Yang Kai’s ability to seal up the Territory Gate whenever he pleased was his biggest trump card!
The No-Return Pass was the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. They had two Royal Lords here and all of their High-Rank Black Ink Nests as well. Around 80% of the reinforcements sent to the battlefield came from the No-Return Pass. Even the injured Pseudo-Royal Lords had to return to the No-Return Pass to heal.
Therefore, the Territory Gate between the No-Return Pass and the Barren Territory was critical to their war effort!
If it was sealed up, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to send reinforcements to the various battlefields, and the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were on their way back could not return either.
Yang Kai could even seal up the Territory Gates across the various battlefields to keep all of the Black Ink Clan Armies caged up, then slowly eliminate them!
Considering how powerful he was now, no one would be able to challenge him out on the battlefields as there was not a single true Royal Lord overseeing them.
Yang Kai had also sealed up the Territory Gate at the No-Return Pass in the past, but at the time, he was only an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even though he managed to seal up the Territory Gate, he did not have the power to kill off Royal Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords and he would not be able to accomplish much if he relied solely on his Soul Rending Thorns.
However, the situation was different now. Yang Kai was a Ninth-Order Master and a Divine Dragon as well. The fight two months ago had allowed Mo Na Ye to realise just how powerful Yang Kai had truly become.
A Human as strong as Yang Kai with the tricky ability to seal Territory Gates to boot was an enemy that the Black Ink Clan could not go up against. His existence threatened to turn the tides on the Black Ink Clan despite the effort they had put in all these years to get things to where they were now.
Yang Kai using his ability to seal up the Territory Gate was the foreshadowing sign of the Black Ink Clan’s future possibility of devastating losses out on the battlefields.
Thus, while they were busy forcing open the Territory Gate, Mo Na Ye made sure the Black Ink Clan avoided suffering such heavy casualties by getting the word out as well. He instructed all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords out on the battlefields to retreat and return to the No-Return Pass as quickly as they could.
Doing this was the equivalent of dooming the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army. Though the Pseudo-Royal Lords could flee, the Armies could not. Mo Na Ye could predict that the Humans would certainly be able to massacre the Black Ink Clan Soldiers that remained on the battlefields.
Despite making all of the necessary arrangements beforehand, Mo Na Ye still had a hard time dealing with the fact that Yang Kai saw right through everything.
The losses the Black Ink Clan suffered this time around were irrefutably the worst since the Barren Territory War, but it was an unavoidable situation. Their goal was to invade the 3,000 Worlds, so naturally they fought deep within the 3,000 Worlds.
“Since you’ve already thought of this, why haven’t you done anything yet?” Now that things had come to this, Mo Na Ye was surprisingly able to keep a cool head.
“What are you referring to?” Yang Kai cocked his eyebrows.
“After claiming E-5 Territory, you could’ve easily helped out on the next battlefield. You could’ve also sealed up the Territory Gates to ensure the Human Race’s victory!”
This was something Mo Na Ye could not figure out. Yang Kai had made his move at E-5 Territory and helped the Red Flame Army slaughter a total of eight Pseudo-Royal Lords, but after having done that, he ran straight over to the No-Return Pass instead of lingering on the battlefield. Mo Na Ye believed that Yang Kai could have simply continued his efforts in the next Great Territory. The Black Ink Clan there would surely be defeated and at least a few of the Pseudo-Royal Lords would have died in the process.
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “Even though I could’ve taken over another battlefield by doing so, when word got back to you, you would’ve made the same arrangements as now. That means I’ll only get to kill a few more Pseudo-Royal Lords. There’s not much point in that.”
Mo Na Ye mulled it over and nodded lightly. As it was, the moment he received the report from E-5 Territory, he immediately thought about withdrawing all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords as it would be dangerous for them if Yang Kai began eyeing them too. There was no telling where Yang Kai would head off to next, so it had to be a full retreat.
However, the subsequent dispatches made it clear that Yang Kai did not head to any other battlefield and instead headed straight for the No-Return Pass, which was why Mo Na Ye did not immediately give the order to retreat.
That all changed when Yang Kai left the No-Return Pass. As Mo Na Ye surveyed the sealed-up Territory Gate, he finally realised how grave the situation was.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s expression hardened as he said, “The situation across the 3,000 Worlds is far too messy right now. All of the Armies are separated and your Black Ink Clan has established forward outposts throughout the various Great Territories. Don’t you think it’s better if we make the situation simpler?”
Mo Na Ye came to an understanding, “So, that’s why you’ve chosen to do this!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Soon, the Humans will reclaim the 3,000 Worlds, and the Black Ink Clan will have to all gather together at the No-Return Pass. The Humans won’t need to disperse their Armies to deal with you, they will simply have to keep their eye on the No-Return Pass.” As for the Pseudo-Royal Lords whose lives were threatened by Yang Kai, sooner or later, they would still die.
Mo Na Ye could not help but feel impressed, “That is indeed the best possible situation for the Humans.” Then, he followed up with a sigh, “The Humans are blessed to have you, Yang Kai!”
Yang Kai smirked, “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you are flattering me.”
Mo Na Ye shook his head and asked with a forlorn expression, “Is this the second business proposal you talked about earlier?”
As soon as Yang Kai pointed out the reality of the current situation, Mo Na Ye knew Yang Kai had managed to trick the Black Ink Clan into doing what he wanted again. He purposely sealed the Territory Gate to make them wary of the possibilities which led to them recalling all the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were out fighting. All of this left Mo Na Ye feeling both furious and bleak.
Yang Kai stood outside the Territory Gate and opened his arms, “Right now, I’m the one who has the upper hand. Your Pseudo-Royal Lords are retreating from all the different battlefields, but I can seal up the Territory Gate at any time and slaughter all of them. Even though you can force open the Territory Gate again, it’ll take some time. Moreover, I can seal up more than one Territory Gate!”
If Yang Kai headed off right now to kill the returning Pseudo-Royal Lords, he would undoubtedly seal off all the Territory Gates along the way. Mo Na Ye would not be able to go after him no matter how much he wanted to.
With Yang Kai’s present mastery over the Dao of Space and his current strength, it was laughably easy for him to seal off a Territory Gate. However, it would take the Black Ink Clan time and a lot of time and effort to break one open again.
The amount of work required of both parties was worlds apart. Yang Kai could use this to his advantage and the additional time he had thanks to that would be enough for the Black Ink Clan to lose a majority of their Pseudo-Royal Lords.
“What do you want?” Mo Na Ye asked darkly.
Yang Kai flashed a faint smile, “Now that’s how you do business.” It was easy to deal with someone as smart as Mo Na Ye. Yang Kai did not need to give a detailed explanation. Mo Na Ye could grasp the situation quickly which saved the need to waste one’s breath. If Yang Kai had been dealing with a hot-headed fool with a fiery temper instead, they might have come to blows by now.
That was not what Yang Kai wanted.
“As long as your new generation of Royal Lords hasn’t emerged, the Pseudo-Royal Lords are your strongest forces. You can’t afford to lose any of them; after all, you don’t have any more Innate Territory Lords, so every single Pseudo-Royal Lord who dies can’t be replaced,” Yang Kai slowly remarked, “How’s this? I won’t back you into a corner. For every single Pseudo-Royal Lord, I want a million sets of Fifth-Order materials. You can count how many Pseudo-Royal Lords you have remaining and give me the equivalent amount.”
“Are you insane!?” Mo Na Ye stared at Yang Kai in shock. He was thunderstruck by the Human’s attempt at open robbery.
Even though he only asked for Fifth-Order materials, a million sets was far too much. Furthermore, this was only in exchange for a single Pseudo-Royal Lord. At the very least, there were around 100 of them out on the battlefields, so wasn’t that like asking for 100 million sets of Fifth-Order materials?
Though Mo Na Ye knew Yang Kai would surely have high demands, he never expected the latter to be this greedy and he certainly could not accept it.
“These materials mean nothing to the Black Ink Clan, but the same can’t be said for the Pseudo-Royal Lords,” Yang Kai commented coolly, “You better think carefully before you answer.”
Mo Na Ye gritted his teeth, “It’s too much!” Truth be told, Mo Na Ye was more than willing to use these materials to exchange for the lives of the Pseudo-Royal Lords, but the price that Yang Kai asked for was too far outside the limits of acceptability. After all, the materials taken from them would be used to help the Humans grow stronger. The more the Black Ink Clan gave, the stronger the Humans could become.
All of a sudden, Mo Na Ye realised that this could very well be the real reason why Yang Kai showed up at the No-Return Pass!
Mo Na Ye knew of the Humans’ lack of resources. The Black Ink Clan had the entire Black Ink Battlefield to supply them with everything they needed to provide for their Army, but what did the Humans have? They only had the resources amassed by the major Sects throughout all their years of existence, but no matter how much they had saved, they would still use everything up someday.
When that happened, the Humans would no longer have any resources and the cultivation of their Masters would slow down dramatically. They might not even get any new Open Heaven Realm Masters anymore.
Therefore, the Humans had to find a way to overcome their dwindling supplies. This explained why Yang Kai named such an exorbitant price.
His earlier deal with the Black Ink Clan was merely his way of slowly setting up the stage and putting pressure on them…
Thinking about it now, Mo Na Ye realised that the earlier deal did not benefit the Black Ink Clan in any way; instead, they ended up allowing Yang Kai to take a Great Pass basically for free.
“That’s my only condition. I won’t accept any attempts to bargain. You have a stick of incense’s worth of time to discuss this. If you can’t accept it, then so be it. I will immediately head off to slaughter all your Pseudo-Royal Lords. Let me see how many of them manage to make it back alive. Oh. I’ll start with the Territory Gate that connects Shattered Heaven to the 3,000 Words. That’ll make for an excellent battlefield!” Yang Kai took a hard line and left no room for haggling.
Mo Na Ye’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and the other Pseudo-Royal Lords were seething with rage as well. They kept throwing questioning looks at Mo Na Ye. It was as if they would rush forward to eviscerate Yang Kai the moment the Royal Lord gave the order.
Meanwhile, Mo Na Ye’s expression kept changing. Everyone could see that he was trying to quell his murderous intent. In the end, he did not give the order as he somehow kept a lid on his fury.
He was only able to control himself because he knew nothing would come out of it even if he did give the order to attack. They could not do anything to Yang Kai when the Territory Gate was right behind him. The moment the Black Ink Clan even tried to do anything, Yang Kai could immediately jump through the Territory Gate.
Truth be told, Mo Na Ye was not averse to giving away those materials in exchange for the safety of the Pseudo-Royal Lords; however, he was infuriated by the amount Yang Kai asked for and the refusal to let them bargain even when they did so earlier!
However, he could not deny that Yang Kai was targeting the Black Ink Clan’s weakness. If he did do as he said just now, a lot of Pseudo-Royal Lords would be meeting their doom.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were retreating from the battlefields had to pass through the Territory Gate at the Shattered Heaven. It was a passage that could not be avoided, and Yang Kai only had to lie in wait there. By doing so, he would surely be able to kill them off.
If the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass wanted to head over to help the Pseudo-Royal Lords, they had to pass through the Barren Territory and travel across the entirety of the Shattered Heaven. Not only would the journey take them far longer than it took Yang Kai, but just the act of needing to break open the sealed Territory Gates would waste a lot of their time as well.
By the time they did manage to get there, it was probably going to be too late.
Furthermore, they had to leave some Masters at the No-Return Pass to stand guard there, so they could not send out all of their forces.
A single Human had the entire Black Ink Clan in a chokehold! All of the Black Ink Clansmen were drowning in humiliation.
After sending a resentful glare in Yang Kai’s direction, Mo Na Ye used his Divine Sense to discuss the deal with Mo Yu.
Yang Kai calmly waited by the Territory Gate without rushing them; after all, he did say he was giving them a stick of incense’s worth of time to discuss the deal. Moreover, he was certain they would agree to his demand. Although he was asking for a lot, it was not an amount they could not deliver. They simply did not want to hand over all these resources to the enemy.
However, materials came second when weighed against the lives of those Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Still, there were no guarantees in life. If the Black Ink Clan was going to be stubborn about it and refuse to accept his ridiculous demand, then he had no choice but to head on over and kill off the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Now that he was using the Space-Time River to seal Pure Yang Pass, Yang Kai could not use it in battle, and without its help, it would not be easy for him to kill all those Pseudo-Royal Lords. Furthermore, the returning Pseudo-Royal Lords would be travelling in groups, which would make it even harder for him to kill them.
If he had to do it, he could only succeed a few times. As more and more Pseudo-Royal Lords returned from the various battlefields, he would have to stop. No matter how strong he was, there was still a limit to what he could accomplish alone.
[Hopefully, Mo Na Ye makes the wiser choice!] Yang Kai glanced at Mo Na Ye, and the latter just so happened to be glancing over at him too. Their eyes met and Yang Kai flashed the Royal Lord a cordial smile.
Mo Na Ye averted his eyes with a disgusted expression.
The discussion continued. At first, it was only between Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, but soon, the Divine Senses of many other Pseudo-Royal Lords joined in. From their expressions and reactions, it was clear that they were split on the issue.
Yang Kai did not bother paying any attention to them and just remained ready to step into the Territory Gate at any given moment.
Before the time was up, the Black Ink Clan came to a decision.
Yang Kai gathered his thoughts and crossed his arms before calmly asking, “So?”
Mo Na Ye took a deep breath. He looked like someone who was weighed down by abject humiliation as he growled lowly, “We accept the trade you’ve asked for!”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched a little, “Is it too late for me to ask for more now?”
He had clearly underestimated the amount of resources the Black Ink Clan had. As it was, he thought he was already asking for the lion’s share of what they had. He even considered the possibility of compromising just a tiny bit if the Black Ink Clan insisted on haggling with him. [Who would’ve thought that they’d agree just like that?!]
After giving it some thought, it made sense. The Black Ink Clan had been in control of the 3,000 Worlds and the entire Black Ink Battlefield for millennia, which was more than enough time for them to gather an enormous amount of resources as they had more than enough underlings to do the mining.
Yang Kai felt an inexplicable sense of regret, like he had somehow suffered a great loss.
“Yang Kai!” Mo Na Ye roared, “Don’t go too far!”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “I was joking! It’s just a joke. Don’t get all worked up!”
Mo Na Ye threw him a baleful glare. It took quite some time before he could calm himself down again, “We need time to gather everything!”
“Three days!” Yang Kai had already considered this. He was not going to let the Black Ink Clan drag things out for too long, “I want to see everything in three days. Also, let me warn you right now. Don’t even bother trying to trick me. I know full well how many Pseudo-Royal Lords you have out there!”
“Three days isn’t enough time. You’re asking for a lot,” Mo Na Ye countered with a frown.
Yang Kai snorted, “All of your resources are right here. You just need to sort through them. You can do that in three days. But, of course, I don’t mind if you wish to drag it out even longer. However… if any of the Pseudo-Royal Lords return before I get what I want, don’t blame me for not showing any mercy!”
He was standing right outside the Territory Gate, so if the Pseudo-Royal Lords returned, they would surely pop up in front of him. How could any of them survive if he attacked them the moment they came through?
Mo Na Ye’s face twitched as he growled, “Fine. Three days!”
“You’re a decisive one!” Yang Kai complimented.
“We don’t have that many Fifth-Order materials, so we’ll make up for it with others. Naturally, we’ll make sure we meet the necessary amount,” Mo Na Ye added.
After all, even the Black Ink Clan could not bring out nearly 100 million sets of Fifth-Order materials. It made sense that they had to replace some of them with other kinds of materials.
Yang Kai was not going to make things difficult for them on this account, so he nodded before replying, “Sure, but nothing less than Fourth-Order materials. I won’t accept anything below that!”
At this point, the Humans rarely had any new Open Heaven Realm Masters beneath the Fourth-Order. The Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World, the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles, had boosted the floor of the Human Race greatly and allowed the Open Heaven Realm Masters to have a far better start than they did in the past.
Therefore, materials beneath Fourth-Order were not of much use to the Humans. On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan did not have the same requirements when it came to the Order of materials. Everything would be tossed inside the Black Ink Nest anyway, so it did not matter to them how low the quality was.
Mo Na Ye briefly mulled over Yang Kai’s demand before agreeing to it. He gave the Pseudo-Royal Lords a look and over a dozen of them returned to the No-Return Pass to start organising their resources.
Meanwhile, the other Black Ink Clansmen kept staring at Yang Kai from a distance.
Since there was nothing else to do, Yang Kai took out a table and a few chairs from his Small Universe, as well as a tea set. As he began preparing a pot of tea, he looked over at Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, “Why don’t the two of you come over and have a seat?”
Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu exchanged glances and scoffed under their breaths before heading over in a flash and taking their seats in front of Yang Kai.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were still watching on from a distance could not resist circulating their power just in case they needed to provide some form of aid; however, the three most powerful Masters simply sat there in silence. No one showed any sign of wanting to start a fight.
It was a strange sight to behold and the Pseudo-Royal Lords nursed complicated feelings seeing it.
In just a few moments, the tea was ready. Yang Kai filled the cups in front of the two Royal Lords before pouring himself some tea as well. After taking a sip, he set his cup down and said, “I’m not much of a tea connoisseur; after all, I haven’t had the luxury of time to spare on such things. But, a lot of Humans are passionate about tea, many even considering it an art form. Ever since the Black Ink Clan’s invasion into the 3,000 Worlds, countless Humans were displaced from their homes and many of the Great Territories are now empty and lifeless. Perhaps many traditions such as this will die out as a result. What a pity.”
Mo Na Ye took a sip of the tea and responded curtly, “I prefer the taste of the Humans’ wines and liqueurs. Tea is a little bland.”
Yang Kai cocked his eyebrows, “You’re quite picky, aren’t you? Doesn’t matter to me whether you drink it or not. You know, considering the Black Ink Clan’s speciality of destroying any place you invade, if you truly take control over everything, you won’t even be able to drink tea anymore.”
Mo Na Ye set his cup down and staunchly declared, “In the future, Black Ink will be the only constant existence!”
Yang Kai raised his hand to stop Mo Na Ye, “Don’t bother spreading your propaganda. We’ll never see eye to eye and we’ll never be on the same side. You’re just a bunch of invaders who’re running amok in someone else’s home.”
“When everything first came into existence, the Divine Spirits were the ones in power,” Mo Na Ye coolly retorted, “Then, it was the Monster Race who ruled before the power finally fell into the hands of the Human Race. As the years go by, control of the Universe switches between different Races, there is no true preordained owner. If the Humans can be in charge, then so can the Black Ink Clan.”
Yang Kai side-eyed him, “You know a thing or two, huh? There was balance and progress in the Universe during the reigns of the Divine Spirits, Monster Race, and the Human Race, but if the Black Ink Clan does succeed, what can you bring about? There will be nothing but destruction and desolation. If everything else is gone, do you think the Black Ink Clan will survive? You’re just digging your own graves, and yet you make it sound so wonderful by calling it the only constant existence! Since you know so much, let me ask you this. Do you know how the Divine Spirits came into existence?”
Mo Na Ye frowned, “Do you?”
“Of course!” Yang Kai declared with a smug smile.
However, he did not give Mo Na Ye any time to ask any questions as he swiftly added, “But, I’m not going to tell you!”
Mo Na Ye could not resist rolling his eyes, but his temper did not flare up.
Yang Kai continued, “The Black Ink Clan came about because of Mo. Its thoughts and beliefs are what determine your actions and choices. Even though Mo is incredibly powerful, it was suppressed and sealed inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction all of those years ago. Unable to escape, it has been stuck there ever since; however, it doesn’t seem to do well with loneliness. Nevertheless, it’s like a frog that has been stuck inside a well and thinks that what it sees is everything there is to see and know. It cannot possibly fathom that there’s so much more out there that it has no idea about.”
*Peng!*
Mo Yu, who had been silent the whole time, slammed his cup onto the table and glared at Yang Kai, “How dare you question the Supreme One!”
Yang Kai side-eyed him, “What’s wrong with you? Getting all worked up over a few words I said? What gives you the audacity to lash out at me after drinking my tea, huh?!”
Mo Yu had a stormy expression as he retorted, “Don’t think you’re invincible just because you’re a Ninth-Order Master now, Yang Kai. Perhaps Mo Na Ye and I can’t stand against you, but can you stand against the Supreme One’s Soul Clone?”
Naturally, he was referring to the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
Yang Kai snorted, “Why would I need to stand against them? They have their own opponents.”
Mo Yu could not think of a retort to that.
Yang Kai pursed his lips, “Forget it. I can’t be bothered to talk about these things with you. Why would we need to cultivate if everything could be resolved through debates?” He cocked his eyebrows at Mo Na Ye, “Isn’t that right?”
It was clear that Mo Na Ye did not want to dwell on this topic either, so he changed the subject, “We’ll give you the materials in three days, but I have a small request as well.”
“Go on,” Yang Kai raised his cup of tea to his lips before swirling it around.
“You need to remain here until all the Pseudo-Royal Lords have returned to the No-Return Pass before you can leave.”
Mo Na Ye had dealt with Yang Kai many times, and though this Human had never broken a promise he made, Mo Na Ye could not be sure that he could trust Yang Kai this time. If Yang Kai left right after taking all the materials with him, he would certainly head over to kill those Pseudo-Royal Lords. To avoid that, they could only allow Yang Kai to leave when all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords had returned.
He was worried that Yang Kai would not agree to his request and was even considering withholding a portion of the materials and only handing them over to Yang Kai once the Pseudo-Royal Lords arrived safe and sound; thus, he did not expect Yang Kai to agree without any fuss, “I was going to do that anyway, even if you didn’t ask it of me.”
Startled, Mo Na Ye gave him a blank stare, [Why would he do that?]
With a faint smile, Yang Kai explained, “I have to see whether the number of materials you give matches the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords who come back. It’s no issue if you give more than what we agreed upon, but if you give me less… Heh heh. I won’t be pleased.”
Mo Na Ye’s expression darkened as he growled, “You can rest assured that I know even better than you just how many Pseudo-Royal Lords there are out there. You won’t be getting any less than what we agreed.”
“That’s good then,” Yang Kai nodded and refilled Mo Na Ye’s cup, but he ignored Mo Yu and the latter’s expression became a little unpleasant.
Mo Na Ye chuckled and shook his head. He personally topped up Mo Yu’s cup before letting out a heavy sigh, “The advantage we had for thousands of years is all gone now. Henceforth, the Humans will be able to easily reclaim the 3,000 Worlds.”
Previously, it would not have been easy for the Humans to reclaim the 3,000 Worlds. There was no telling how long it would take for them to go on fighting to reclaim each Great Territory one by one, not to mention all the effort and the sacrifices that needed to be made as well.
However, due to the overwhelming threat that the Black Ink Clan was up against in the form of Yang Kai, they were forced to withdraw all of their most powerful Masters lest the Human seized his chance to eliminate them.
Due to this, the Black Ink Clan Army out on the battlefields would not be able to put up a fight against the Humans, and the Black Ink Clan did not plan on sending out any reinforcements either. Therefore, the Humans simply needed to put in a bit of time and they would be able to reclaim the rest of the 3,000 Worlds.
Yang Kai scoffed, “So what if we reclaim them? The 3,000 Worlds are nothing but tattered ruins left behind by the Black Ink Clan. It’s merely a symbolic victory for us as the 3,000 Worlds won’t be of any help to us.”
After many millennia of damage caused by the Black Ink Clan’s occupation, all of the Universe Worlds in all the Great Territories had died out a long time ago. All the resources had been stripped and the 3,000 Worlds were nothing more than empty ruins. Even if the Humans reclaimed them, they would be of much use.
“That’s true, but the Humans would not be forfeiting an easy victory.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I assume that in the future, the Humans will have control over the 3,000 Worlds while the Black Ink Clan continues to hold the No-Return Pass.” Now that the subject came up, Yang Kai grew curious, “Back when the Black Ink Clan invaded the No-Return Pass, how did you manage to enter the Barren Territory?”
There was only one Territory Gate, and when the Humans retreated to the Barren Territory, they would have already set up an ambush at the Territory Gate. It would not have been easy for the Black Ink Clan to invade the Barren Territory. Even if they kept sending their Army through, the Humans would still decimate them with ease.
Yang Kai did not take part in that battle and he did not seek out much information after the fact, so he was curious to know how the Black Ink Clan could break past the Humans’ defences and launch a successful invasion into the Barren Territory.
“It’s all thanks to the Supreme One’s Soul Clone, of course,” Mo Na Ye replied.
“I presumed as much,” Yang Kai commented after gaining clarity.
Only the presence of a Black Ink Giant Spirit God would have allowed the Black Ink Clan to accomplish what they did. The Black Ink Giant Spirit God was the one who barged into the Barren Territory and occupied a sizable chunk of the Human Race’s combat power, which allowed the Black Ink Clan to send their Army in.
“Humans don’t have a third Giant Spirit God. It will be difficult for us to invade the No-Return Pass,” Yang Kai stroked his chin as he seemed to vex over the conundrum.
Mo Yu’s brow twitched. They were all mortal enemies, so Yang Kai was being rather haughty for making that comment right in front of them.
Mo Na Ye had a knowing smirk on his face, “Brother Yang, you probably know of a secret passage that leads from the 3,000 Worlds straight into the Black Ink Battlefield, right?”
This was something the Black Ink Clan deduced a long time ago; after all, Yang Kai made frequent trips to the No-Return Pass without passing through the Territory Gate. Instead, he would simply pop up all of a sudden on the Black Ink Battlefield. Only the existence of a secret passage could explain how he managed to move around.
They had tried to locate the secret passage, but after all these years, they had not found anything.
In Mo Na Ye’s eyes, Yang Kai was simply trying to put on an act by saying it would be tough for the Humans to invade the No-Return Pass. With that secret passage of his, the Humans could easily gather on the Black Ink Battlefield before laying siege to the No-Return Pass.
The Black Ink Clan would surely suffer devastating losses if they did not guard against that possibility.
[Yang Kai’s taking us for fools with that remark of his!] Mo Na Ye was not about to believe him!
“Now that things have come to this, there’s only one thing I wish to ask of you, Brother Yang. Which Great Territory inside the 3,000 Worlds is the entrance of that secret passage located?” Mo Na Ye asked with great sincerity. This question had confounded him for years now. He did not ask where the exit was as he knew Yang Kai would not be telling him that, so he simply asked about the entrance.
Yang Kai flashed him a faint smile, “What a coincidence. I have a question to ask you too.”
“Go ahead, Brother Yang.”
“Is your Supreme One waking up soon? When is it going to wake up?”
Back then, Mo sunk into a deep slumber when the hidden hand Mu left behind had been triggered. It had been thousands of years since then and Yang Kai estimated that Mo would be awakening soon. However, the Old Tree had sunk into a deep slumber too, so the fact that Yang Kai could not head over to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to check on things whenever he wanted was giving him a headache.
The three Masters, one Human and two from the Black Ink Clan, sat there in the void staring at each other in total silence.
“The tea’s getting cold,” Mo Na Ye quipped with a chuckle to gloss over the earlier topic; obviously, he did not wish to answer Yang Kai’s question.
His question did not affect much. Even if Yang Kai exposed where the entrance to the secret passage was, the Black Ink Clan could not do anything about it anymore. On the other hand, Yang Kai was asking about highly confidential information of absolute importance to the Black Ink Clan. Mo Na Ye was not going to answer that question.
However, Mo Na Ye did not expect Yang Kai to snatch the cup out of his hands and even stuff the table back inside his Small Universe. Yang Kai got up and made it clear their presence was no longer welcome, “You’ve had your tea so you can scram now.”
Mo Na Ye was dumbstruck, [You’re the one who invited us over for tea and yet you’re chasing us off now? How can your attitude change faster than flipping the pages of a book?]
Nevertheless, despite being displeased, Mo Na Ye did not want to trifle with Yang Kai over such inconsequential matters. He glanced at Mo Yu and the two Royal Lords went back to the No-Return Pass, leaving Yang Kai alone by the Territory Gate.
Three days later, they were done gathering the materials and Mo Na Ye personally handed over the Space Rings to Yang Kai.
They were giving over so much that they had to use over 100 Space Rings.
Yang Kai checked every single one of the Space Rings as Mo Na Ye reminded him, “Don’t forget about our agreement, Brother Yang.”
“Don’t worry. I’m someone who keeps my word. In all our years of dealings, have I ever reneged on something I said?” Yang Kai replied.
[That’s true, but things are no longer the same now.] Mo Na Ye was still a little uneasy.
After seeing the expression on Mo Na Ye’s face, Yang Kai suggested, “How’s this? I’ll step aside and you can stand guard at the Territory Gate. That way, I won’t be able to leave through it.”
Mo Na Ye solemnly nodded, “That’s exactly what I was thinking too!” He came over because he wanted Yang Kai to do just that.
Yang Kai pursed his lips, “At the end of the day, you still don’t trust me. Don’t we have a relationship that includes surviving a narrow brush with death? I’m sorely disappointed by the attitude you’re taking right now!”
[How can you call it a relationship when it includes surviving a narrow brush with death? You were the one who nearly killed me!] Mo Na Ye griped to himself. He could not avoid recalling his embarrassing past.
His head was throbbing as he replied, “It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that I have to consider the bigger…”
“Yeah, yeah I get it!” Yang Kai cut him off. He could not be bothered to waste any more of his breath. He was in a good mood over the fact that he managed to extort a massive amount of materials from the Black Ink Clan, so he was not going to bother with Mo Na Ye and readily stood aside.
The Black Ink Clan had clearly been prepared for this. Nearly 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords immediately flew over to Mo Na Ye to block the Territory Gate.
Soon, Yang Kai finished taking stock of all the materials and put them away with great satisfaction.
This time, the Black Ink Clan did not try to shortchange Yang Kai. It was quite the contrary as they gave him more than what he expected. He assumed it was because they did not want to give him an excuse to find fault with them.
Meanwhile, Mo Na Ye let out a small exhale of relief when he saw that Yang Kai did not leave the moment he was done checking.
Even though Yang Kai had allowed Mo Na Ye and a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords to stand guard at the Territory Gate, there was still the secret passage between the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield. Yang Kai did not need to use the Territory Gate to leave, and if he had chosen to do just that, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to stop him.
Though it was a pain to deal with Yang Kai, there was one thing that Mo Na Ye was glad about. As long as the situation wasn’t harmful to the Human Race, Yang Kai never went back on his word.
Time passed and several days later, the Territory Gate began rippling with the surge of Space Principles.
The numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been standing around waiting grew alert as they checked the Territory Gate and saw silhouettes popping out.
There were a total of 11 of them with imposing auras which made it clear they were all Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Yang Kai glanced at them as well and spotted a few familiar faces. He immediately figured out where they had just come from.
These were the Pseudo-Royal Lords who fled E-5 Territory.
The Black Ink Clan had chosen the battlefield at E-5 Territory to be the place where they were going to prove their strength. They wanted to crush the Red Flame Army that was fighting there, so prior to Yang Kai’s appearance, E-5 Territory had the most Pseudo-Royal Lords, and it had been too many for the Red Flame Army to handle.
However, Yang Kai came to the Red Flame Army’s aid and they managed to kill eight Pseudo-Royal Lords. The rest of them knew the situation did not look good for them so they fled at once, and after nearly three months of travelling, they finally got back to the No-Return Pass.
Truth be told, they were quite fortunate. After leaving E-5 Territory, Yang Kai did try to track them down, but he could not find out in which direction they went.
Throughout this whole time, the Pseudo-Royal Lords fearfully travelled as stealthily as possible. They did not even try to get in touch with the No-Return Pass, except for the initial report they sent back just before fleeing to report on the change in the situation in E-5 Territory.
If they wanted to contact the No-Return Pass, they would have to find one of the Black Ink Clan’s forward outposts across the various Great Territories, but those places were not all that safe.
However, when the Pseudo-Royal Lords got back to the No-Return Pass and found a group of Masters from the Black Ink Clan, including Mo Na Ye, waiting right in front of the Territory Gate, they were startled and confused as they did not know what was happening.
The leader of the group of Pseudo-Royal Lords had an ashamed expression as he went forward and greeted them. He filled them in on the situation that had broken out at E-5 Territory just before they left and went on a rant decrying the many heinous deeds committed by Yang Kai; however, as he spoke, he started getting a strange feeling, so he turned his head and glanced in a particular direction before his jaw dropped…
The other returning Pseudo-Royal Lords followed suit, and when they saw that figure standing in the distance, they grew agitated.
Yang Kai was standing there with his arms crossed as he gave the Pseudo-Royal Lords a taunting look. Chills ran down their spines, but they were entirely confused.
[What’s going on? Why is the killing star here? If he’s here, why aren’t they fighting against him? Why do they seem to be getting along with him…]
“That’s enough. You may go and rest. E-5 Territory has been lost and you’re not to blame for it,” Mo Na Ye waved his hand lethargically. The returning Pseudo-Royal Lords stood down, eyeing Yang Kai with strange expressions, now and then.
They had to check with a Pseudo-Royal Lord they were acquainted with before they found out what had recently taken place here.
In less than three months, Yang Kai attacked the No-Return Pass twice and exhibited his staggering strength before forcing the Black Ink Clan to comply with some of his demands.
However, he was still here now because they had an agreement with him. He was not here to cause trouble.
Upon hearing this, the Pseudo-Royal Lords who just came back reacted with contorted expressions that reflected their complicated emotions…
More and more Pseudo-Royal Lords came through the Territory Gate. These were the ones who had received the order to retreat from all the Great Territory battlefields. Not only were there Pseudo-Royal Lords, but a large number of Territory Lords and Feudal Lords as well.
Though, there was not a single one weaker than the Feudal Lords.
Since they were fleeing for their lives, those who were not strong enough could not keep up; furthermore, as the more powerful Masters fled the battlefields, the Black Ink Clan still needed some forces to keep the Human Race Army occupied.
These returning Masters all jumped in fright the moment they spotted Yang Kai, but after finding out what happened, they were filled with humiliation and discontent.
It would not be wrong to say the present situation resulted entirely from the actions of a single Human. It was Yang Kai who forced the Black Ink Clan to give up on the 3,000 Worlds. Just as Mo Na Ye had lamented earlier, everything the Black Ink Clan accomplished throughout several millennia had vanished in an instant.
This continued for two months, and once the final group arrived back at the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye finally exhaled and turned to Yang Kai, who had been waiting the whole time, “All done, Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai eyed him coldly, “You’re done, but I’m not.”
“What do you mean, Brother Yang?” Mo Na Ye pretended to exclaim in shock.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and said, “The resources you gave me were only in exchange for the lives of the Pseudo-Royal Lords. It did not include this many Territory Lords and Feudal Lords!”
Though he had known that some of the Territory Lords and Feudal Lords would have fled alongside the Pseudo-Royal Lords, he did not think there would be this many of them! This meant that even if the Humans emerged victorious across the 12 battlefields and wiped out all of the Black Ink Clan Armies, it was still not enough to deal a severe blow to the Black Ink Clan’s overall combat power.
Mo Na Ye chuckled, “What do you want to do then?”
“The price needs to go up!” Yang Kai spat out word by word.
Mo Na Ye shrugged, “Can’t help you there!”
He showed no fear; after all, all Masters of the Black Ink Clan had returned and Yang Kai could not blackmail him with anything now, so he did not need to comply with Yang Kai’s demands.
Yang Kai glared at Mo Na Ye, and after a while, he scoffed, “You better watch your back. Don’t let me get my hands on you!”
Although he was powerful enough to mess around at the No-Return Pass, there were too many Masters gathered here right now. If he did try to do something, it would not be as easy for him as it had been back then. This was the reason why Mo Na Ye had grown a spine and took a tougher stance now.
All of the Black Ink Clan’s most powerful Masters were now gathered at the No-Return Pass. Even if all of the Ninth-Order Masters came over, there was no guarantee that they could achieve anything, let alone a lone Yang Kai.
[There are too many Pseudo-Royal Lords…]
“Move!” Yang Kai snarled.
Mo Na Ye turned around and waved his hand at the Pseudo-Royal Lords gathered in front of the Territory Gate. They swiftly retreated and cleared a path between them. Mo Na Ye gestured to Yang Kai, “Go ahead, Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai snorted and took a step forward without any hesitation. In a flash, he was right outside the Territory Gate.
At the very next moment, a low growl rang out.
“Now!”
All at once, a fiery storm of attacks shot out from all directions and rained down on Yang Kai who could not even say anything before he was shoved into the Territory Gate. His muffled roar rang out, “I’ll kill you, Mo Na Ye! Mark my words!”
Mo Na Ye’s expression was grim as he stared at the Territory Gate that was slowly swirling. This attack that was launched at the very last moment had not been an attempt to kill Yang Kai. He knew full well it was impossible to kill Yang Kai so easily; he simply wanted to get Yang Kai to leave as soon as possible. Perhaps they managed to injure him just a little, but not to the point where it made any difference.
Then, Mo Na Ye turned his eyes back on the Pseudo-Royal Lords and sternly commanded, “Remember this humiliation. One day, we’ll pay it back many times over!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords agreed in unison. The humiliation and fury that coloured their expressions made them look rather grotesque.
Mo Na Ye looked back at the Territory Gate again. Just moments ago, it was still slowly swirling as usual, but now, it was as frozen as a lake in winter. He knew it meant that Yang Kai had used his power to seal up the Territory Gate from the other side.
A beam of light swept into the Universe Fragment that housed the Supreme Headquarters, and before the Human landed, his cries could already be heard, “E-5 Territory has been liberated!”
The Humans didn’t have a method to instantly relay information like the Black Ink Clan could with their Black Ink Nests. Also, the frontlines were very far from the Supreme Headquarters, which was why the news of victory in E-5 Territory had just arrived.
In the early days, the Supreme Headquarters was the centre of the several Great Territory Battlefields that the Humans fought hard to defend. The distance between battlefields wasn’t that great back then, so news travelled quickly. However, with the increased length of the frontlines, the 12 Human Race Armies had to move forward while the Supreme Headquarters stayed behind; hence, communication between them became extremely slow.
Previously, Mi Jing Lun had thought about moving the Supreme Headquarters to the frontlines, but he was only an Eighth-Order Master. If they decided to move the Supreme Headquarters forward, the Black Ink Clan would certainly target them. If the Pseudo-Royal Lords decided to launch a sneak attack, the Supreme Headquarters wouldn’t be able to survive.
When news of their victory arrived, Mi Jing Lun was discussing important matters with his peers at the Supreme Headquarters. At this moment, he was already a Ninth-Order Master!
He was originally a veteran Eighth-Order Master with a solid heritage, but due to the Open Heaven Realm Method’s restrictions, his limit was at the peak of the Eighth-Order, which was why he hadn’t made any progress for many years.
With the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill brought back by Yang Kai however, he was able to break through his limit.
After becoming a Ninth-Order Master, Mi Jing Lun finally had the qualifications to move the Supreme Headquarters to the frontlines. He was now discussing with his peers which Great Territory they should move into to better communicate with the 12 Armies.
When everyone heard the excited screams, they were stunned. Despite having expected this result, they were still elated.
With Yang Kai assisting the Red Flame Army in E-5 Territory, ending the battle there wouldn’t be much of a hassle, but everyone was curious about how big of a victory they had achieved.
A while later, a figure swept in from outside the Main Hall and happily reported, “Sirs, we have completely taken over E-5 Territory!”
Mi Jing Lun, who was standing around a table full of documents, nodded lightly and smiled, “Let me have a look.”
The messenger presented the report, and Mi Jing Lun checked it with his Divine Sense. Soon, a shocked expression appeared on his face as he stammered, “How…”
Although he knew that the Red Flame Army would certainly achieve great success with Yang Kai overseeing the situation, he wasn’t expecting the numbers to be so exaggerated.
“Supreme Commander Mi, how are the results?”
The others were looking at Mi Jing Lun expectantly. When they saw his expression change, they felt their hearts sink. [Didn’t we win? What’s with the shocked expression on Supreme Commander Mi’s face? Did the Red Flame Army suffer many casualties?]
At that instant, the crowd was feeling nervous.
With a bitter laugh, Mi Jing Lun said, “I’ve underestimated him still. See for yourselves.”
While he spoke, he gave the others the after-action report. The crowd immediately took turns scanning the record, and soon, each one of them looked shocked while secretly being amazed by Yang Kai.
The report showed the battle between the Red Flame Army and Black Ink Clan was fierce and tragic. Even the Eastern Army Commander almost died in that struggle. Thankfully, Yang Kai appeared out of nowhere and saved the situation by using a mysterious Dao Strength River to trap several Pseudo-Royal Lords, rescuing Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others and forcing the Black Ink Clan Army to retreat.
Afterwards, Yang Kai went to the Black Ink Clan’s base camp alone and captured two more Pseudo-Royal Lords…
In the end, eight Pseudo-Royal Lords died, shocking and terrifying the ones still alive so greatly that they all escaped through the Territory Gate.
After all the Pseudo-Royal Lords were either dead or had escaped, the Black Ink Clan Army lost all will to fight and retreated from E-5 Territory. Once again, Yang Kai attacked alone, and like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, he passed through the Black Ink Clan Army and used his Space Secret Technique to seal the Territory Gate. At that point, the Black Ink Clansmen that had yet to retreat were like turtles hiding in their own shells!
Meanwhile, Yang Kai also left E-5 Territory.
Although Yang Kai had left, the Black Ink Clan Army couldn’t stand a chance against the Red Flame Army without Pseudo-Royal Lords overseeing the situation, so the Humans in E-5 Territory began hunting down the remnant Black Ink Clan soldiers and within a month had wiped them out.
The military report was quite short, but every detail inside was astonishing. If the people at the Supreme Headquarters hadn’t known that it was impossible to fake anything on the battlefield, they would have suspected that the Red Flame Army had doctored their military report to gain Military Merits.
But seeing that Yang Kai had helped them, these results seemed reasonable.
When Yang Kai set off to E-5 Territory to assist the Red Flame Army, they knew the battle there would end in their favour, so how could they not have thought about this result?
Yang Kai had killed eight Pseudo-Royal Lords in just two attacks. Such a terrifying accomplishment was impossible for other Ninth-Order Masters to achieve.
That realization traumatized the rest of the Pseudo-Royal Lords, causing them to run. Without the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan Army was an easy target!
Moreover, Yang Kai had sealed the Territory Gate, so the Black Ink Clan left in E-5 Territory had no choice but to fight till the end. That was what caused the shocking number of kills in the report.
One person alone could change the entire situation on a battlefield and lead the Army to achieve such glorious success. It was indeed marvellous!
“Where is Junior Brother Yang now?” After calming down, Mi Jing Lun looked at the messenger.
The messenger shook his head, “Senior Yang left after sealing the Territory Gate. Sir Zuo Qiu said that before Senior Yang left, he seemed like he was about to go to the No-Return Pass and said something about taking something back.”
“Going to the No-Return Pass to get something…” Mi Jing Lun felt his brow twitch. [That brat, does he think he can do whatever he wants because he’s strong now?]
The No-Return Pass was different from before. Two Royal Lords and several Pseudo-Royal Lords were overseeing that place. Even Ninth-Order Masters wouldn’t easily go there, but considering that it was Yang Kai heading there, Mi Jing Lun wasn’t too worried.
He didn’t know what Yang Kai was going to retrieve from No-Return Pass, but he knew Yang Kai had a purpose in everything he did.
While thinking so, Mi Jing Lun suddenly became serious while he thought about something.
The Black Ink Clan could use Black Ink Nests to quickly send out information, which was something the Humans didn’t have. After Yang Kai’s appearance in E-5 Territory, the Black Ink Clan lost the battle and paid a huge price. News of eight Pseudo-Royal Lords dying and the rest escaping would have already reached the No-Return Pass.
More importantly, it wouldn’t take long before the Masters of the Black Ink Clan on the other battlefields would receive this news…
If Mi Jing Lun’s estimations were right, the Pseudo-Royal Lords from other battlefields might have already found out about the situation in E-5 Territory.
At the thought of that, Mi Jing Lun jumped to his feet and ordered, “Hurry! Send orders to the Azure Sun Army. No, send orders to the Shocking Thunder, Burning Moon, Twin Instrument, Azure Dawn, and Jade Cicada Armies. Tell them to attack the Black Ink Clan regardless of their behaviour and don’t relent even if Pseudo-Royal Lords appear!”
Immediately, a herald went out to relay the orders.
Mi Jing Lun frowned and let out a dissatisfied groan, “Let’s hope we’re not too late!”
Then, he turned to the messenger and asked, “Did Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others mention what their next steps would be after taking E-5 Territory?”
The messenger replied, “After discussion, the Sirs decided to send reinforcements to the nearest Azure Dawn Army. If I’m not mistaken, the Red Flame Army should have already arrived.”
Nodding, Mi Jing Lun said, “That’s good. At the very least, the Black Ink Clan there wouldn’t be much of a problem.”
Now that both Armies had gathered together, the enemies couldn’t defeat the Azure Dawn Army. According to Mi Jing Lun’s estimations, the Black Ink Clan then would suffer a tragic end.
“Supreme Commander Mi, why are we only sending out orders to those five Armies? Don’t we need to inform the ones with Ninth-Order Masters?” One of Mi Jing Lun’s peers asked.
Mi Jing Lun explained, “Ninth-Order Masters have sharp senses, so they will immediately detect any strange changes in the Black Ink Clan Army and won’t need us to warn them, but the Armies without Ninth-Order Masters might not be able to detect the change in the situation and would still have to be wary of confronting the Black Ink Clan Army.”
“The change Supreme Commander Mi is referring to is…”
Mi Jing Lun quickly said, “Those Pseudo-Royal Lords might have already run!”
“What?” Someone exclaimed in shock, but the rest soon realised why Mi Jing Lun would say that.
The Black Ink Clan had paid a tragic price during the battle in E-5 Territory and even lost eight Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Masters which currently gave them the greatest advantage. From the recent military report, it was clear that Pseudo-Royal Lords didn’t stand much of a chance against Yang Kai, and Yang Kai had the ability to seal the Territory Gates and cut off the Black Ink Clan’s escape routes.
How could the Black Ink Clan not be worried about such an enemy?
Yang Kai had only joined one battle in E-5 Territory yet almost wiped out the entire Black Ink Clan Army there. So, what if he appeared in the other Great Territories?
No Pseudo-Royal Lord had the guts or confidence to face Yang Kai head-on. Even if they could muster up the courage to fight with Yang Kai, the always prudent Mo Na Ye wouldn’t let them do so and would instead order them to save their strength and immediately return to the No-Return Pass.
Therefore, all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords at the frontlines should have already evacuated.
The six Human Race Armies with Ninth-Order Masters would have noticed such movements, but the rest might not have. If the Black Ink Clan acted like they were ready to start a fight, the Humans might not dare to act recklessly, giving the Pseudo-Royal Lords the time and opportunity to flee.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords had contributed a lot in the battles on each battlefield, which was why the Black Ink Clan could stand a chance against the Humans. Now that they were gone, the Black Ink Clan had lost their capital to fight against the Human Race Armies. Hence, now was the best time for the Humans to make the most of this situation.
Everyone else finally understood why Mi Jing Lun would give out such an order.
This was the drawback of increasing the distance to the frontlines. The relay of information was too slow, so naturally coordination, relaying orders, and even the dispatching of reinforcements were equally slow. As the situation in each battlefield was ever-changing, there were many times when sending out information in time could decide the fate of a critical battle.
Luckily, Mi Jing Lun had broken through to the Ninth-Order, and they could finally move the Supreme Headquarters towards the frontlines so that such situations wouldn’t happen again.
It had been thousands of years since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, plunging the Great Territories into misery. Now, it was finally time to take back their land!
Even though the Black Ink Clan had left behind a huge mess, this was the place the Humans had lived and thrived for countless years.
While looking into the distance, though Mi Jing Lun looked calm, he was actually excited inside. He could foresee that the Human Race would be able to get back their lost land in a matter of years. Originally, he was ready for a prolonged war with the Black Ink Clan, so he didn’t expect the situation to change so abruptly.
And all of this was actually because of one person.
After returning from the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai sealed the Territory Gate linking the Barren Territory and the No-Return Pass, the Territory Gate linking the Shattered Heaven to the Barren Territory, and the Territory Gate to the Shattered Heaven.
After sealing those three Territory Gates, the Black Ink Clan Army left in the 3,000 Worlds would be like turtles hiding in their shells.
Even though the Masters of the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass had the ability to forcefully break these seals, Yang Kai was certain that with his knowledge of Mo Na Ye, he wouldn’t bother.
That was because the Black Ink Clan were lucky enough to be able to save most of their main forces. As for the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army left on the frontlines, the Black Ink Clan couldn’t do anything to save them.
Meanwhile, Mo Na Ye didn’t intend to, nor could he afford to care about the deaths of those left on the battlefield, so he naturally didn’t have to waste time and effort to break the seals on the Territory Gates.
At the same time, large battles had broken out on each frontline battlefield.
Like Mi Jing Lun had guessed, the six Ninth-Order Masters overseeing their battlefields had sensed the change on their enemy’s side; after all, the commotion from all the Pseudo-Royal Lords, Territory Lords, and Feudal Lords evacuating wasn’t small. It was impossible for such Masters to leave without a trace, especially when both Armies were at war.
When the Ninth-Order Masters noticed this change, they immediately led their respective Armies to launch a probing attack. Soon, they discovered that the enemy they had been fighting for many years suddenly lost a large deal of their more powerful combatants; all the Pseudo-Royal Lords were gone.
Although the Ninth-Order Masters had no idea what happened to the Black Ink Clan, they wouldn’t give up such a good opportunity; therefore, the six battlefields with Ninth-Order Masters in command launched all out assaults and slaughtered large portions of the Black Ink Clan Armies.
However, the other six Armies without Ninth-Order Masters, such as Shocking Thunder and Burning Moon, didn’t have such keen senses.
Furthermore, the Pseudo-Royal Lords had planned all kinds of misleading tricks before evacuating. They had ordered the Black Ink Clan Army to show aggressive behaviour from afar so that the Humans wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.
The only exception was the battlefield where the Azure Dawn Army was stationed. A war broke out quickly because the Red Flame Army, that had fully reclaimed E-5 Territory, came to help after a short period of recuperation.
The two Armies working together greatly increased the Human Race’s combat power. Since the Red Flame Army had just won a great battle, they weren’t afraid when facing the Black Ink Clan.
They originally thought it would be a fierce struggle between two evenly matched opponents, but when they began fighting, the Humans discovered that the Black Ink Clan’s resistance was hollow and weak. The superiors of both Armies quickly discovered that there weren’t many Masters from the Black Ink Clan fighting on the battlefield.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua was also a quick thinker and soon realised the most important factor of this situation. This was the aftermath of the battle led by Yang Kai in E-5 Territory.
If this was the situation here, it should be the same on the other battlefields. So, he immediately sent messengers to those battlefields.
Before the news from the Supreme Headquarters arrived, Shocking Thunder, Burning Moon, and the other Armies had already received intelligence updates from Zuo Qiu Yang Hua.
All the Human Race Armies quickly began attacking. Since the Black Ink Clan couldn’t withstand this fierce assault, they were swiftly torn apart and routed. The war had barely begun, yet many Black Ink Clansmen were already escaping through the Territory Gates with Human soldiers in hot pursuit.
Several months later, a Black Ink Clan Army remnant, led by a Territory Lord, was frantically fleeing in the direction of the No-Return Pass.
This Army had tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen, which was no small number. There used to be even more of them, including two other Territory Lords, but the Humans had caught up to them at some point, killing many of them; hence, they were all that remained.
Before them was the Territory Gate leading to the Shattered Heaven. Once they passed through it, they would be able to pass through the Shattered Heaven to the Barren Territory before entering the No-Return Pass. That way, they could finally escape from the Humans’ chasing them.
Having escaped death several times already, this Black Ink Clan Army was feeling overwhelmed, and after months, they finally arrived at this place. The tired Black Ink Clansmen finally saw a ray of hope.
When they looked at the Territory Gate from afar, the leading Territory Lord suddenly became solemn as he vaguely felt like there seemed to be something wrong with it.
Usually, there should be a spiralling whirlpool where the Territory Gate was situated, but at this moment, that Territory Gate looked like the surface of a frozen lake.
Before he could figure out what had happened, he heard a carefree voice beside his ear. The voice wasn’t loud, but it sounded like a thunderclap to the Territory Lord.
“Another batch has arrived!”
“Who!?” The Territory Lord bellowed. The rest of the Black Ink Clan soldiers were also shocked.
Once the Territory Lord finished speaking, he finally saw the face of the person speaking. That person was openly sitting not far from the Territory Gate, and though he didn’t look conspicuous, he was by no means a person who could be easily ignored. At this moment, he had a bored look on his face while looking at the newly arrived guests.
The Territory Lord couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t see this person earlier, but when he did finally see the person’s face, he understood everything.
The difference in strength between them was too large. If this person was deliberately hiding just now, how could the Territory Lord possibly notice him?
[Yang Kai! The killing star!]
Instantly, the Territory Lord felt his blood run cold, and his head felt like it was about to explode.
“Run!” The Territory Lord only managed to scream one word before he felt pain all over his body, followed by his vitality draining away.
Beside the Territory Gate, Yang Kai opened his hand and waved it in the direction of the defeated Army. Space Principles surged around him, and the local space instantly became a killing ground filled by Void Cracks.
Tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen didn’t even get the chance to make a sound before they were wiped out. Only the Territory Lord was able to withstand a little while longer before he too followed the others.
Meanwhile, the Void Cracks that had sliced through the remnant Army didn’t disappear immediately but continued to expand. Then, like huge mouths, they completely devoured the broken limbs, and even the Black Ink Strength left over by the fallen.
When Yang Kai clenched his fist, the Void Cracks faded away and the space stilled, as if nothing had happened.
Even Yang Kai’s figure was gradually fading before completely disappearing.
After he sealed the three Territory Gates, he decided to stand guard here because he had expected today’s scene.
Since all the Pseudo-Royal Lords and a large group of Territory Lords and Feudal Lords from the frontlines had retreated to the No-Return Pass, the rest of the Black Ink Clan soldiers on the battlefields couldn’t defeat the Human Race. However, there were huge amounts of Black Ink Clansmen on every battlefield, and without him heading over to seal the Territory Gates, it would be difficult for the Humans to wipe out all the remnants like the Red Flame Army had. The 3,000 Worlds was a vast place with numerous Great Territories, so once the Black Ink Clan Army fled, the Humans would have a hard time exterminating all of them.
So, Yang Kai decided to stay here and wait for the Black Ink Clan Army to fall into his trap.
During these past months, Yang Kai had killed over a dozen groups of Black Ink Clansmen that escaped all the way here. There weren’t any specific number of Black Ink Clansmen in each remnant Army, as some had barely a few thousand, while some had over a million. Yang Kai cleverly used his Space Secret Techniques to kill the enemies without being noticed and without leaving any traces behind.
Half a day later, a stream of light with an imposing aura suddenly swept in from afar. It came in very quickly but suddenly stopped and froze before the Territory Gate.
The light then dispersed and revealed a heroic figure.
The man first glanced at the blocked Territory Gate in confusion, showing a look of surprise, then turned to look at Yang Kai’s hiding place, and nodded lightly, “Junior Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai appeared, stood up and saluted, “Senior Brother Wu!”
The person who came was Wu Qing.
This surprised Yang Kai, but after thinking about it, he realized that Wu Qing was obviously aware that the defeated Black Ink Clan soldiers would try to escape to the No-Return Pass, so he came straight here for the same reason Yang Kai was standing guard over this place. He too had the idea to intercept and kill those defeated remnants when they reached here.
As their eyes met, and a rare smile appeared on Wu Qing’s serious face, “It seems that Junior Brother has already dealt with things. I worried too much.”
He had not had much contact with Yang Kai. Even when he and Xiao Xiao were holding down the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, Yang Kai had only visited twice, so they were not too familiar with each other.
But that did not hinder his admiration for Yang Kai. During the years when he and Xiao Xiao were suppressing the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, he heard Xiao Xiao lament more than once that Yang Kai could not break through to the Ninth Order. Xiao Xiao also clearly said that if Yang Kai could be promoted to the Ninth Order, his future achievements would be greater than any Ninth Order in the history of the Human Race.
Wu Qing was initially doubtful about this, but after receiving the battle report from E-5 Territory and the various subsequent reactions from the Black Ink Clan, he finally understood why Xiao Xiao valued Yang Kai so much.
Such a Junior was indeed not comparable to ordinary Ninth-Order Masters. Even if he himself broke through to the Ninth Order thousands of years earlier than Yang Kai, Wu Qing thought that he would never be Yang Kai’s opponent.
While he was deep in thought, Yang Kai smiled and said, “I just returned from the No-Return Pass, so it was more a matter of convenience.”
“You went to the No-Return Pass?” Wu Qing was stunned. Although he received the battle report from E-5 Territory, it did not mention Yang Kai’s subsequent whereabouts.
“I went to have a nice chat with Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu.”
Wu Qing remained silent, knowing that Yang Kai visiting the No-Return Pass was about more than just chatting with the two Royal Lords. The current changes in the war in the 3,000 Worlds may not have only been affected by the decisive win in E-5 Territory, but also by Yang Kai’s follow-up actions. Something was done at the No-Return Pass that put even more pressure on the Black Ink Clan’s side.
Wu Qing didn’t ask too much and simply nodded, “Good, the Black Ink Clan Army is fleeing everywhere from the battlefield. Junior Brother is equipped with Space Secret Techniques, which is more suitable for dealing with this situation. Why don’t you let me take over here while you move about freely?”
“I was thinking the same,” Yang Kai responded happily. He was originally planning to wait for some other Human Squad or group to arrive so he could use them to contact the other Ninth-Order Masters, but now he didn’t need to follow such a circuitous place. Wu Qing ran over by himself, which saved a lot of trouble.
A veteran Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master sitting here would be more than enough to deal with any routed Black Ink Clan Army, so Yang Kai could leave this place to Wu Qing without worry.
What Wu Qing said was right; Yang Kai had Space Secret Techniques so he had a greater advantage when it came to hunting down the scattered Black Ink Clan soldiers. If the two swapped places, their abilities could be better utilized.
There was nothing more to explain, so after chatting with Wu Qing for a bit, Yang Kai departed.
All the frontlines had achieved a great victory. Everyone was in high spirits when the news of the Armies defeating the Black Ink Clan travelled back to the Human Race’s rear camps.
Since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, the Human Race was forced to evacuate and many were forced to abandon their homelands for High Heaven Territory, giving up the place of their birth and the foundation laid by their ancestors.
To the Humans, that was a painful and humiliating incident.
But before they could recover from their pain and humiliation, they were met with a huge war to decide the survival of the Human Race. The Humans were trapped in the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields and were constantly at war with the Black Ink Clan for thousands of years.
During all that time, all Humans endured great regret and humiliation while accumulating their strength.
A few hundred years ago, the Universe Furnace suddenly appeared, breaking the stalemate between the two Races and causing an all-out war to erupt. Relying on the gains they achieved in the Universe Furnace, the Humans were able to achieve a massive victory and subsequently reclaimed numerous lost lands.
However, when the Black Ink Clan Army began retaliating in full, the war reached a stalemate again. No one knew how long the war would last or if they could live to see who achieved the final victory.
No one had expected that victory would arrive so unexpectedly!
One after another, the Supreme Headquarters made announcements filled with good news. When the ones trapped and unable to battle saw the number of enemies killed and the progress of reclaiming their lost land, they felt like they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
In just a few short months, the 12 Human Race Armies had completely defeated the enemy, all but wiping out the Black Ink Clan in the 3,000 Worlds.
The Humans rejoiced!
After another half a year, there were no longer large-scale battles and the 12 Human Race Armies dispersed into Divisions that scoured the Great Territories, hunting down and killing any remnants of the Black Ink Clan.
Now, the Humans had finally fully reclaimed the 3,000 Worlds, which had been in the Black Ink Clan’s hands for thousands of years.
Throughout all of this, there was one name that all Humans would remember in particular, one name that was key to the Human Race’s re-conquest of the 3,000 World.
Yang Kai! A Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, Sect Master of High Heaven Palace, and one of the new generation of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
After using various channels to get the latest news, the Humans finally understood why the war ended so quickly.
It was because Yang Kai was a huge threat to the Pseudo-Royal Lords, and his amazing Space Secret Techniques deterred the Black Ink Clan, forcing them to recall all the Pseudo-Royal Lords to the No-Return Pass.
Without the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan Armies were like tigers without teeth and could easily be defeated.
Therefore, during this period, one name was spoken of everywhere Humans lived…
At the same time, outside the Supreme Headquarters’ Universe Fragment, Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun were standing side by side. The latter was puzzled because he didn’t know why Yang Kai was trying to be mysterious by dragging him out here.
After parting ways with Wu Qing, Yang Kai had a fruitful journey as he travelled about while killing any Black Ink Clansmen he found along the way. However, the Black Ink Clan soldiers were scattered throughout all the Great Territories, and with the current situation, it would be hard to find them all because they would be in hiding. Since Yang Kai couldn’t do much about it alone, he decided to hand this matter over to the 12 Armies. They had separated into individual Divisions and were now sweeping through the Great Territories, wiping out any remnants of the Black Ink Clan who were in hiding.
Yang Kai believed that the Black Ink Clansmen left in the 3,000 Worlds would be entirely annihilated in a matter of a few years. Only then would the 3,000 Worlds be considered fully reclaimed.
Of course, reclaiming the 3,000 Worlds only had a symbolic significance to the Humans because the current 3,000 Worlds was a barren land with nothing but destroyed Universe Worlds and broken Universe Fragments floating about the void.
Therefore, even if the Humans had fully reclaimed the 3,000 Worlds, those who left their homelands still couldn’t return to them. It could be said that this was an extremely sad situation, but nothing could be done about it.
As such, Yang Kai didn’t waste any more time searching for remnants of the Black Ink Clan and instead returned to the Supreme Headquarters to find Mi Jing Lun.
He had gathered quite a lot of things and it was now time to share them.
“Junior Brother, what are we doing here?” Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but ask.
Yang Kai said dismissively, “Calm down, Senior Brother. I have a surprise for you.”
While saying so, Yang Kai reached into his robes and took out a sphere he had shrunk using his Space-Time River before throwing it out.
Feeling confused, Mi Jing Lun looked upwards and saw the small Space-Time River was filled with dense Dao Strengths. Even as a Ninth-Order Master, he couldn’t help but feel astonished.
He sensed something special about the Space-Time River; also, he knew that although they were both Ninth-Order Masters, Yang Kai’s attainment in the various Grand Daos was much higher and more numerous than his own achievements.
The Space-Time River was spinning like a ball of loose thread, and it would expand a little with every turn. As time passed, it expanded to become something majestic-looking.
In just a short moment, a huge object appeared in Mi Jing Lun’s sight, thoroughly shocking him.
He had realised what it was when it had just begun taking form, but he wasn’t sure until he finally saw the full, majestic, nearly intact Great Pass!
Yang Kai raised his hand and summoned back his Space-Time River, returning the Dao Strengths back to his body. Then, he turned to look at Mi Jing Lun, “Senior Brother, how about using this as the future Supreme Headquarters?”
While gazing at Yang Kai with mixed emotions, Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Good idea!”
He grabbed Yang Kai’s arms and ushered, “Come. Take a look with me.”
Side by side, the two strode towards the majestically-standing Great Pass, and when they arrived at the entrance, they looked up at the worn characters engraved there and fell silent.
This Great Pass used to be a critical weapon in the war against the Black Ink Clan. For hundreds of thousands of years, legions of Humans had shed blood in and around this Great Pass. The Humans managed to keep the Black Ink Clan trapped in the Black Ink Battlefield in large part thanks to these Great Passes.
The void was silent, but when they arrived before the Great Pass, the two felt like they could still hear the sounds of the brutal wars fought here long ago. They were the sounds of Human soldiers fighting against the Black Ink Clan, along with sounds of the last moments of their lives.
This Great Pass used to stand majestically on the Black Ink Battlefield, like all other Great Passes. It had also previously accompanied the Human Race Army on its crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. However, the Humans were ultimately defeated and forced to abandon this Great Pass outside the No-Return Pass.
Having fallen into the hands of the enemy, the Black Ink Clan naturally wouldn’t cherish this weapon. Although the Great Pass was mostly intact, the Inner Sanctum was a wreck, and there were all kinds of traces left behind from the Black Ink Clan removing their Black Ink Nests.
Two figures walked around the Great Pass and soon arrived before a huge monument. Every Great Pass possessed a Monument of Heroes which recorded the names and origins of every soldier that died in battle there.
This monument was also the only trace their Ancestors left in this world because, during the battles, most of the soldiers who died would perish without corpses.
After cleaning away the thick layer of dust on the Monument of Heroes, Mi Jing Lun sighed, “Junior Brother, you’re too thoughtful.”
With this Great Pass, the Supreme Headquarters could move around more easily and didn’t have to simply remain in one area. Moreover, Mi Jing Lun had become a Ninth-Order Master, and with the help of this Great Pass, he would be able to make even larger contributions in future wars.
“It’s a pity that I couldn’t bring more of them back,” Yang Kai shook his head. As the Black Ink Clan also knew about the power of these Great Passes, letting Yang Kai bring one of them away was already their limit. It was impossible for Mo Na Ye to agree to Yang Kai bringing more of them back.
Of course, it was not like Yang Kai could bring another one with him anyway.
“Do we still have Pure Yang Pass’ Core?” Yang Kai asked.
Every Great Pass had a Core, as operating such a huge Great Pass wasn’t easy. When the Great Evolution Army reclaimed the Great Evolution Pass, they couldn’t find the Core and it almost delayed the Human Race’s crusade. In the end, Yang Kai entered the Void Crack and found the Core.
Since Great Evolution Pass had a Core, Pure Yang Pass would have one too. According to what Yang Kai knew, the Humans brought all the remaining Cores with them when they withdrew to the Barren Territory.
So, Pure Yang Pass’ Core was most likely with them, but Yang Kai didn’t know who was guarding it.
“We still have it. All the Cores from the Great Passes are with Senior Sister Xiao Xiao. I’ll go and ask her for it later,” Mi Jing Lun replied, but then he suddenly felt frustrated, “It will take a lot of resources to repair this thing.”
When the Humans abandoned the No-Return Pass, they not only brought away the Cores, but also all the artifacts and Spirit Arrays they could take. Those that they couldn’t bring away were destroyed lest the Black Ink Clan used them.
Therefore, this Great Pass was now just an empty shell. If they wanted to restore it to its full potential, they would have to renovate it almost from scratch, which would cost an unfathomable amount of resources. Right now, the Humans biggest concern was the general lack of materials and resources.
In simpler terms, they were dirt poor!
Yang Kai laughed and took out a number of Space Rings, saying, “I forgot to tell you, Pure Yang Pass isn’t the only thing I brought back from the Black Ink Clan. There’s also this.”
Mi Jing Lun’s eyes lit up when he saw the Space Rings, “How much is there?”
Yang Kai replied, “About 100 million sets of Fifth-Order materials.”
When Mi Jing Lun heard that, he was so shocked that his face visibly twitched, “How could the Black Ink Clan have agreed to this?”
If Yang Kai hadn’t had such a remarkable battle record, Mi Jing Lun would have thought he had made some sort of secret deal with the Black Ink Clan; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten such a frightening amount.
“It wasn’t up to them whether they agreed or not,” while Yang Kai spoke, he threw the Space Rings over to Mi Jing Lun.
With so many resources on hand, the Humans had one less thing to worry about. Moreover, the 12 Armies should have looted quite a lot on their recent conquest; after all, the Black Ink Clan needed a lot of resources too, so every Black Ink Clan Army would carry many valuable materials on them, all of which belonged to the Humans.
But Mi Jing Lun still couldn’t believe that Yang Kai could snatch so much from the Black Ink Clan. It was clearly something that benefited the enemy, yet the Black Ink Clan still agreed to it, which showed how wary they were of Yang Kai.
At the Star Boundary’s High Heaven Palace.
A ray of light swept in from a distance, stopping after reaching a Grand Hall, revealing a toned figure. When the figure’s aura surged, it was obvious that the visitor was an Eighth-Order Master with strong cultivation.
Despite reaching the Eighth Order, Zhao Lun still didn’t dare to act arrogantly after arriving here because this was High Heaven Palace, the Sect of the Dao Lord.
He had previously visited High Heaven Palace a few times because the Dao Lord had left behind several Sealed Words here. All disciples from the Void Dao Temple had trained in those Sealed Worlds and received rewarding results.
When Zhao Lun was still in the Emperor Realm, he already believed that the Dao Lord was very powerful, and the more his cultivation increased, the more he realized how unfathomable the Dao Lord was.
He came from the Void Dao Temple, had outstanding talent and aptitude, and was proficient in the Dao of Space, so he had made quite a lot of contributions on the battlefield. Also, he had previously led fellow soldiers into battle and even beheaded an enemy commander while facing millions of enemies.
He was also considered a well-known figure in the Profound Nether Army because, as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was a powerhouse no matter which Army he was in. More importantly, he had directly ascended to the Seventh Order back then and was expected to become a Ninth Order Master in the future.
A month ago, he received a transfer order from the Supreme Headquarters, directing him to return to the Star Boundary’s High Heaven Palace immediately.
Despite not knowing what happened, since this was a direct order from the Supreme Headquarters, he wouldn’t dare to disobey. So, he dropped everything he was doing and immediately flew back.
Even so, he had a vague guess. Since this was an order from the Supreme Headquarters that involved High Heaven Palace, it must be related to the Dao Lord.
Since the battles at all frontlines were almost at their end and looking for the surviving Black Ink Clansmen was a tedious but not dangerous job, he didn’t mind being absent.
[I wonder why the Dao Lord summoned me. Maybe it’s something important…]
Zhao Lun felt excited inside and fixed up his clothes before entering the Grand Hall.
When he walked inside though, he immediately felt several pairs of eyes looking at him. He was surprised, but then burst out laughing as he realised that he wasn’t the only one who had received orders from the Supreme Headquarters.
“It’s Senior Brother Zhao Lun.”
“Senior Brother Zhao, over here!” Someone called him.
Looking in that direction, Zhao Lun saw a few familiar faces. He smiled and nodded before approaching them.
There were many people inside the Grand Hall, about 70 or 80 gathered into small groups while chatting with each other. Zhao Lun found some Fellow Brothers and Sisters he was familiar with and then noticed that all the people called here were disciples from the Void Dao Temple. Also, all of them were proficient in the Dao of Space.
Not only them, but there were also some from the Phoenix Clan; however, unlike the enthusiastic atmosphere among the Fellow Disciples from the Void Dao Temple, the Phoenix Clansmen were quietly sitting upright to the side and seemed a little unapproachable.
All high-level Humans had more or less had some interaction with the Phoenix Clan, and even if they didn’t, they would have experience with other Divine Spirits. They knew Divine Spirits were mostly arrogant, especially ones like the Phoenix Clan, so they weren’t bothered by this.
The Void Dao Temple disciples had large age gaps because the flow of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was different from the outside world. With Yang Kai being a Ninth-Order Master and his attainments in the Dao of Time reaching new heights, the difference in flow rate was already 10:1. In other words, ten years inside his Small Universe was equivalent to one year outside.
As Yang Kai had brought them out from the Dao Temple in batches, the gap between some Fellow Disciples was measured in tens of thousands of years. If it were in an ordinary Sect, such an age gap would only appear between members several dozen generations apart. However, the Void Dao Temple wasn’t just any ordinary Sect.
Moreover, age didn’t matter because being born from the same place gave them a natural bond with one another, so all the disciples from the Void Dao Temple would help each other regardless of whether they were familiar with each other.
Frankly speaking, if the disciples that Yang Kai trained in the Void Dao Temple were all gathered together, their heritage wouldn’t be much different from any Cave Heaven or Paradise. Those disciples with the right to leave the Void Dao Temple and break through to the Open Heaven Realm were all very talented. Even the weakest of them would directly break through to the Fifth Order, and there were a fair number who directly broke through to the Seventh Order. Many years had passed, and even the weakest among them would at least have reached the Sixth Order, while there were thousands of Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters scattered among all them.
The group of cultivators proficient in the Dao of Space gathered together and exchanged pleasantries for a while before casually sitting down and beginning to discuss their opinions and ideas about the Dao of Space. There were some times when another person’s words could help someone better understand something and gain more benefits. Also, different kinds of thinking combined together would definitely yield outstanding results.
The Dao of Space was renowned for being difficult to cultivate. Before Yang Kai, there were only a few Humans in the entire 3,000 Worlds that could be considered proficient in it. Other than that, only the Phoenix Clan were lucky enough to have the Dao of Space be their Bloodline Talent, so they naturally had a high mastery over it once they reached a certain level of strength.
But after Yang Kai, many disciples from the Void Dao Temple made use of this Grand Dao to its fullest potential.
Naturally, it wasn’t only the Masters of the Dao of Space that the Void Dao Temple produced, there were also quite a lot of cultivators who were now proficient in the Dao of Time. No matter if it were the Dao of Space or the Dao of Time, the cultivators cultivating them were all rare geniuses.
As time passed, disciples from the Dao Temple were constantly gathering, and it was not long before their numbers exceeded the 100 mark.
Among them, the weaker ones were in the Sixth Order, while the rest were in the Seventh Order or Eighth Order, but they were all proficient in the Dao of Space. Even without counting a dozen or so Phoenix Clan members, this was already a very shocking lineup.
They waited a few more days, and when about 150 people had assembled in the Grand Hall, no more arrived.
Although there were only 150 Void Dao Temple disciples gathered here, it didn’t mean that all the disciples cultivating the Dao of Space were present; only those with high attainments in the Dao of Space had been gathered. The other disciples that only knew the basics of the Dao of Space weren’t summoned.
Those who were gathered here had reached the Fourth Level of Mastery in the Dao of Space, Traversing a Familiar Path.
They chatted with each other for several days before two figures arrived and instantly attracted everyone’s attention.
Both of them were in the Eighth-Order and had solid auras. One of them was wearing full white and had a handsome face with a warm smile that even strangers would have a good impression of.
The other was in black robes and had a steady, mature temperament.
All the Dao Temple disciples became excited when they saw the man in black. Then, they began calling out ‘Eldest Senior Brother Miao’ and greeting him.
The Void Dao Temple disciples also greeted the man in white clothing, calling him “Senior Brother Li.”
The one being called Eldest Senior Brother Miao was naturally Miao Fei Ping.
Besides the Dao Lords’ three Legacy Disciples, Miao Fei Ping was the first disciple Yang Kai brought out of the Void World and the first disciple to break through to the Open Heaven Realm. Also, he was the first Temple Master of the Void Dao Temple. Even now, his statue was placed right below Yang Kai’s inside the Void Dao Temple, and his position as the Dao Temple’s Eldest Senior Brother was recognised by all.
Therefore, all the Dao Temple disciples, whether they had seen Miao Fei Ping in person or not, immediately recognised him.
As for the man in all white, he was a Master under the Star Boundary’s Martial Beast Great Emperor, Li Wu Yi.
Previously, there were only two people truly proficient in the Dao of Space in the Star Boundary, Li Wu Yi and Yang Kai. When they first met, Li Wu Yi’s attainments in the Dao of Space far exceeded Yang Kai’s, and he had previously mentored Yang Kai a lot in regards to the Grand Dao. Yang Kai benefited a lot from that advice.
Their relationship could be said to be both mentors and friends.
But with Yang Kai’s constant growth, his attainments in the Dao of Space gradually surpassed his Senior’s. Now, no matter whether it was Yang Kai’s cultivation or his attainments in the Dao of Space, both had surpassed Li Wu Yi by a wide margin.
However, Li Wu Yi wasn’t an ordinary man. Back then, he was titled the first Master below the Great Emperors in the Star Boundary, which showed his talent and strength. If the Star Boundary’s bottle hadn’t been full, he would have long become a Great Emperor himself.
Over the years, his cultivation had soared, and though his attainments in the Dao of Space weren’t as high as Yang Kai’s, he had already reached the peak of the Seventh Level and would soon break through to the Eighth Level.
During the thousands of years of war against the Black Ink Clan, numerous Humans had made names for themselves, and Li Wu Yi was one of them. The reason such figures weren’t more famous was simply because they were all outshined by Yang Kai.
In terms of attainments in the Dao of Space, besides the members of the Phoenix Clan, Li Wu Yi was now the first under Yang Kai. That was something even Yang Kai’s Eldest Legacy Disciple, Zhao Ye Bai, could not compare to. Of course, comparing their ages, Zhao Ye Bai was much younger than Li Wu Yi, and attainments in any Grand Dao usually required many years of accumulation, so this only made sense.
Therefore, when Li Wu Yi entered, even the noble Phoenix Clansmen nodded their heads in greeting. Li Wu Yi had previously visited the Phoenix Nest to discuss the Dao of Space with the Phoenix Clan, and he had earned respect from several Phoenix Clan Masters with his strong attainments.
Moreover, Li Wu Yi was quite handsome and had a noble bearing, and the Phoenix Clan had an innate flaw, they judged people by their appearance. Those with good looks had a natural advantage when interacting with the Phoenix Clan, which was something Yang Kai couldn’t win against Li Wu Yi. If it had been Li Wu Yi who went to the No-Return Pass back then, the Phoenix Clan might have seen him as a welcomed guest.
Many disciples from the Void Dao Temple had previously gotten advice from Li Wu Yi; after all, Yang Kai was like a Hidden Dragon who showed his tail but never his face, so it was always difficult to find him.
Li Wu Yi, on the other hand, would frequently return to the Star Boundary to rest and recover, and each time he did, the disciples from the Void Dao Temple enjoyed coming over to listen to his teachings and have discussions with him about the Dao of Space.
In the eyes of the disciples of the Void Dao Temple, while the Dao Lord would always be supreme, Senior Brother Li was a much more reliable teacher.
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Wu Yi and Miao Fei Ping stood before everyone.
Looking around, Li Wu Yi smiled, “Everyone here is an elite from the various Armies; also, you’re all from the Void Dao Temple and are proficient in the Dao of Space. We have gathered all of you, and our friends from the Phoenix Clan, here because of the Dao Lord’s orders. I am just serving as his messenger today.”
Meanwhile, Miao Fei Ping stood at the side with an expressionless face while secretly complaining, [It’s me who is the real messenger… You’re all proficient in the Dao of Space, while I’ve never cultivated it in my life… I stick out like a chicken among cranes…]
The reason Miao Fei Ping stood there was that he was the so-called ‘Eldest Senior Brother’ of the Void Dao Temple; after all, not all of the Dao Temple disciples knew Li Wu Yi because those who became Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield hadn’t interacted nearly as much with the latter. Moreover, the Dao Temple disciples here all had high cultivation and were very talented, so they might be arrogant and needed the Eldest Senior Brother to keep them under control!
With his help, Li Wu Yi could get these Dao Temple disciples to listen to them.
Li Wu Yi continued, “All of you here were called back from the various Armies, so you might already have a slight understanding of the situation. To sum it up, the Black Ink Clan was cowed by your Dao Lord’s powerful deterrence in E-5 Territory! They have recalled all their Pseudo-Royal Lords to the No-Return Pass, leaving the rest defenceless. Our Armies have broken the enemy Armies and slaughtered many of their soldiers, so it is only a matter of time before we reclaim the 3,000 Worlds.”
The group of Dao Temple disciples below all had proud expressions. Since they were from the Void Dao Temple, they were destined to be bound to Yang Kai’s success and failures. The more powerful Yang Kai was, the prouder they were as Dao Temple disciples. Although the Dao Lord was always like a hidden Dragon who showed his tail but never his face and always seemed unreachable, it didn’t stop these disciples from respecting him.
Li Wu Yi changed the topic, “But don’t celebrate just yet. The 3,000 Worlds originally belonged to us Humans, but when the Black Ink Clan invaded our home thousands of years ago, they defeated us and forced us to flee. Numerous Families were forced to abandon their ancestral legacy and inheritance, which they had accumulated for tens of thousands of years. It naturally felt like they had let their ancestors down. At this moment, the Humans have only reclaimed what they had once lost.”
“Moreover, since all the Pseudo-Royal Lords, and many of the Feudal Lords and Territory Lords retreated, the Black Ink Clan hasn’t suffered any substantial damage despite losing so many soldiers. That was because those Masters were the ones that were truly difficult to defeat. The rest were all cannon fodder. Additionally, according to what your Dao Lord has reported, it might not be long before the Black Ink Clan has new Royal Lords, so the victory in the 3,000 Worlds is not the end, but merely a new beginning!”
Li Wu Yi paused for a moment before continuing, “Even though we have reclaimed the 3,000 Worlds, there are still harder challenges and more difficulties for us to face, the first of which will be the No-Return Pass. The Human Race used to guard that place as it was the only entrance to the 3,000 Worlds, but now it has fallen into the Black Ink Clan’s hands. If we don’t take back the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan will eventually return someday. Even if we managed to take back the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan’s reign of terror still will not end. The Source, Mo, is being suppressed and sealed inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. That being is the origin of the Black Ink Clan’s invasion. The blood feud between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan is absolutely irreconcilable; so, how could we let the enemy have it easy while we suffer? Only by killing Mo can we finally rest at ease.”
Li Wu Yi’s words led the Dao Temple disciples to imagine all sorts of things. Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Brother, did the Dao Lord gather us here because he wants to accumulate more strength and ambush the Black Ink Clan’s base?”
It wasn’t wrong for that person to think this way because everyone present, whether they were Dao Temple disciples or Phoenix Clan, were proficient in the Dao of Space. Except for Eldest Senior Brother Miao…
With so many people proficient in the Dao of Space gathered in one spot, they had a natural advantage when doing missions together, and the Black Ink Clan would definitely not see them coming.
While looking at that person, Li Wu Yi laughed and shook his head, “No, he didn’t…”
[This guy sure is imaginative. If we attacked the No-Return Pass with only these many people, it would be suicide.]
Li Wu Yi wore a serious expression while explaining, “Your Dao Lord said that after taking back the 3,000 Worlds, the Human Race and Black Ink Clan would have a short period of peace. If we want to win the following battles though, we must act first and think of a way to take back the No-Return Pass before starting a crusade against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Only then do we stand a chance to prevail; however, without mentioning the journey to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, even heading to the No-Return Pass is already a long journey. If we move together as one Army, the journey to the No-Return Pass alone will take up a lot of time, and once the war begins, it will be impossible to end in a short period. Also, it will be a problem if we want to send reinforcements to the frontlines.”
After hearing this, the crowd nodded.
The 3,000 Worlds was expansive, and the Black Ink Battlefield was vast. Even with Seventh or Eighth-Order cultivation, the journey would still take a long while. Time was an essential factor during the war because the more time the Army wasted in transit, the more time the enemy had to prepare.
This was a problem that neither the Black Ink Clan nor Human Race could solve easily.
“That is why!” Li Wu Yi looked serious while speaking, “Your Dao Lord has suggested forming the Void Guard. First, we gather the elites proficient in the Dao of Space, all of you, and then we will use massive Space Arrays to pave a path from our home base to the battlefield in advance. That way, the Grand Army can save a lot of time travelling to the battlefield, and logistics and reinforcements can be moved to the frontlines at any time.”
When the crowd heard this, they finally understood why so many Dao Temple disciples and Phoenixes proficient in the Dao of Space were gathered here.
Indeed, if they succeeded in forming such a path with Space Arrays, the communication between the frontlines and the rear would become much more efficient. However, this was a mammoth task that would require a lot of resources.
On the other hand, even if they didn’t build such a pathway, they would still require a lot of resources every time they deployed their Armies, which the Humans couldn’t afford with their current heritage.
Since this idea came from the Dao Lord though, he must have a reason for forming the Void Guard. If they succeeded, the benefits must outweigh the losses. In the future, the Humans could use this corridor and secure a large advantage, whether it was the battle at the No-Return Pass or the following crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
None of the Open Heaven Realm Masters here were fools, so they understood that point and were secretly excited.
Zhao Lun cupped his fist and said, “Senior Brother, since we’re going to be the Void Guard, please give us our instructions on what we should do.”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Li Wu Yi smiled and nodded, “The formation of the Void Guard has been submitted to and approved by the Supreme Headquarters, and your names have been recorded while you were en route. So, all of you are considered members of the Void Guard already.” Then, he turned to look at the Phoenixes, “That includes our friends from the Phoenix Clan as well.”
The Phoenixes, led by Huang Si Niang, all nodded.
Afterwards, Li Wu Yi became serious again and quickly said, “The Void Guard’s first mission is to look for structures to house the new Space Arrays. Fortunately, we already have such structures and won’t need to build them from scratch, all you need to do is look for them.”
“Senior Brother, you mean…” Zhao Lun had a vague guess, but he wasn’t sure.
Li Wu Yi explained, “The Universe Temples! Nearly every Great Territory has their own Universe Temple. When the Black Ink Clan occupied the 3,000 Worlds, a few of those Universe Temples were naturally destroyed, but most of them are still intact. So, your mission is to visit each Great Territory and move those scattered Universe Temples to the Star Boundary. We will repair those Universal Temples to use as the basis for the new Space Arrays.”
Once he finished, everyone understood.
A Universe Temple was indeed a good choice as a base. It was initially something left over from the Early Ancient Era and could allow one to cross a Great Territory rapidly. Cultivators had previously used the Universe Temples to move to the centre of Great Territories from their outer edge, halving travel time at least. But since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, some of the Universe Temples were destroyed, and those that weren’t would have had their Arrays destroyed, rendering them unusable.
Letting the Void Guard search for those Universe Temples was the best choice because they were proficient in the Dao of Space, so they could move more quickly and thus save a great amount of time.
At that moment, Miao Fei Peng, who had been standing to the side without saying anything, came forward and took out a list of names before calling out the names, “Hua Tong.”
An Eighth-Order Master seated below responded by coming forward and cupping his fists, “Here!”
Miao Fei Ping took out a Universe Chart from his Small Universe and threw it at Hua Tong, “Follow the trail marked on the Universe Chart to the Great Territory and search for the Universe Temple there. Be quick!”
After receiving the Universe Chart, Hua Tong briefly checked and said, “Yes!”
Then, he swept away and soon disappeared into the distance.
Miao Fei Peng continued, “Zhao Lun!”
“Here!” Zhao Lun responded and came forward.
…
One after another, names were called out. The Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters moved alone while the Sixth-Order Masters acted in groups. Following the distribution of the Universe Charts prepared in advance, the disciples in the Grand Hall gradually left.
In the end, the dozens of Phoenixes also received their tasks and departed.
Soon, only Li Wu Yi and Miao Fei Ping were left in the Grand Hall.
Once the last Phoenixes left, Li Wu Yi said, “Junior Brother Miao, I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m leaving as well.”
He needed to search the Great Territories, too, quite a few of them.
Miao Fei Peng nodded, saying, “Senior Brother may rest assured.”
What followed was easy because he only needed to wait for his Junior Brothers and the Phoenix Clansmen to retrieve the Universe Temples. As for being a Void Guard, he was only included because he was the Dao Temple’s Eldest Senior Brother.
“By the way, do you know where the Dao Lord is currently?” Miao Fei Peng couldn’t help but ask.
He thought Yang Kai would be at High Heaven Palace, but after asking Head Manager Hua, he discovered that Yang Kai never returned.
Li Wu Yi frowned slightly before whispering, “I heard he and the other Ninth-Order Masters have gone to the Barren Territory, but I don’t know if that’s true.”
The whereabouts of the Ninth-Order Masters were still confidential, and Li Wu Yi only casually asked Mi Jing Lun about it when he received orders from the Supreme Headquarters to form the Void Guard.
After hearing that, Miao Fei Ping was shocked, “The Barren Territory, but that’s…”
Since it was a group of Ninth-Order Masters going there, their intentions were easy to guess. At that moment, Miao Fei Peng couldn’t help recalling many things and revealed a worried expression.
Chuckling, Li Wu Yi patted Miao Fei Ping’s shoulders, “You don’t have to worry about what the Ninth-Order Masters are doing. We just have to accomplish our own tasks. I’ll be off now.”
While saying so, he manipulated Space Principles and took one step forward. Then, his figure faded.
On the other hand, Miso Fei Ping stood in place and thought about something for a while before sighing.
As Li Wu Yi said, taking back the 3,000 Worlds didn’t mean the war had ended. This was only a new start, with the Humans having only taken back what they had lost to the Black Ink Clan. They still had a long way to go regarding ending the Black Ink Clan invasion!
At the Barren Territory, the battle was still ongoing.
This used to be a battlefield where four Giant Spirit Gods fought in pairs, and others found it hard to interfere with their violent battle; however at this moment, several figures were working together with Ah Da to surround and attack a Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Those figures were the Ninth-Order Masters led by Yang Kai.
There was Xiang Shan, Ou Yang Lie, Wei Jun Yang, Luo Ting He, Xiao Xiao, and even Wu Qing, who had been guarding the Shattered Heaven Territory Gate.
Since the war in the 3,000 Worlds had basically ended, the Human Race Armies were dispersed into Divisions to hunt down and eliminate the remnants of the Black Ink Clan; therefore, it was just a matter of time before they could reclaim their lost land.
Among the challenges the Humans now had to face, the first would be how they would retake the No-Return Pass.
If they wanted to recapture the No-Return Pass, the first issue they had to deal with was the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory. That was why Yang Kai immediately contacted the other Ninth-Order Masters after handing over Pure Yang Pass and the resources he took from the Black Ink Clan to Mi Jing Lun and came straight over to the Barren Territory to join the battle.
Every Giant Spirit God was exceedingly powerful. In terms of combat strength, each Giant Spirit God had power that exceeded Ninth-Order Masters and Royal Lords by a wide margin. Up until now, the Humans only had one successful attempt at killing a Black Ink Giant Spirit God, which was back when the Black Ink Clan invaded the Barren Territory for the first time, and even that was only accomplished with assistance from Ah Er.
What’s more, back then, the Humans had many more top Masters. There were dozens of Ninth-Order Masters and the leaders of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, as well as many other powerful Divine Spirits.
Even with such a lineup, they had paid a huge price to kill that Black Ink Giant Spirit God, with several Ninth-Order Masters dying in the battle.
Although the Human Race had far more Eight-Order Masters now, there weren’t nearly as many Ninth-Order Masters; therefore, this battle wasn’t to kill the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai only wanted to gauge how powerful a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was!
In the past, he wasn’t qualified to fight with such existences. Now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, he had the qualifications to do so. Being one of the current top combat forces, Yang Kai had to know the difference between his opponent’s strength and his own to plan for the future.
Dao Strength surged and the Space-Time River swirled as a figure flickered about. Even though they had Ah Da helping them distract the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the several Ninth-Order Masters still weren’t at an advantage.
Their opponent’s attacks were extremely simple, but the raw strength behind them was more than enough to overcome any difference in skill or method. It could take on all the Ninth-Order Masters’ continuous attacks, but the Ninth-Order Masters couldn’t ignore a single one of its strikes.
Fortunately, every one of the Ninth-Order Masters present was a veteran of thousands of battles, which was why no one had been hurt yet.
All the new Ninth-Order Masters now experienced the pressure the Old Ancestors felt back then. Back then, Ah Da had not been around, so the Old Ancestors had to face such a being on their own. The Old Ancestors bravely fought that humongous thing, sacrificing themselves for the greater good.
Black Ink Strength surged again and Ou Yang Lie, who was closest to the front, was sent flying. His arms blocking the attack shook uncontrollably while a trace of fresh blood seeped out of the corner of his lips.
Even though he was sent flying, he managed to work with the other Ninth-Order Masters to contain the enemy.
Having noticed such a good opportunity, Yang Kai summoned the Great Sun and Moon Marks. A bright light was released, transforming into a Great Sun that enveloped the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
The white light only appeared briefly before it was dispelled by dense Black ink Strength and vanishing without a trace.
This move did manage to injure the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but it didn’t cause any substantial damage to it.
Without giving the enemy a chance to recover, Yang Kai stepped forward and arrived on top of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. The next moment, he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear. While the Space-Time River swirled around the spear, Yang Kai’s figure also began spinning like a top.
A loud Dragon Roar sounded as Yang Kai merged with his spear, transforming into a bright beam of light and shooting down at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s forehead. Afterwards, black blood spurting out of the spot Yang Kai’s spear landed.
The Dao Strengths accumulated inside the Space-Time River increased the force of the spear attack to the extreme, creating a terrifying attack that would pierce a hole in the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s head if it didn’t react in time. Feeling the sharp pain, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared in anger before slapping its large palm on its head like it was swatting an annoying fly.
How could the group of Ninth-Order Masters let that happen, though? While the Dao Strengths gradually dispersed, several Secret Techniques were sent out, forming a kind of restraint that bound the Black ink Giant Spirit God’s raised arm. However, those restraints failed to work because its raised hand was still swinging at an unstoppable speed.
At that crucial moment, Ah Da suddenly made a move and lunged at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, grabbing its shoulder and locking it in place while letting the palm land on his own body like raindrops.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The Universe shook and the Void split. Ah Da’s body trembled from the beating, and he couldn’t help but let go.
“Hou!” The Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared madly.
When the other Black Ink Giant Spirit God noticed this situation, it didn’t bother with its own enemy and quickly abandoned Ah Er before charging towards its companion.
Even though Ah Er wanted to stop it, he couldn’t react in time.
The next moment, the second Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods arrived on this part of the battlefield. The enormous creature came crashing over without any extra actions and sent Ah Da and his companions flying.
All the Ninth-Order Masters were sent tumbling under the violent attack, and each flew out in different directions. All of them felt helpless as they had no way of dealing with such a savage rescue method.
When they finally found their footing and looked over, they saw the two Black Ink Spirit Gods had taken the chance to escape towards the Territory Gate and even send Ah Da flying out on the way.
“Trying to escape?” Xiang Shan coldly snorted before chasing after them, followed by the rest of the Ninth-Order Masters.
Again, Yang Kai took one step forward and arrived before the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. When the second Black Ink Spirit God arrived earlier, he was sent flying out. Since his killing technique was interrupted halfway, his vitality was now messed up, and his complexion seemed pale.
When facing the two incoming humongous beings, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate to use his Dragon Transform to assume his 100,000-metre Dragon Form.
Even after transforming into his Dragon Form though, he was still incomparable in size to the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, which showed just how enormous these two were.
The Divine Dragon swept his tail and used his body to block the way, but the two opponents instantly broke through his blockade, sending the huge Dragon flying once more.
Once Yang Kai steadied himself, he saw that the two Black Ink Spirit Gods had arrived before the Territory Gate. One of them placed its hand on the Territory Gate and madly released its Black Ink Strength. Then, a slight crack appeared on the sealed Territory Gate.
As for the other Black Ink Giant Spirit God, it stood before its companion and took on all the Ninth-Order Master’s attacks. Meanwhile, Ah Da and Ah Er also attacked from both sides and began throwing punches and kicks at it, causing space to warp and tremble.
If ordinary Masters encountered such a violent storm of attacks, they would have been rendered a blood mist, but the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods weren’t ordinary by any definition. Even though it was in a disadvantageous state, it wasn’t life-threatening.
By the time Yang Kai arrived, the sealed Territory Gate already had a hole in it, and through it was a vague image of the No-Return Pass on the other side.
Right then, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods’ bodies quickly shrank. They ignored the attacks from all directions and entered the Territory Gate one after another.
On the other side, the No-Return Pass clearly felt the movement and Mo Na Ye and Mu Yu hurriedly led the many Black Ink Clan Masters over to help.
Ah Da and Ah Er’s bodies were also beginning to shrink, as they clearly wanted to chase after the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
Though Giant Spirit Gods were mighty, they didn’t have high sentience, so they couldn’t stand the idea of letting their enemies run away, especially Ah Er, who had been fighting his opponent for thousands of years.
Flustered, Yang Kai dashed over and stopped them.
After some time persuading them, he managed to calm Ah Da and Ah Er down. He then turned around and looked through the swirling Territory Gate to stare at the many Black Ink Clansmen.
Mo Na Ye opened his mouth and briefly said something, and though Yang Kai couldn’t hear what he was saying, he knew without having to think about it that it was some sort of provocation.
Ignoring him, Yang Kai glanced at them momentarily before using Space Principles to re-seal the Territory Gate. Sealing the Territory Gate wasn’t much use, but it was better than not sealing it.
The battle ended just like that.
The ones participating in this fight were the strongest Masters from both sides, and the Humans had even sent out all the Ninth-Order Masters they could. Although they managed to force the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods back to the No-Return Pass, they didn’t achieve any substantial victory.
However, this experience was enough because Yang Kai never intended to do anything to the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods today. With the Human Race’s current strength, they couldn’t kill such a being, so forcing it to retreat was their only goal.
Now that all of the Black Ink Clan’s forces had gathered inside the No-Return Pass, the Humans would only have to deal with one target in the future, which made their goal even clearer.
But Ou Yang Lie felt discouraged and spoke up after a while, “How did the Old Ancestors manage to kill such a thing back then?”
Ou Yang Lie didn’t participate in the battle at the No-Return Pass either because he was separated from the Great Evolution Army back then while retreating. Many of the soldiers retreated to the No-Return Pass while Xiao Xiao covered for them back then, but some, like Ou Yang Lie, became remnants of the army, forced to hide on the Black Ink Battlefield. In the end, Yang Kai returned from deep within the Black Ink Battlefield, gathered them to attack the No-Return Pass, and killed their way into the Barren Territory.
It wasn’t strange that Ou Yang Lie would feel discouraged because after becoming a Ninth-Order Master, even if he wasn’t invincible, he was at least one of the strongest Humans alive. It wouldn’t be a problem for him to beat up a few Pseudo-Royal Lords, but after today’s battle with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, he thought that being a Ninth-Order Master seemed like nothing.
Wu Qing said, “They were quite lucky back then. The Black Ink Clan had already decided to sacrifice that Black Ink Giant Spirit God, which is how they were able to take it down. What’s more, several Ninth-Order Masters died in that battle.”
“We still don’t have enough Ninth-Order Masters,” Xiang Shan frowned. At this point, the Humans only had eight Ninth-Order Masters that could be deployed, including Mi Jing Lun. Such a lineup of Ninth-Order Masters was nothing compared to the lineup from back then.
But it was already difficult for Humans to become Ninth-Order Masters, and it had taken over 100,000 years of accumulation to achieve the glorious lineup of over 100 Ninth-Order Old Ancestors on the Black Ink Battlefield. No one knew how long it would take for them to return to such glory.
The Human Race’s heritage had grown to become more powerful than before. Many talented Humans were born from the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles, the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World. Yang Kai’s Small Universe also helped. According to estimations, over 1,000 talented Humans advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm in the past few thousand years.
On average, one or two such talents would appear every ten years, and every one of them had a chance to become Ninth-Order Masters.
Before the appearance of the Open Heaven Realm Cradles, the Humans would never have imagined having so many talented youths who could become Ninth-Order Masters. Any one of the Cave Heavens or Paradises would cherish such talents and use all their available resources to nurture them.
Now, 80% of those who directly advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm had become Eighth-Order Masters, with the earliest batch of those talents having already reached the peak of the Eighth-Order.
It could be said that these rising stars represented the Human Race’s future. Once one of them became a Ninth-Order Master, the Humans would constantly have new Ninth-Order Masters appearing, with the promise of more in the near future. If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before the Humans surpassed their past glory, let alone restored it.
While the few current Ninth-Order Masters were reminiscing about the past, Yang Kai was coaxing Ah Da and Ah Er.
As they were previously about to chase after their enemy, they had shrunk their humongous bodies. Even though they still seemed as big as mountains, they were much smaller than they used to be.
Yang Kai had a kind expression as he looked at the two innocent Giant Spirit Gods, asking, “Do you understand? Don’t go anywhere and stay here. If the other side tries to open the gate, just beat them up and make them go back to where they came from.”
Ah Da and Ah Er looked at him dazedly and said nothing, causing the atmosphere to feel awkward.
Just as Yang Kai was about to repeat his words, Ah Da suddenly nodded and said, “Okay!”
Yang Kai felt relieved!
Ah Er added, “So annoying. Why do you keep repeating…”
[I’m afraid you won’t understand if I don’t!] Yang Kai rolled his eyes.
At that moment, Ah Da sat down and rubbed his belly, “I’m hungry.”
Ah Er nodded, “Hungry!”
Hearing that, Yang Kai felt his headache grow worse and gave Ah Da a sideways glance, not understanding what he was doing.
It was fine if Ah Er said he was hungry because he had been in the Barren Territory, fighting the Black Ink Giant Spirit God for thousands of years non-stop. After so many years of battle, he must have consumed a lot of energy, so it was reasonable for him to feel hungry.
But why the heck was Ah Da hungry? Ah Da had been asleep until Xiao Xiao woke him up a few years ago. He was the absolute epitome of laziness, sleeping until he was hungry and then finding something to eat then sleeping again.
While rubbing his forehead, Yang Kai told them, “Wait a moment while I find something for you to eat.”
The Giant Spirit God Clan fed on dead Universe Worlds, but there weren’t any suitable dead Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds left. Many of the Great Territories here were already barren, and any Universe Worlds still present would have been corrupted with Black Ink Strength. To the Giant Spirit Gods, this was akin to spilling shit onto their food. How could they stand to eat something like that?
The only place where there might be dead Universe Worlds was the New Great Territory, which was now known as Myriad Monsters Territory.
There were quite a number of Universe Worlds there, and many of them hadn’t developed any vitality and had incomplete World Principles. Perhaps those Universe Worlds could help fill Ah Da and Ah Er’s stomachs.
After thinking about it, Yang Kai said, “Let me tell you this. The Black Ink Clan made a mess of the 3,000 Worlds and destroyed all the Universe Worlds, so it will be hard for you to find food in the future.”
Ah Da and Ah Er immediately became furious.
Yang Kai continued, “So, if you don’t want to feel hungry, you have to deal with the Black Ink Clan first! Once that’s done, I’ll bring you deep into the Black Ink Battlefield. In that place, there are countless Universe Worlds and you can eat however many you want to.”
The two Giant Spirit Gods were immediately motivated while Ah Da smacked his lips.
Meanwhile, Ah Er determinedly bellowed, “Kill Black Ink Clan!”
When Yang Kai heard that, he nodded delightedly, “Yes, kill Black Ink Clan. Smash every one of them!”
After exhorting them to guard this place and not let any Black Ink Clansmen come through the Territory Gate, Yang Ki finally finished his conversation with them, feeling only somewhat confident he got his point across.
On the other hand, the rest of the Ninth-Order Masters weren’t chatting; instead, they were quietly looking at him from the side.
When Yang Kai flew over, he saw strange expressions on their faces.
Xiao Xiao chuckled, “The way you were acting just now seemed like a bad guy trying to trick children with candied fruits.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai glared at her, “Do you think everyone is the same as you?”
Even now, he could still remember when he was at Yin-Yang Pass and bumped into the heavily injured Xiao Xiao. Back then, she looked just like a child, and her favourite foods were candied fruits and steamed stuffed buns.
Immediately after that, Xiao Xiao coldly snorted, “Are you looking for a beating? You used to always affectionately address me as ‘Old Ancestor.’ How can you speak to me this way now?”
While saying so, she approached Yang Kai and pinched his ear,
[Do you have some sort of misunderstanding about the word ‘affectionate’?]
After silently complaining, Yang Kai didn’t dodge and let her pinch his ear. He turned to Wu Qing and said seriously, “Senior Brother Wu, I still need to trouble you to guard this place. The remnants of the Black Ink Clan might still manage to make it here. Also, we have to guard against the No-Return Pass. I think it’s too risky leaving Ah Da and Ah Er here without anyone overseeing the situation.”
Of course, Wu Qing wouldn’t mind, so he simply nodded, “Then I’ll stay here.”
Yang Kai said, “Senior Brother, rest assured. It won’t be for long.”
Now that the matters at the Barren Territory were considered solved, the next phase would be the No-Return Pass!
In fact, according to the current situation, the Humans should take this opportunity to recuperate and accumulate more strength. Thousands of years had passed, and the Humans had significantly increased their heritage while more and more Masters had emerged. Now that the Black Ink Clan was chased out of the 3,000 Worlds and the Humans had reclaimed their lost lands, it was just a matter of months or years before there would be new Ninth-Order Masters appearing.
As for the Black Ink Clan, though there might be new Royal Lords, they couldn’t get more Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Therefore, the longer they dragged this out, the more advantageous it was for the Humans.
However, all such calculations were based on the idea that no hidden dangers emerged from the Primordial Heavens Grand Source Restriction.
Yang Kai had been constantly worried about that because no one knew when Mo would wake up. Many years ago, Yang Kai had placed a Universe World that wasn’t completely dead yet outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. That way, he could go there whenever he wanted by using the World Tree, and teleport to and from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
But now that the World Tree had fallen into a coma, Yang Kai couldn’t ask it for help, which meant he couldn’t head to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to check on the situation there so easily.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army there was helping Wu Kuang, but if Mo awoke, those forces alone wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Therefore, with such dangers looming over them, they had to take down the No-Return Pass as soon as possible. Only then could the Humans have the strength to confront the enemy inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Otherwise, the Humans wouldn’t dare to act recklessly with the No-Return Pass standing as the entrance to the 3,000 Worlds.
It could be said that the Ninth-Order Masters gathered here today came to help Ah Da and Ah Er chase away the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods so that they could better deal with the No-Return Pass in the future.
As for whether the Black Ink Clan would move away from the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about that.
The Black Ink Clan had gone through so much effort to take down the Great Passes, and placed all their foundations at the No-Return Pass, so they wouldn’t abandon it without a fight.
Moreover, they too could copy the Humans’ strategy and guard the No-Return Pass because leaving that place would only worsen their situation. They wouldn’t do that unless they were fools.
Yang Kai casually swatted Xiao Xiao’s hand away from his ear and ushered everyone, “Let’s go.”
After this battle, Yang Kai discovered the difference between his and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s strength. To sum it up, it was a big difference, but it wasn’t insurmountable. He had only just become a Ninth-Order Master a few hundred years ago, so technically speaking, he was only a newly promoted Ninth-Order Master.
He still had a huge room for improvement, but the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods couldn’t increase their strength.
Also, Yang Kai had estimated that if he were able to reach the peak of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he might be able to fight a Black Ink Giant Spirit God head-on.
Ordinary Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t reach such heights no matter how much they cultivated; however, Yang Kai had always been able to fight above his realm, so his ability was originally stronger than the cultivators in the same realm as him.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm’s heritage needed an extremely long time to build up. Without mentioning anyone else, even Xiao Xiao, who had become a Ninth-Order Master a couple tens of thousands of years ago, still hadn’t reached the peak.
That was why the Pure Yang Old Ancestors and other veteran Ninth-Order Old Ancestors made Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing stay behind when they sacrificed themselves.
In the eyes of those Old Seniors who had lived for who knows how many years, Xiao Xiao was the new generation’s Ninth-Order Master. Wu Qing was even more so because, like Yang Kai now, he had broken through to the Ninth Order only hundreds of years prior back then.
A Ninth-Order Master’s heritage was difficult to accumulate, but Yang Kai had innate advantages. Firstly, the flow of time in his Small Universe was 10 times faster than the outside world. His Small Universe was housing a lot of living beings and Small Stone Race members, which would constantly increase his heritage. Even if he didn’t cultivate, his strength would still be continually increasing.
The uniqueness of his Small Universe contributed a lot to why Yang Kai could break through to the Seventh-Order, Eighth-Order, and even the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm so quickly.
In addition, Yang Kai had a World Tree clone. The World Tree clone could not only isolate and protect his Small Universe, but it could also purify his World Force, increasing his strength.
That was also why Yang Kai’s strength was so much greater than average, since his heritage was constantly being refined and solidified. The World Force inside his Small Universe was purer than ordinary Ninth-Order Masters’, which was why Yang Kai’s attacks were more powerful.
But that wasn’t enough, because if Yang Kai wanted to quickly reach the peak of the Ninth Order, he still needed to refine a massive amount of resources.
On the way back, Yang Kai didn’t waste any time and stuffed handful after handful of Open Heaven Pills into his mouth like he was eating ordinary beans. With his current cultivation, the moment the Open Heaven Pills entered his stomach, they were transformed into pure strength and added to his Small Universe; therefore, he didn’t stop consuming the Open Heaven Pills for even a breath.
Xiang Shan and the others were dumbfounded by his actions.
Unknown to the others, there was also a large number of resources being refined accordingly inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe to increase his heritage.
In High Heaven Territory, the Star Boundary, a huge river rapidly flowed in a canyon not far away from the High Heaven Palace. The river was linked at both ends, forming a circle.
10,000 Grand Daos merged inside that large river, creating endless wonders.
Although there wasn’t a large commotion, it still attracted many people.
The first to arrive was Iron Blood Great Emperor Zhan Wu Hen, followed by Martial Beast Great Emperor Mo Huang. Later, Serene Soul Great Emperor Yao Jun, Bustling World Great Emperor Duan Hong Chen, and Flower Shadow Great Emperor Hua Ling Long appeared.
Now that there weren’t many battles on the frontlines, and the Black Ink Clan Army had been routed, leaving only a few scattered soldiers in hiding, the Star Boundary’s Great Emperors had returned to the Star Boundary to recuperate.
All these Great Emperors were Masters recognised by the Star Boundary’s Will and so they naturally returned here and could sense any changes that took place in the Universe World.
Since they had sensed movement here, they all came to investigate.
They had just arrived when two other figures came together and greeted the several Great Emperors.
The two who came last were the new Great Emperors that appeared in recent years.
With the Star Boundary’s current World Bottle, it could now support 14 Great Emperors, which was four more than before, when its limit was only 10. This was undoubted because of the World Tree Clone’s continuous nourishment. The increase in Great Emperor positions and the death of two Great Emperors, Heavens Revelation and Ice Feather, had given some rising stars a chance to shine.
Among all 14 Great Emperors, some were still in the middle of battle while some were in retreat, but they gathered here immediately after sensing the disturbance.
These two new Great Emperors were given the titles Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder. Both were disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, but beyond that identity, they were born and raised in the Star Boundary.
The two hadn’t been cultivating for a long time, so they were only Seventh-Order Masters; however, Zhan Wu Hen and the others didn’t look down on them because they directly broke through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and could break through to the Ninth-Order in the future.
Moreover, being Star Boundary Great Emperors meant they would grow far faster than others. Though they had only been Seventh-Order Masters for a few hundred years, both were already almost at the peak of their current Order, so it wouldn’t be long before they broke through to the Eighth-Order.
Now that all the Star Boundary Great Emperors had gathered here, the two youngest ones stared at the river in shock, with Scarlet Clouds asking, “What is Sir Yang up to?”
Wind and Thunder Great Emperor had the same question. They both knew of Yang Kai, but had never met him in person because he was a true hidden Dragon who never showed his face. At this moment, the Great Emperors looked over and saw the river was filled with Dao Strengths. Every wave contained many mysteries of the Grand Daos, making everyone feel astonished and curious.
Duan Hong Chen replied seriously, “I don’t know!”
Hearing that, Secret Clouds was shocked, [Even the experienced Sirs don’t know what is happening, so it must be something big!]
Yao Jun grimly added, “Although we don’t know what he’s doing, it’s clearly something momentous.”
Zhan Wu Hen glanced at Yao Hun with an expression that said he was speaking nonsense.
“Let’s just continue watching,” Mo Huang crossed his arms while standing there, waiting quietly.
The crowd immediately fell silent.
Meanwhile, the commotion in the river grew larger, and the Dao Strengths became noticeably denser. Not only were there Dao Strengths that Yang Kai summoned out himself, but the crowd also saw him retrieve strings of things, which resembled streams, and add them to his Space-Time River.
At first, the crowd didn’t pay much attention to these small additions, but when they got a clear glimpse of the streams, they were even more shocked because those stream-like things were also the embodiment of a myriad of Grand Daos. More importantly, the Dao Strengths contained within were extremely pure.
During that instance, the crowd couldn’t help but feel curious. How could someone have control over so many different Grand Daos and cultivate every single one to such a high level of mastery?
One hour later, following the addition of many streams, the Space-Time River began to tremble. Just as everyone was worried that Yang Kai was about to run out of strength to continue, they heard him bellow, “Open!”
The next moment, the Void twisted and changed. The Space-Time River’s circular area suddenly collapsed, revealing a spinning vortex. Then, the Dao Strengths from the 10,000 Grand Daos in the Space-Time River swarmed into the vortex, causing the rushing river to gradually calm down and return to a peaceful state.
“A Territory Gate?” Zhan Wu Hen raised his brow.
He wasn’t wrong to suspect that because the vortex spinning before them truly looked like a Territory Gate at first glance.
While shaking his head, Duan Hong Chen argued, “It looks like one, but don’t forget about the three Sealed Worlds in High Heaven Palace.”
There were three Sealed Worlds in High Heaven Palace, all of them specifically made by Yang Kai. They were the Time Dao Sealed World, the Space Dao Sealed World, and the Spear Dao Sealed World. Each of them was filled with Yang Kai’s comprehension and attainments of those three Grand Daos.
Yang Kai had thought that among the increasing number of Void Dao Temple disciples being brought out to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, there were bound to be some that took after him and cultivated one of his three primary Grand Daos. So, he specifically created those three Sealed Worlds to allow those disciples to head inside and gain more experience.
That way, he didn’t need to train them personally because the disciples who cultivated these three Grand Daos would be able to benefit from those three Sealed Worlds.
Of course, not only were those Sealed Worlds open to Dao Temple disciples, but even cultivators other than High Heaven Palace disciples could enter them. All one needed to do was to report to Hua Qing Si and get her approval.
Many members of the Dragon Clan had previously entered the Time Dao Sealed World; likewise, members of the Phoenix Clan had entered the Space Dao Sealed World. As for the cultivators who entered the Spear Dao Sealed World, there were too many to count.
Duan Hong Chen didn’t doubt Yang Kai’s ability to open another Territory Gate, but this place was secluded, so there was no need to open a Territory Gate here. Instead, he felt like this thing was similar to those three Sealed Worlds in High Heavens Palace.
Having heard that, the crowd thought about it briefly and nodded.
“We’ll know for sure after we ask him,” while saying so, Hua Ling Long went over and stood beside Yang Kai. Then, she looked up at the vortex and asked, “Is this a Sealed World?”
Yang Kai grabbed his Space-Time River, seeming to be thinking about something. He only came back to his senses after hearing the question and nodded, “Yes. This is the Myriad Dao Sealed World!”
“Myriad Dao Sealed World?” Hua Ling Long raised her brow while secretly criticizing how arrogant Yang Kai was being, but then she thought that this was something Yang Kai created, so no matter how arrogant he was, it was his choice.
“What’s the use of this Sealed World?”
Yang Kai explained, “I collected some pure Dao Strengths from the Universe Furnace. Since I have no use for them at the moment, I placed them all inside this Sealed World. Anyone can go inside to refine and absorb those Dao Strengths if needed and increase their understanding of the Grand Daos they cultivate.”
Back inside the Universe Furnace, Yang Kai had collected a huge amount of Dao Strengths, all of which he got from deep within the Infinite River and kept inside his Small Universe. Creating the Myriad Dao Sealed World was something he had thought about doing a long time ago, but he had been caught up in other matters and had only had time to create it today.
“Increase our attainments in the Grand Daos we cultivate?” The crowd became excited after hearing that.
The comprehension of Grand Daos was very mysterious. It wasn’t something like World Force inside one’s Small Universe, where they need only refine Open Heaven Pills or materials to improve. One could only get stronger in one’s use of their Grand Dao by improving on their comprehension and mastery over it.
If one wasn’t sharp enough, it might cause their cultivation of a Grand Dao to become stagnant. This had been a difficult-to-solve problem since ancient times.
One of the solutions was to find an extremely pure Dao Strength to absorb and refine, but pure Dao Strengths were extremely difficult to come across. Even if there were some at some point in the 3,000 World, they would have been taken away after so many years.
Therefore, the Great Emperors were excited after hearing Yang Kai say that a lot of pure Dao Strengths were kept inside the Myriad Dao Sealed World, especially Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder. Being the Star Boundary’s Great Emperors helped their cultivation increase at breakneck speed, and they had accumulated quite a fair amount of heritage inside their Small Universes as a result; however, they fell short when it came to the comprehension of their respective Grand Daos.
In fact, there was a second way to improve their comprehension and mastery of their Grand Dao, which was the Ordinary Grade Innate Open Heaven Pills from the Universe Furnace.
If there were still Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills from the Universe Furnace, they would only have to take a few of them to have a better understanding of their Grand Daos, but after hundreds of years, the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills brought out from the Universe Furnace had long been consumed. How could there still be any more of them?
Those large amounts of Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills were the reason for the Human Race’s sudden increase in military force, whereby a large group of Seventh-Order Masters advanced to become Eighth-Order Masters after the Universe Furnace closed. Otherwise, the frontlines wouldn’t have been able to push back the Black Ink Clan.
Back then, Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder felt remorse for being born too late, or else they might already be Eighth-Order Masters.
“You’re all welcome to enter if you’re interested,” Yang Kai offered casually.
“I was thinking of going in just when you said that!” Zhan Wu Hen spoke while stepping forward and dashing inside the Myriad Dao Sealed World. After that, everyone else followed and headed inside.
The few veteran Great Emperors had reached the peak of their cultivations, but the opportunity to increase their attainments in their Grand Daos was too good to pass up.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai didn’t bother with them and continued staring quietly at the Space-Time River while in a daze.
To create the Myriad Dao Sealed World, he pushed his Space-Time River to its limit; also, he temporarily fused the Dao Strengths of the 10,000 Grand Daos inside his Small Universe into the Space-Time River.
There was a moment when those Dao Strengths inside the Space-Time River became so dense that it almost exceeded his limit of control.
During that short moment, the 10,000 Dao Strengths inside the Space-Time River changed, seemingly having some sort of mysterious resonance.
Something inexplicably mysterious was being nurtured and born inside his Space-Time River at that moment!
However, after Yang Kai inserted a lot of Dao Strengths into the Myriad Dao Sealed World, that mysterious feeling disappeared, and the Space-Time River was restored to its original state.
That reminded Yang Kai of when he was in the Infinite River. Deep inside the river were countless gravel-like miniature Universe Worlds and also many small Celestial Phenomena.
Those gravel-like Universe Worlds and Celestial Phenomena didn’t just appear on their own, so they must naturally have been nurtured by the Infinite River. The Universe Furnace devoured Chaos and evolved its strength into the 10,000 Grand Daos inside itself. Then, it spat out the accumulated Dao Strengths and physical Worlds. This cycle repeated endlessly, refining Chaos before splitting Heaven and Earth apart.
As for Yang Kai’s Space-Time River, it was essentially a miniature Infinite River. This was something he comprehended after witnessing the mysteries surrounding the Infinite River, though it was without a doubt a simpler version.
The Infinite River passed through the entire Universe Furnace but was untouchable to many. Even one’s Divine Sense couldn’t sense the tributaries filling the space inside the furnace. It could be said that the Infinite River was the basis of why the Universe Furnace could split Heaven and Earth apart.
[Since the Infinite River forms Universe Worlds and Celestial Phenomena, why can’t my Space-Time River do so as well?]
While thinking about that, Yang Kai shook open the Space-Time River in his hand and dove inside, looking for any trace left behind by that strange reaction.
With Space-Time Dao as his foundation, Yang Kai gathered the Dao Strengths from the 10,000 Grand Daos and condensed them into the Space-Time River. He had previously dived inside many times, but it was usually to deal with the strong enemies he swept up into the river. That was because he had the absolute advantage inside the river and could make the most of his strengths there. Moreover, every undercurrent inside the river, as well as every wave, was made by the surging of his Dao Strengths.
However, the situation was different this time.
Perhaps it was because Yang Kai had just created the Myriad Dao Sealed World, but he discovered that his Space-Time River had changed profoundly.
In summary, Yang Kai suddenly had a strange and mysterious feeling when he dove into the river this time.
He felt like Time and Space were distorted.
When he looked up, he saw an astonishing view flash across his eyes.
He saw the magnificent No-Return Pass, a bloody battle between the Black Ink Clan and Human Race, and dead bodies from both sides densely littered around the battlefield.
Watching this scene, Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown as he didn’t understand why he was seeing this. He didn’t participate in the battle at the No-Return Pass back then, so theoretically, he wouldn’t have this scene in his memory. Moreover, how could a memory appear inside the Space-Time River?
However, he soon realised something was not right.
That was because he saw his figure appear in many of the scenes flashing by his eyes, and he was fighting someone he knew. It was Mo Na Ye, and it was Mo Na Ye after he became a Royal Lord.
Every scene that flashed past was like a Master had splashed the canvas with ink and drew every detail of the tragic battle with subtle brushwork and great skill.
Inside the silent scenes, Mo Na Ye’s dead body suddenly appeared, followed by Mo Yu’s…
After that was the scene of the Humans occupying the No-Return Pass once again, cheering happily…
Yang Kai suddenly realised this wasn’t a scene from his memory, but a battle that would happen in the future.
[This is the future! I am looking into the future!]
Yang Kai had already experienced this before when he came out from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon. At that time, his attainment in the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time soared, so he had a glimpse of the future when using the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel to kill the Sheep-Headed Royal Lord.
Future events proved what he saw was real. He had killed the Sheep-Headed Royal Lord that had been chasing him and held his head while standing proudly inside the void. That moment was the scene he saw.
The late Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor Chu Tian Ji claimed he had the power to see the future and it was rumoured that he could also see the past.
With Yang Kai’s current cultivation, he believed that Chu Tian Ji most likely didn’t have such a mysterious ability. If he did, he would have been able to avoid the many dangers and wouldn’t have died in battle.
But he did have some sort of foresight ability, or else he wouldn’t have gotten the title of Heaven’s Revelations.
Now that Yang Kai recalled the time he was at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, he found that he had undergone a significant change, whether it was his cultivation or his attainments in the different Grand Daos. Since the Space-Time River was based on the Space-Time Grand Dao, the deeper he dove into the river, the greater the Dao Strength surge. Under the disruption of Space and Time, seeing some part of the future should be expected.
Recapturing the No-Return Pass wasn’t surprising to Yang Kai because, with the Human Race’s current strength, they would certainly be able to win if they launched a battle regardless of how they approached it; however, they would have to pay quite a high price if they acted recklessly.
That was why Yang Kai didn’t feel anything after seeing such a scene.
If the Human Race couldn’t even conquer the No-Return Pass, how could they think about going to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and ending Mo once and for all?
The final deciding battle between the Black Ink Clan and Humans should be at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Inside the Space-Time River, the Dao Strength of Space-Time was surging even stronger, while the scenes continuously flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes.
In the meantime, Yang Kai’s expression became more solemn.
That was because many of the scenes after that contained many things he didn’t wish to see.
The final battle began as expected outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The Black Ink Clan appeared in huge black waves with Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods walking among them. There were also several destroyed Great Passes turned into ruins and countless Human corpses, many of which Yang Kai recognised.
There was even a scene where a 100,000-metre White Divine Dragon floated in the void, its body battered with all its Dragon Scales destroyed.
That White Divine Dragon was naturally Fu Guang!
In another scene, a World was filled with darkness, and inside the ruins was a big dusty sign with the characters ‘High Heaven Palace’ on it. In the corner of the scene was a majestic fallen branch from the World Tree clone, obviously long dead.
The last scene showed a Great Pass moving towards the depths of the void, seeming to be escaping from something. Inside the Great Pass were all the surviving Humans, and close behind that Great Pass was a black figure.
In the black figure’s hand was the… Azure Dragon Spear!
Yang Kai instantly felt his hairs stand on its ends.
Even though that black figure was fully enveloped in Black Ink Strength, with its appearance completely hidden, that spear was too familiar to Yang Kai.
[Is this our future?]
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt exhausted and couldn’t help but exit the Space-Time River. Once he found his footing, the feeling like he was in an illusion disappeared.
It wasn’t until this moment that he discovered the Dao Strengths in him had been seriously depleted. This just showed that looking into the future wasn’t without cost or consequence.
Since Yang Kai’s Dao Strengths were heavily depleted, he almost lost the ability to maintain his Space-Time River. He quickly used his strength to keep the river steady before sitting cross-legged with a serious expression.
Back at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, he had foreseen a scene that did happen later. He had successfully killed the Royal Lord who had been chasing him for many years when he was still in the Eighth Order.
The vision today came too suddenly, and though Yang Kai could accept the first half of it, he couldn’t accept the latter part of what he saw.
He knew that there would be a bitter battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and the Human Race and Black Ink Clan would decide their life or death there, so it was that battle that would truly influence the Human Race’s survival.
On the other hand, he had mentally prepared himself for the possibility that the Human Race couldn’t defeat their enemy. If that day really came, he was prepared to lead the surviving Humans to flee to the end of the Universe where they could rebuild their strength; after all, the current 3,000 Worlds weren’t something they couldn’t sacrifice.
However, the scene he saw during the distorted Time and Space was surreal.
Without mentioning who would win the final battle, Yang Kai had a World Tree clone isolating and protecting his Small Universe, so how could he be corrupted by Black Ink Strength? But that wasn’t entirely impossible either because no one knew how strong Mo truly was, and no one knew if the World Tree clone was enough to keep his Small Universe safe if he was directly attacked by Mo.
[Could that really be my future? If it is, it’s unacceptable.]
Yang Kai felt solemn but not enough to feel devastated. In the end, this was just something he foresaw, and no one was sure if it would happen.
If this were something that would happen in the future, he would personally break this prophecy!
After composing himself, Yang Kai clicked his tongue.
His goal when diving into the Space-Time River was to trace that strange phenomenon, not see the future, but this was uncontrollable. He couldn’t have known that the Dao Strengths would surge after he dove into the Space-Time River, causing those scenes to appear.
Sitting upright in his spot, Yang Kai calmed down for a while before diving into the Space-Time River again.
This time, there weren’t any future scenes flashing before his eyes. He steadied himself and looked for any changes in the Space-Time River. Soon, his figure swayed as he arrived at a corner of the river.
He had sensed that the 10,000 Grand Daos had gathered here and were transforming into endless wonders.
Yang Kai’s experiences in the Infinite River helped him understand the truth behind the 10,000 Grand Daos. Chaos evolved into the 10,000 Grand Daos, while the 10,000 Grand Daos would return back to Chaos in the end. That was a mysterious cycle, and every time that cycle turned, miracles would happen.
Just like what he saw…
Reaching out, Yang Kai grabbed the obviously different river water in his hand and looked at it silently. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes as he gradually lost himself in contemplation.
Meanwhile, the appearance of the Myriad Dao Sealed World didn’t attract much attention. Only the Star Boundary’s Great Emperors had sensed the commotion and came to investigate. Then, they entered the Myriad Dao Sealed World to investigate it after learning about its uses.
Several days later, Iron Blood Great Emperor Zhan Wu Hen was the first to emerge. Although his cultivation didn’t increase, his aura was clearly more condensed than before.
He had long reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and had achieved the limit of his Martial Dao in this lifetime, so he had no way of increasing his cultivation; however, his aura had become more solid because he had accomplished something while being inside the Myriad Dao Sealed World.
Any place where a peak Eighth-Order like him could benefit was indeed extraordinary.
Zhan Wu Hen looked at the Myriad Dao Sealed World and couldn’t help but praise, “A treasure!”
With the Myriad Dao Sealed World, the Human Race’s strength might be able to increase yet again. This was undoubtedly beneficial to the war in the future.
Turning his head, Zhan Wu Hen didn’t see Yang Kai but did see the Space-Time River floating in midair. Since the Space-Time River was here, it meant Yang Kai was as well, so Zhan Wu Hen didn’t go anywhere and waited in place.
A few days later, all the Great Emperors came out one after another, and from the order of each Great Emperor’s return, one could see that the stronger the Great Emperor, the quicker they came out. That was because the stronger the Great Emperor, the smaller their chance of improving their strength, which meant the Myriad Dao Sealed World couldn’t help them too much.
After nearly 10 days, Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder came out one after another, both of them practically glowing with happiness.
Duan Hong Chen glanced at them and chuckled, “Congratulations.”
The others also congratulated the pair as well.
This couldn’t be helped because those two went in as Seventh-Order Masters but came out as Eighth-Order Masters!
Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder were newly recognised Great Emperors by the Star Boundary’s Will after the deaths of Heaven’s Revelations and Ice Feather. They were elite disciples who were carefully nurtured by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, and broken through directly to the Seventh Order.
Although it had only been about 1,000 years since their initial breakthrough, thanks to the Star Boundary, they were almost at the peak of the Seventh Order. Their cultivation speed was something the other Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t compare to.
A Seventh-Order Master was already considered a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, yet to break through from the peak of the Seventh-Order to the Eighth-Order generally needed at least 200 to 300 years.
Just like Feng Ying from Dawn Squad. Her aptitude was also extraordinarily high, but she used a total of 300 years to advance from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order. Of course, the lack of resources at the Black Ink Battlefield was also one of the reasons for such slow progress.
But even with ample resources, someone as talented as Feng Ying still wouldn’t be able to break through so quickly. She would need at least a few thousand years of hard cultivation before using another 100 or so years to break through.
Things were different for the Star Boundary’s and the Myriad Monsters World’s Great Emperors because the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles had World Tree clones nurturing them. Therefore, they had extremely dense World Energy which could be freely absorbed by Great Emperors to greatly reduce the time they needed to accumulate their heritage.
The reason the two young Great Emperors hadn’t broken through to the Eighth Order previously was that they were lacking in their comprehension of their Grand Daos. The Myriad Dao Sealed World just happened to fill in what they lacked.
Once their Small Universes had accumulated enough heritage and their attainments in their Grand Daos rose to an appropriate level, they broke through from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order in a matter of days.
Since the two exited the Myriad Dao Sealed World, they felt very grateful to Yang Kai and wanted to thank him personally. It was a pity that Yang Kai seemed to have disappeared into his Space-Time River.
“How long has he been like this?” Duan Hong Chen looked at the Space-Time River and asked, clearly asking about Yang Kai’s condition.
Zhan Wu Hen shook his head, “He’s been like that since I came out.”
“That means it’s been quite a while,” Duan Hong Chen frowned, “Judging by the looks of things, he might be comprehending something inside. I think it’s best if we don’t disturb him.”
Although they didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing, he must have a valid reason to enter the Space-Time River like this, just like how a cultivator would go into retreat. That was not something one should interrupt.
“What should we do with the Myriad Dao Sealed World?” Hua Ling Long asked. After experiencing what benefits the Myriad Dao Sealed World could bring, anyone would know it was a treasure to the entire Human Race because it could help many cultivators increase their strength in a short time.
But this was something Yang Kai created, so it wasn’t appropriate for others to decide its use without his consent.
“Report it to the Supreme Headquarters,” Zhan Wu Hen groaned before saying, “Since he made the Myriad Dao Sealed World at this point in time, it must be because he wanted to benefit everyone; however, although there is an abundance of Dao Strength inside, it’s not inexhaustible. If we report it to the Supreme Headquarters and let Supreme Commander Mi make the decision, perhaps he can let a few promising seedlings use their Military Merits to exchange for a spot inside.”
Hearing this, the crowd nodded as this was a good plan of action. They could wait for Yang Kai to return and deal with this, but none of them knew how long that would be. As the Human Race was running tight on time, it would be better to let the Myriad Dao Sealed World benefit their people as quickly as possible.
“I’ll head to the Supreme Headquarters,” while Zhan Hu Hen said that, he shot into the sky and disappeared.
After he was gone, Duan Hong Chen said, “I’ll stand by here. The rest of you can go about your own matters.”
The others nodded and dispersed.
Several days later, news about the Myriad Dao Sealed World spread throughout the Humans and attracted the interest of many. A Sealed World with pure Grand Dao Strengths could be said to be something every cultivator wanted to experience.
But just as Zhan Wu Hen said, even though the 10,000 Grand Dao Strengths inside the Myriad Dao Sealed World were abundant now, it would be useless once everything inside was depleted.
Therefore, they had to choose wisely about who would get the opportunity to head inside. Only that way could they make the best use of the Myriad Dao Sealed World.
Of course, such things were for the Supreme Headquarters to worry about. Mi Jing Lun had personally entered the Myriad Dao Sealed World to investigate because of the importance of the issue. In the end, he came out with a bitter smile and complained to Duan Hong Chen that Yang Kai had thrown him another difficult task, and it seemed like he was about to offend a lot of people.
Recently, the Supreme Headquarters had been gathering people to repair the Pure Yang Pass which Yang Kai brought back. This required a lot of resources, so they were lucky that Yang Kai managed to ‘persuade’ the Black Ink Clan to give them some, or else it would be difficult for them to repair Pure Yang Pass.
Moreover, the Human Race regained the 3,000 Worlds and won a great victory, so rewards needed to be distributed as well, which were also given in the form of resources.
In addition, the Void Guard also needed a lot of resources to set up the Space Arrays.
At this moment, Mi Jing Lun felt like a shrewd housewife, carefully needing to count and allocate every single resource on hand.
Soon, a constant stream of cultivators began entering and exiting the Myriad Dao Sealed World. Everyone went in filled with expectations and came out happy, obviously having gained a lot from the Myriad Dao Sealed World.
Also, every cultivator that came could see an astonishing Space-Time River flowing beside the Myriad Dao Sealed World. It was the embodiment of pure Dao Strength, after all, and there was only one person among all the Ninth-Order Masters who could achieve that.
Henceforth, everyone knew that Yang Kai was in retreat inside the huge river, and every cultivator that came would pay their respects and bow to the river.
Days passed by quickly and soon three years had passed since the birth of the Myriad Dao Sealed World.
During these three years, the 3,000 Worlds had basically calmed down. Under the Human Race Grand Army’s constant searching, the remnants of the Black Ink Clan had nowhere to hide and were all routed out.
It could be said that there was no place for the Black Ink Clan to survive in the 3,000 Worlds now.
All the Armies then returned home to enjoy the fruits of their labour and recuperate.
However, everyone knew that this peace was only temporary, and it wouldn’t be long before a battle even crueller than the one that happened a few thousand years ago would break out. It was because they realised this that they cherished this short moment of peace even more.
On the other hand, the Void Guard had gradually returned with numerous Universe Temples in tow.
When the Black Ink Clan took over the 3,000 Worlds, some of the Universe Temples were destroyed while some were preserved; in the end, the Void Guard managed to gather about 1,000 of them.
Li Wu Yi led the less than 200 Void Guards, and with the assistance of the many people sent over by the Supreme Headquarters, began to repair these Universe Temples, using them as a foundation to set up the necessary Space Arrays.
Although there weren’t many in the Void Guard, all of them were proficient in the Dao of Space, so using Space Principles was easy for them.
Many resources were invested into this project, obviously wanting substantial results as quickly as possible. After all, in this peaceful period, everyone knew it was just the calm before the storm and they needed to prepare for the coming war.
Just outside of the Myriad Dao Sealed World, there were groups of people exchanging their Military Merits for the right to enter and experience what was inside.
At one particular moment, everything, even the communication between Divine Senses, fell silent as all eyes turned in the direction of the Space-Time River.
That was because fluctuations had suddenly appeared from the Space-Time River, which had been calm for three years. It was followed by rolling and crashing waves, with a figure emerging.
After three years of comprehension, Yang Kai had gained a lot. He had managed to figure out some things and vaguely felt like he had pushed open a new door, but he wasn’t sure what lay ahead.
In the end, it was still because his attainments in the various Grand Daos were lacking.
Both his attainments in the Grand Dao of Time and Grand Dao of Space had reached the Eighth Level, while his attainments in the other Grand Daos varied from the Seventh Level to the Fourth Level. Yang Kai had a feeling that if his attainments in all Grand Daos increased to another level, especially if his attainments in the Grand Dao of Time and Grand Dao of Space could reach the Ninth Level, he might be able to understand things more clearly.
This bout of enlightenment had let him increase his attainments in all sorts of Grand Daos, especially the Grand Dao of Time and Grand Dao of Space, so he felt like he could break through to the Ninth Level at any moment.
It could be said that his three years of retreat were very fruitful.
“Greetings, Sir!” Below him, the group of cultivators bowed together. Most of them were in the Seventh-Order or the Eighth-Order, while a few were in the Sixth-Order. None were below the Sixth Order.
There were limited spots to enter the Myriad Dao Sealed World. To maximise the increase of the Human Race’s overall strength, the Supreme Headquarters had only allowed the more promising soldiers the opportunity to experience the Sealed World. As for those less promising ones and those with lower cultivation, they naturally wouldn’t have such a chance.
Even so, Mi Jing Lun still felt troubled by this matter because, just like he expressed a few years ago, the matter of who got the chance to enter the Myriad Dao Sealed World was the subject of many complaints. However, he had the final say in this matter, and with his identity as a Ninth-Order Master, he wasn’t afraid of offending anyone.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and raised his hand slightly, “No need for formalities!”
After putting away the Space-Time River, Yang Kai stepped over to Duan Hong Chen, who had been keeping watch, and nodded before beaming, “You’ve worked hard.”
Duan Hong Chen replied casually, “It was nothing. What’s more, I’ve seen a lot of good scenery while standing guard here.”
While saying so, his eyes flitted across a few beautiful women among the crowd.
Yang Kai was instantly at a loss for words.
“By the way, Supreme Commander Mi asked for you to find him after you came out. He has something to discuss with you,” Duan Hong Chen suddenly remembered Mi Jing Lun’s instructions.
“I’ll head over right away,” Yang Kai nodded.
“There’s also that brat Li Wu Yi. He keeps complaining about you not taking charge of things, so go and help him once you have time.”
“Got it!” After giving a simple reply, Yang Kai took a step forward and disappeared without a trace, shocking the many Eighth-Order Masters watching.
Although there weren’t many Ninth-Order Masters at this moment, there were still a few around, so all the Eighth-Order Masters had more or less interacted with them somewhat. However, there wasn’t a Ninth-Order Master who could disappear right before their eyes like Yang Kai.
Once Yang Kai left, Duan Hong Chen took a few more looks at the beautiful scenery before reluctantly leaving.
The reason he stayed here was to act as Yang Kai’s Protector. Now that Yang Kai had come out of his retreat, there was no reason for Duan Hong Chen to stay around here any longer.
Yang Kai arrived at the Supreme Headquarters as requested and dashed inside the side hall.
Meanwhile, Mi Jing Lun sensed his presence and transmitted a message to him, telling Yang Kai to wait while he finished with a certain matter. Once he was done, he came out tiredly and sat beside Yang Kai before taping on the teacup beside him.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and poured Mi Jing Lun a cup. Then, Mi Jing Lun finished his tea in one gulp before revealing a relaxed expression.
After a long silence, Mi Jing Lun suddenly spoke up, “Although there’s no war, there are a lot of miscellaneous things to take care of. I don’t have a competent adjutant with me, so if you don’t have anything to do, how about you help out at the Supreme Headquarters?”
Sipping on his tea, Yang Kai looked outside the hall and asked, “Senior Brother Xiang is a better candidate than me.”
Mi Jing Lun pursed his lips, “He says he’s going to enter retreat.”
“What about Senior Brother Ou Yang?”
“He also wants to enter retreat.”
“Then…”
“All of them want to enter retreat!” While saying that, Mi Jing Lun felt angry, “We’re all Ninth-Order Masters! Do they think I don’t want to enter retreat too?!”
Yang Kai looked at him helplessly, “There has to be someone dealing with these matters, and Senior Brother Mi is the best candidate.” A short pause later, he continued, “Don’t feel too pressured. It’s indeed hard for the Human Race to get to this point, so no matter what happens in the future, we just have to go all out and hope for the best.”
He could understand Mi Jing Lun’s frustrations. Now that the Humans had taken back the 3,000 Worlds, the situation seemed bright for them, but that was only on the surface.
The following battle was critical to determining whether the Human Race would survive or perish. If they could take back the No-Return Pass, the Humans would be taking one big step towards victory, but if they couldn’t, all of their efforts would be for nought.
Moreover, they had to be quick when taking down the No-Return Pass because they couldn’t afford to fight a prolonged battle. Without mentioning other reasons, just their supply of resources wasn’t enough to sustain a protracted war.
Therefore, as the leading figure of the Supreme Headquarters responsible for integrating and managing all the Armies, Mi Jing Lun was shouldering an unfathomable amount of pressure. That pressure was so huge that Yang Kai couldn’t shoulder it, even as a Ninth-Order Master.
If another Ninth-Order Master were helping Mi Jing Lun, they could help carry some of the responsibilities; however, there were only so many Ninth-Order Masters at this moment, and none of them were suitable candidates.
There had to be someone dealing with these matters… Though it didn’t sound like much in conversation, Yang Kai knew how large of a burden was resting on Mi Jing Lun’s shoulders.
Meanwhile, Mi Jing Lun knew this as well. The reason he mentioned this to Yang Kai was not that he intended for Yang Kai to help and stay in the Supreme Headquarters, he was simply venting. Yang Kai was currently the strongest Master they had besides the two Giant Spirit Gods, so no matter what, he shouldn’t be cooped up inside the Supreme Headquarters handling logistics; instead, the place he belonged was the battlefield.
“Never mind. Let’s talk about more serious matters,” Mi Jing Lun changed the topic, confirming he was only ranting just now, “I’ve discussed this with the others. It will take 10 years at minimum, and 20 years at most for us to get ready. Then we’ll be able to attack the No-Return Pass. Do you have any suggestions?”
10 to 20 years may seem like a long time, but to prepare for a battle involving the entire Race, it was actually a very short period of time; after all, they had to re-organize and coordinate all the individual Armies and prepare the supplies and weapons prior to beginning the battle. All of these processes were time-consuming because the war wasn’t only about sending all their troops out.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Since things have come to this point, I don’t have anything to suggest. If we want to win, we simply need to have enough strength to do it.”
Hearing that, Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly, “It seems like our thoughts are aligned. When the time comes, I need you to lead the way to enter the Black Ink Battlefield through Black Territory.”
“Of course,” Yang Kai nodded. If they wanted to take back the No-Return Pass, it wasn’t workable to attack from the Barren Territory; after all, the Territory Gate was a fixed size. If the Human Race attacked through it, it would give the Black Ink Clan a chance to gradually kill them. Therefore, the only option they had to attack the No-Return Pass was to first pass through that secret passage and gather their troops deep inside the Black Ink Battlefield before assaulting the Black Ink Clan’s base.
After a short pause, Yang Kai asked, “How about the Barren Territory?”
“I heard you left the two Giant Spirit Gods there to guard the Territory Gate. With them there, I’m sure the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t doom themselves by trying to pass through. Also, they don’t intend to do anything anyway.”
With Ah Da and Ah Er standing guard on the other side of the Territory Gate and keeping their eyes on the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods wouldn’t dare to act recklessly because that would only give Ah Da and Ah Er a chance to charge into the No-Return Pass and kill everyone.
“But the Giant Spirit Gods don’t have high intelligence, so we need someone there to communicate with them, telling them what they should and shouldn’t do and when they should and shouldn’t attack.”
Yang Kai pointed his thumb at himself, “Don’t tell me I’m the one to do it?”
Then, Mi Jing Lun looked at Yang Kai like he was a promising young man, “There is no one else who can do this besides you. No one else has interacted much with those two Giant Spirit Gods, so you’re the only one familiar with them. If they’ll listen to anyone, it will be you. Also, with your abilities, I’m sure the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t be able to do anything about you if they saw you guarding the Barren Territory with the two Giant Spirit Gods.”
After thinking about it, Yang Kai sighed and nodded, “Good. If that’s your arrangement, I’ll follow it.”
Even if he was ordered to guard the Barren Territory, it wouldn’t stop him from causing a commotion when the time came. Once the battle began, he could charge through the Territory Gate and kill his way into the No-Return Pass, joining the Human Race Army on the other side.
From that perspective alone, there really was no other person more suitable than him to guard the Barren Territory. Though the other Ninth-Order Masters were strong as well, they couldn’t move about as effortlessly as Yang Kai could.
Meanwhile, Mi Jing Lun immediately saw through Yang Kai’s thoughts and offered, “How about we split into two routes and arrange for some soldiers to assemble in the Barren Territory? Perhaps we can attack from both sides at a crucial moment.”
“That’s not necessary. Attacking through the Territory Gate into the No-Return Pass is quite problematic. If we have too many people there, we won’t be able to grasp the opportunity during the war, and there’s no use if we have too few people. Ah Da, Ah Er, and me working together should suffice.”
Mi Jing Lun also thought that was reasonable and nodded, “Let’s keep it that way for now.”
Later, Yang Kai chatted with Mi Jing Lun for a bit before leaving.
Before he left, he quickly examined Pure Yang Pass’ situation. Pure Yang Pass was constantly being worked on, and after the past few years, they had successfully repaired the Great Pass’ superstructure. The destroyed Arrays and artifacts needed to be replaced for Pure Yang Pass to be able to return to its full glory, but that would still require a lot of time and resources.
One of the reasons the Human Race needed 10 to 20 years before attacking the No-Return Pass was that they needed to finish repairing Pure Yang Pass.
An hour later, Yang Kai arrived at the Star Boundary.
On top of a Spirit Peak in High Heaven Palace was a huge square, and on that square stood several majestic buildings. These buildings were worn to differing degrees, while some were even heavily damaged, seemingly having experienced the ravages of war.
People were heading in and out of those Grand Halls, so the atmosphere in the square was very lively.
These buildings were Universe Temples that the Void Guard retrieved from the many Great Territories. During the three years Yang Kai was in retreat and comprehending the mysteries of the Grand Dao, the Void Guard had gathered around 1,000 Universe Temples here. Now that the Supreme Headquarters had distributed their share of resources and assistants, the Void Guard took the lead to start arranging Space Arrays using these Universe Temples as a base.
The more than 100 Void Guards had been swamped while the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners sent over were also working day and night without rest.
Although they had made some small successes, their progress was quite slow, which worried Li Wu Yi.
At this moment, inside one of the Grand Halls, Li Wu Yi led several Void Guards in discussing how to best set up the Arrays with a few Array Masters.
It was a serious topic, so they concentrated hard on the matter. Just as they were carefully outlining and carving a pattern and were about to succeed, they heard a voice saying, “That’s not right.”
In this silent Grand Hall, even the gentlest voice was like an exploding bomb, shocking everyone.
Like that, the almost-formed Array shattered, its lines cracking while the energy inserted inside blew up. A bright light flashed inside the hall, leaving everyone with a dusty face.
Li Wu Yi turned around and looked at Yang Kai with bloodshot eyes before gnashing his teeth, “You brat! You finally appeared!”
They had agreed beforehand that they would form the Void Guard to gather Universe Temples to be used to house Space Arrays so that the Army could use them as rapid transit points in the coming war.
Even though it seemed like Li Wu Yi was the leader here, it was actually Yang Kai who was in command; otherwise, the Void Guard wouldn’t have the word ‘Void’ in the name because that was Yang Kai’s title in the Star Boundary.
However…
“Three years! Do you know how I’ve spent these three years!?” Li Wu Yi roared viciously as he questioned Yang Kai’s act of forgetting about the Void Guard after dumping everything on him.
“Something unexpected happened…” Yang Kai coughed lightly into his fist.
He didn’t expect creating the Myriad Dao Sealed World would suddenly enlighten him, and he would spend three years in retreat.
“Anyway, I’m here now,” Yang Kai tried to change the topic.
“Smelly brat…” Li Wu Yi was so angry that he wanted to laugh.
Afterwards, Yang Kai held Li Wu Yi’s shoulder and whispered, “Don’t keep calling me brat. I’m a Ninth-Order Master now, as well as the Dao Lord of the Void Dao Temple. How do you expect the disciples to respect me if you call me that?”
Hearing that, Li Wu Yi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, but when he thought carefully about it, it did seem inappropriate because no matter whether he was Yang Kai’s Senior or not, Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master, so he should get the respect he deserved.
Li Wu Yi’s actions just now were because he was pissed off. He originally had a nominal role in the Void Guard and didn’t need to worry about leading or organizing anything, but he suddenly became the one in charge after the Void Guard was formed.
Taking a step back, Li Wu Yi cupped his fist, “Greetings, Sir.”
He had a serious expression on his face as if nothing had happened just now.
The other disciples also cupped their fists and bowed, “Greetings, Dao Lord!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Sir, you said this is not right. Can Sir tell us what is the right way and perhaps show us an example?” Li Wu Yi acted like a student and respectfully asked.
While looking at him, Yang Kai felt his face twitch, but still replied, “Gather everyone over here and I’ll demonstrate.”
Several Dao Temple disciples were instantly excited. Though they were from the Void Dao Temple, they didn’t have many opportunities to interact with Yang Kai. Most of them only had the chance to see Yang Kai once when he brought them out of his Small Universe. Now that they heard that the Dao Lord was about to demonstrate a whole new type of Space Array, they naturally felt very excited. As such, they all swarmed out of the Grand Hall to gather their fellow Dao Temple disciples.
Soon, the busy Void Guard disciples inside the other Universe Temples, as well as Huang Si Niang and the couple dozen Phoenix Clan members, were all gathered in the Grand Hall.
Although the Grand Dao of Space was a Bloodline Talent of the Phoenix Clan, their current heritage wasn’t enough for any of their clansmen to obtain higher attainment than Yang Kai. Perhaps the former Phoenix Clan Leader who died in the Barren Territory War could match him, but until now, the Phoenix Clan still hadn’t seen the rise of a Ninth-Order Phoenix.
That was why the Phoenixes were also excited after hearing that Yang Kai would personally show them how to arrange the new Space Array.
As for the Void Dao Temple disciples, there was no doubt that they were excited as well. They were born in the Void World and inherited their Grand Dao from Yang Kai; hence, their respect and admiration for their Dao Lord was unparalleled.
Once everyone was gathered, Yang Kai spoke up, “You’ve worked hard these past few years. The formation of the Void Guard is crucial to the future dispatch and support of our Army; however, there are only a few who are proficient in the Dao of Space, so even though it will be difficult, I hope all of you can persevere through this.”
The disciples below answered, saying things like ‘it was nothing’, or ‘it was our duty’.
Yang Kai nodded and continued, “At first, I was planning on waiting until all the Universe Temples were gathered before demonstrating the new Space Arrays we would be arranging and their wonders, but something unexpected happened, so I was caught up for a while. Luckily, there is still ample time, so it’s not a major concern. There are no large errors in how you all are approaching the new Space Arrays, so there are only some slight changes to be made. You might not understand with just my explanation, so I will personally arrange a Space Array while you observe and emulate my process.”
The crowd agreed and became excited.
Watching a Ninth-Order Master setting up a Space Array up close, especially a Ninth-Order Master who was proficient in the Dao of Space, was equivalent to an opportunity to gain epiphany or enlightenment. It was a chance that was hard to come by.
Back when Yang Kai was on the Black Ink Battlefield, he needed to exchange a massive amount of Military Merits for a chance to listen to any Ninth-Order Old Ancestor share their insights in person; therefore, everyone present, even the Phoenixes, focused all their attention on what he did and said next.
Yang Kai flew up and swiped with his hand. Space Principles fell and completely removed the Space Array Li Wu Yi and the others created, making it as though it never existed.
After that, he took out the resources he had prepared in advance and used his technique to refine them. While doing so, he added the first pattern inside the Universe Temple.
“A Space Array is used as a means of transportation; with the help of the connection between Space Arrays, we can cross through the Void and instantly move from one Space Array to another. So, the first thing we need to consider is the stability of the Array. If an Array isn’t stable enough, it might cause an accident while one is in transit, exiling people to the Void. Those of us who cultivate the Dao of Space might be able to find our way out of such a situation, but ordinary soldiers won’t be able to do that.”
While Yang Kai was explaining, several delicate but complex patterns began forming inside the Grand Hall. As the Space Principles fluctuated, all the Void Guard disciples had thoughtful expressions on their faces.
“Once the Array is stable enough, the next thing to consider is the teleportation distance,” Yang Kai continued, “We can’t just look at the current situation, we have to think about the future as well. Few here participated in the original crusade, so you don’t have an idea about the distance we needed to travel. When all the Great Passes set out to the Primordial Heavens Source Restriction, it took them some 20 years to arrive…”
“…With such a large distance, once the war breaks out in full, it will be nearly impossible for the rear bases to send any reinforcements to the frontlines without the help of Space Arrays. Therefore, the true aim of forming the Void Guard is to pave two paths. One from High Heaven Territory to the No-Return Pass, and another one from the No-Return Pass to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. That way, the reinforcements sent from the back can reach the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction as soon as possible. Only through this method can we wage a successful war. If we Humans suffer a major loss of supplies or are cut off from reinforcements, we won’t be able to continue fighting.”
“…Therefore, all of the Space Arrays must at least fulfil one criterion, the distance they cover must be at least an entire Great Territory!”
Hearing this, everyone paled.
Using just two Space Arrays to cross an entire Great Territory was no simple feat. That was such a great distance that with their current methods and plans, it was simply impossible to achieve.
However, since Yang Kai came to personally demonstrate how to set up the new Space Arrays, it meant that he had found a way to solve this problem. Once they thought about that, the crowd calmed down slightly.
“A stable Array that can allow one to cross such a distance isn’t enough though, we also have to think about the number of people the Array can teleport in one transmission, and also the consumption to do so. Only after we solve all these problems can the Space Arrays be of use to us.”
Everyone in the Grand Hall remained silent while only Yang Kai spoke from time to time. Meanwhile, those delicate and complex patterns became denser and gradually filled the Grand Hall.
All the Void Guards were entranced by what was happening. When they felt the dense strength of Space Principles surging around Yang Kai, they felt even more admiration for him.
Previously, when they were arranging the Space Arrays, they did every step carefully and cautiously, afraid that one small mishap would ruin everything. On the other hand, Yang Kai acted both swiftly and effortlessly, making many wonder if they were even setting up the same Array.
Half a day later, Yang Kai stopped. Then, before everyone’s eyes, he inserted his strength inside the Array, activating it. The patterns began to shine, and the Void above the Array began to twist.
Such a scene undoubtedly showed that the Array had been successfully arranged and activated, but since there was no corresponding Array to link with, no teleportation actually occurred.
As the crowd silently watched Yang Kai set up this Array, they noticed that there weren’t any major differences from the Array they were arranging before, just some subtle changes here and there. However, those small modifications had a massive effect on the Array which allowed it to fulfil the conditions Yang Kai had mentioned before.
The Void Guard disciples gained a lot from observing this demonstration up close.
Once Yang Kai withdrew his strength, the Array gradually dimmed.
“Are there any questions?” Yang Kai asked.
Like a stone being thrown into a calm lake, numerous questions were thrown at Yang Kai all at once.
Gesturing for them to calm down, Yang Kai said, “One at a time.”
During the following days, Yang Kai answered the questions from the 100-plus Void Guards, explaining the wonders of the Dao of Space and the Space Array to them in turn.
In just a few days, at least half of those present saw their Mastery of the Dao of Space increase by a level.
After the last question was answered, Yang Kai finally rose to his feet, “Alright, I’ll leave the task of arranging the rest of the Space Arrays to all of you. Whether the Human Race’s second crusade goes smoothly depends on this matter, so please work together and don’t slack off. Li Wu Yi.”
Li Wu Yi immediately cupped his fist, “Here!”
“I leave you in charge of things here!”
“Yes!”
Yang Kai nodded and took a step forward before disappearing.
Meanwhile, Li Wu Yi lowered his head respectfully, only to suddenly realise something was not right, and when he looked over, Yang Kai had disappeared without a trace.
At first, he thought that since Yang Kai had returned and he wouldn’t have to worry about the Void Guard anymore, only needing to do his part in the project, but now, Yang Kai was acting like an arm-flinging shopkeeper, officially putting Li Wu Yi in charge!
Outside the Star Boundary, somewhere in the barren void of High Heaven Territory, several figures stood upright while looking tentatively into the distance with anticipation and excitement.
All those figures were either in the Seventh or Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, with many of them being at the very peak of the Eighth-Order. Though they were from different backgrounds, they were all basically from the Cave Heavens and Paradises or High Heaven Palace. Only a few of them were from other Sects or Families.
Two of them were the youngest Star Boundary Great Emperors, Scarlet Clouds and Wind and Thunder, standing with the High Heaven Palace disciples. Although they were technically disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises disciples, they were born and raised in the Star Boundary, so they felt a sense of belonging to the latter.
With over 100 such Masters gathered in one place, it was obvious that something big was about to happen. Moreover, if one knew who all of those gathered here were, they would discover an even more shocking fact.
All the cultivators present had directly broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, which meant they all had a chance to become Ninth-Order Masters.
In other words, everyone standing here was a future hope of the Human Race, a future powerhouse!
There was only one reason why they were gathered here.
Someone was about to break through to the Ninth Order!
After the last battle in the Barren Territory and thousands of years of accumulating their strength, the Humans finally had a new generation of Masters ready to break through to become Ninth-Order Masters.
The Supreme Headquarters naturally wouldn’t ignore such a huge matter, so they immediately gathered these rising stars here so that they could observe the process; after all, this would benefit them, and they might comprehend something from it. Also, they would have a reference for when it was their turn to break through!
This was a sign of the beginning of a new era. Like Yang Kai had said back then, when the first Ninth-Order Master emerged from the younger generation, it would be the start of many more Ninth-Order Masters emerging. That was something the Black Ink Clan couldn’t compare to.
At that moment, while the void was fluctuating, Yang Kai appeared and everyone turned their attention to him.
Right then, everyone began calling out to him with “Sir”, “Dao Lord”, and “Palace Master.”
Many of the cultivators observing the situation were either from the Void Dao Temple or High Heaven Palace.
From the front of the crowd, Ou Yang Lie beckoned to Yang Kai, “Over here.”
A major event like the first of the younger generation breaking through to reach the Ninth Order was something the Supreme Headquarters would pay great attention to. If Mi Jing Lun hadn’t been swamped with work, he would have even personally come to stand guard.
It was a pity that he had many matters on his hands and couldn’t make it; therefore, he dragged Ou Yang Lie out of his retreat and made him oversee the situation here.
Moreover, Mi Jing Lun had also mentioned this matter to Yang Kai before he left the Supreme Headquarters and asked Yang Kai to come over if he was free; after all, the rising star breaking through to the Ninth Order today was from High Heaven Palace. Being High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master, Yang Kai should be here no matter what.
Yang Kai arrived beside Ou Yang Lie in the void and cupped his fist at the old man to the side, “Congratulations, Old Yu.”
Though Yu Chang Dao had already reached the peak of the Eighth Order a long time ago, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous while replying, “Congratulations to you too, Palace Master.”
His nervousness wasn’t without reason. The cultivator breaking through this time was his Legacy Disciple, the one he took under his wing and carefully trained, the one born with a Special Constitution made for cultivating his Grand Dao, Shi Da Zhuang!
Shi Da Zhuang was a man with a very modest name. If one only heard of his name but never saw him, one might mistake him for a villager living in some backwater countryside; however, from today onward, it would also be a name heralded through the ages as it belonged to the momentous first person to break through directly to the Seventh-Order after the World Tree clone began nurturing the Star Boundary.
One could say that Shi Da Zhuang was a symbol of the rise of a new generation.
When the Cave Heavens and Paradises received news of the effects of the World Tree clone’s nourishment, many came to the Star Boundary and built Dao Temples, dividing up the land and taking in disciples.
In the beginning, though all cultivators living in the Star Boundary received nourishment from the World Tree clone, there wasn’t anyone who could be described as Heaven-defying.
That was until Yu Chang Dao found Shi Da Zhuang.
The child who took his widowed mother’s maiden name had a modest given name, but had a truly rare physique. He was born with the Innate Dao Body which was perfectly suited to cultivating a certain core Secret Art from Free and Unfettered Paradise.
Since Yu Chang Dao came from Free and Unfettered Paradise, he naturally wanted to take Shi Da Zhuang as his Disciple. If he got Shi Da Zhuang to become his Disciple, he would be able to cultivate this Secret Art to its pinnacle and establish a lasting legacy. Moreover, Yu Chang Dao couldn’t become a Ninth-Order Master in his lifetime, but if he carefully taught Shi Da Zhuang, who had an exceptional attitude and was born with a perfect physique for cultivating, the latter might stand a chance to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Through this, Yu Chang Dao’s successor would be remembered throughout history.
Free and Unfettered Paradise was well-known and highly ranked among the 72 Paradises; therefore, they were one of the top Great Forces in the 3,000 Worlds. As for Yu Chang Dao, he was a Seventh-Order Inner Sect Elder at the time and had a high status. Anyone who came across such an opportunity was extremely lucky and would probably agree to it happily.
However, Shi Da Zhuang’s widowed mother, Liu Cai Xia, had different ideas. When faced with the idea of Yu Chang Dao taking Shi Da Zhuang in as his Legacy Disciple, she firmly disagreed.
Back then, it had not been long since Yang Kai worked with the other Great Emperors to defeat Great Demon God Mo Sheng and save the Star Boundary.
High Heaven Palace had an unparalleled reputation in the Star Boundary and was well known throughout the World.
All cultivators in the Star Boundary took joining High Heaven Palace as their goal in life, so they didn’t care about any Cave Heaven or Paradise.
Shi Da Zhuang’s father had died only months prior to Yu Chang Dao’s arrival, and before he passed away, his final wish was that if his child could cultivate, he would enter High Heaven Palace.
Liu Cai Xia was just an ordinary woman, simple-minded and ignorant, but such people could be more stubborn than any others.
She remembered her husband’s last words and insisted that Shi Da Zhuang enter High Heaven Palace.
Yu Chang Dao was shocked and confused for quite a while after he went to Liu Cai Xia’s doorstep and told her he wanted to take Shi Da Zhuang in as his Disciple.
After asking for the reason for her refusal, Yu Chang Dao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he felt how difficult this matter would be.
With his identity and abilities, he naturally could forcefully bring Shi Da Zhuang away, but by the same token, trampling the wishes of a mortal couple was far beneath his dignity.
With no other choice, Yu Chang Dao thought of Yang Kai and personally visited him to discuss this matter with him.
At first, he wanted Yang Kai to come forward and persuade Liu Cai Xia to agree to let Yu Chang Dao take her son as his Disciple; after all, this matter was greatly beneficial to Shi Da Zhuang.
After many twists and turns, Yu Chang Dao somehow became a High-Rank Guest Elder of High Heaven Palace and Shi Da Zhuang’s Master after he entered High Heaven Palace.
Yu Chang Dao knew Yang Kai had dug a pit for him in this matter, but no matter the process, he still gained his desired Legacy Disciple, so he jumped in all on his own.
Over the years, Yu Chang Dao poured everything he could into nurturing his Disciple. At the same time, Shi Da Zhuang proved worthy of his excellent physique as his cultivation increased rapidly. What was even rarer was that he inherited his mother’s modest and steady personality, not showing any of the arrogance and conceit that many gifted children had. This naturally made Yu Chang Dao even more satisfied.
Yu Chang Dao guided Shi Da Zhuang all the way through his cultivation, from directly reaching the Seventh Order until today, when he was finally about to become a Ninth-Order Master!
Yu Chang Dao immediately reported this matter to the Supreme Headquarters, and Mi Jing Lun treated the news very seriously. Not only had he dispatched Ou Yang Lie to stand guard for the event, he even told Yang Kai about this.
With two Ninth-Order Masters overseeing the situation here, it could be said that so long as Shi Da Zhuang had accumulated enough heritage, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to break through.
Looking in that direction, Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh, “Thousands of years have passed just like that…”
It was as though the matter of Shi Da Zhuang finding a Master had only happened yesterday. It happened before Yang Kai headed to the Black Ink Battlefield. Even though Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master, he couldn’t help but exclaim how time seemed to fly by.
The higher his cultivation, the faster time seemed to pass for Yang Kai. Thinking back to the days he had just begun cultivating, he felt every day and year was filled with adventure and fulfilment, but now, even a simple retreat could take dozens of years without him knowing it.
Even though an Eighth-Order Master had a long lifespan, Yu Chang Dao had obviously become older after several thousand years.
As for Yang Kai, he still looked the same as he did on that day…
“This kid has a good foundation,” Ou Yang Lie was looking in Shi Da Zhuang’s direction with an approving expression.
When mentioning that, the usually calm Yu Chang Dao had a proud expression as he chuckled, “The biggest virtue my Disciple possesses is that he’s never been anxious about his cultivation, so his foundation is naturally more stable than the others.”
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was laughing on the side, “You need solid ground to build a grand tower. With a more stable foundation, he will be able to ascend higher than others. There’s a good chance that his breakthrough will be smooth sailing, so you have nothing to worry about, Old Yu,”
With a bitter laugh, Yu Chang Dao replied, “I know, but how could I not be worried at this moment? Wouldn’t you worry if it were your Disciple here?”
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “My three Disciples are all people who exceed the ordinary to reach the extraordinary. They will definitely become Ninth-Order Masters, so I have nothing to worry about.”
Hearing that, Yu Chang Dao glared at him, “Palace Master, if you say it like that, we have nothing to continue this conversation with.”
Rolling his eyes, Ou Yang Lie quickly changed the subject, “Now that you’ve mentioned your three Disciples, are they still with the Suppressing Black Ink Army?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, a trace of worry on his face. Because the Old Tree had fallen into a coma, he couldn’t head to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to check on the situation there.
“They’re probably not having it easy there either,” Ou Yang Lie sighed, “Counting the days, your Eldest Disciple and Second Disciple began cultivating at almost the same time as Shi Da Zhuang. Theoretically, they should have almost reached the point of breaking through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm too.”
“Who knows,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Yu Chang Dao was a little frustrated, “It’s not that this Old Master wants to lecture you, Palace Master, but you care too little about your Disciples.”
As he was a High Heaven Palace High-Rank Guest Elder, he had a good relationship with the others from the Sect. His and Shi Da Zhuang’s relationship resembled a Father and Son, whereby he would be with Shi Da Zhuang all day and carefully teach and train him. On the other hand, Yang Kai and his few Disciples were the exact opposite.
Yu Chang Dao had rarely seen Yang Kai interacting with his Disciples. To describe it in one saying, it would be, ‘the Master teaches the trade, but the Disciple’s skills are self-made.’
However, even though Yang Kai didn’t teach them much, his Disciples all had excellent achievements. Before they joined the Suppressing Black Ink Army, all three Disciples had reached the Eighth Order with hopes of becoming Ninth-Order Masters.
“I was busy…” Yang Kai spread his hands hopelessly, “I do want to be like Old Yu and teach them personally, but I can’t help it.”
Yu Chang Dao groaned and sighed, “It’s been hard on you. Without you, the Human Race might not have made it to this day.”
“It’s starting!” Ou Yang Lie suddenly spoke up.
Meanwhile, the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters eavesdropping on the trio’s conversation also instantly became solemn and looked in the direction of the void.
When Yang Kai looked over, he saw Shi Da Zhuang sitting down cross-legged. His Small Universe’s illusory phantom had appeared behind him. Dao Strengths flowed as World Force pulsed rhythmically.
An Eighth-Order Master becoming a Ninth-Order Master was the greatest achievement when cultivating the Open Heaven Realm Method. The path to the peak was treacherous, and one would fall with one slip and suffer a tragic ending.
Since ancient times, there weren’t a lot of cultivators who could directly advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but there weren’t few either. However, there were only around 100 Ninth-Order Old Ancestors from the Cave Heavens and Paradises on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Not everyone who had the qualifications to become a Ninth-Order Master would succeed because even the breakthrough process was very risky. If the cultivator failed at the last moment, the lightest consequence would be damaging their Small Universe, causing them to be unable to reach the Ninth Order, similar to Xiang Shan’s previous situation. The heavier consequence would be destroying the cultivator’s Small Universe and instantly perishing.
Many people had failed in this final step, so there hadn’t been many Ninth-Order Masters over the years.
The crowd could clearly see the illusory phantom behind Shi Da Zhuang increasing in size like a balloon being blown up. Meanwhile, the scene inside the Small Universe had become blurry because it was getting more bloated.
A while later, it was restored to its original condition.
After that, it happened again.
The movement made it seem like the Small Universe had its own life force and was slowly breathing.
Following every cycle, the Small Universe would slowly break through its limitations.
“It’s extremely dangerous for an Eighth-Order Master to become a Ninth-Order Master. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have naturally studied this matter for hundreds of thousands of years and come up with all kinds of methods to assist in this process. The current technique Shi Da Zhuang is using is the most common and ordinary Bridging Method. Although all of you come from different backgrounds, many of you have reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so I believe your Masters and Elders have spoken about this to you. The Bridging Method might seem ordinary, but it is also the safest method; its only flaw is that it takes a long time. All of you will experience this day too, so I hope you can take away something from today,” Ou Yang Lie said aloud.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters observing nodded and agreed.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was instantly intrigued, “Do the Cave Heavens and Paradises have many Secret Techniques related to this breakthrough?”
Yu Chang Dao nodded and replied, “Of course. The heritage accumulated by the Cave Heavens and Paradises are something other Great Forces find hard to reach.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai agreed, “The accumulation gathered throughout several millions of years is no joke. I’ll inquire about it later.”
“There’s no need for that. Head Manager Hua has already asked the Cave Heavens and Paradises about such matters. Also, these things aren’t confidential anymore and can be exchanged for Military Merits.”
The immense external pressure had forced the Human Race to be united in good faith. In the past, all the Cave Heavens and Paradises had hoarded their Secret Techniques from the public. These Breakthrough Secret Techniques were naturally not taught to outsiders and difficult for ordinary people to access. The current reality was a huge contrast from back then. Not only were these highly revered and precious Secret Techniques available to the general public now, but they could also easily be obtained in exchange for a certain number of Military Merits.
In terms of heritage, High Heaven Palace was naturally inferior compared to the extensive accumulation of the established top Great Forces. It was fortunate that High Heaven Palace had Hua Qing Si. While Yang Kai was wandering the vast Universe all this time, she had taken care of High Heaven Palace in an orderly manner. Even the Secret Techniques and the Breakthrough Secret Techniques that needed to be exchanged with Military Merits had been collected from various sources in advance. In this way, High Heaven Palace disciples would not need to spend too much effort and resources to obtain these Secret Techniques when the need arose.
Shi Da Zhuang’s breakthrough was very different from Ou Yang Lie and Yang Kai’s breakthrough.
The limits of Ou Yang Lie and Yang Kai were the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, they were limited by the innate shackles of the Open Heaven Method at the time. When their cultivation reached their respective limits, a World Barrier had formed around their Small Universe. Unfortunately, the boundary wall surrounding their Small Universe could not be broken with their strength alone. They had to borrow the help of an external force to break through the boundary wall.
Ou Yang Lie had made use of a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill while Yang Kai had relied upon the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.
On the other hand, Shi Da Zhuang’s breakthrough was not as troublesome. He had advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so he had the qualifications to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the first place. At present, he only needed to overcome his bottleneck to succeed.
It was just as Ou Yang Lie had said, the Breakthrough Secret Technique that Shi Da Zhuang had chosen was one of the simplest. Compared to other Breakthrough Secret Techniques, no additional requirements or cultivation resources were needed. In fact, it could be said that most Eighth-Order Masters aiming to advance to the Ninth-Order could choose this Secret Technique. Nevertheless, the disadvantage of this Secret Technique was obvious, it took a long time.
The longer one spent during the advancement process, the greater the number of unknown variables that would appear. That was why the Old Ancestors who previously advanced to the Ninth Order would rarely choose this method. They were more likely to choose a Breakthrough Secret Technique that required additional cultivation resources or Secret Techniques during their advancement to increase their success rate and decrease the time required. Only those like Shi Da Zhuang, who not only had a solid foundation and confidence in their strength, but would also not be afraid of such variables.
The illusory phantom of Shi Da Zhuang’s Small Universe continuously expanded and contracted. These movements closely resembled the breathing of a living creature, and every movement was stronger than the one from before.
His breakthrough process was quite slow.
With the continuous expansion and contraction of his Small Universe, his aura finally accumulated to a critical limit after half a month of effort. At a certain point, his Small Universe expanded but did not shrink back to its original size as before and simply continued instead. His Small Universe quickly expanded until the extreme.
Despite the great distance, the group of people standing far away could clearly sense the burgeoning World Force coming from that direction.
Yu Chang Dao’s expression instantly became tense. Likewise, the expressions of the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters observing the advancement process became serious. Everyone could tell that the final moment had arrived. The success or failure of the accumulated progress throughout the past half month hinged upon this moment.
Similarly, both Yang Kai and Ou Yang Lie were focused on the situation in front of them. The main reason for their presence was to stand guard for Shi Da Zhuang. To put it simply, their role as so-called Protectors was to take action to save Shi Da Zhuang if he failed in his advancement. Such an act would be tough even for two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they could only do their best if necessary.
However, Yang Kai’s expression soon relaxed and he smiled lightly, “Congratulations, Old Yu.”
He had made the same statement when he came here half a month ago; nevertheless, the meaning was completely different when he repeated it now.
Upon hearing those words, Yu Chang Dao hurriedly looked over. His tensed expression finally relaxed when he saw Yang Kai nodding at him.
Almost at the same time, an astonishing amount of aura erupted from Shi Da Zhuang’s direction. It was followed by an intense wave of World Force that swept outward into the surroundings. In front of everybody’s eyes, his Small Universe, which should have already expanded to its limit, abruptly expanded even more!
The greatest characteristic displayed during the advancement of an Open Heaven Realm Master was the expansion of their Small Universe. It was only when the territory of their Small Universe expanded exponentially that their strength would experience earth-shaking changes. Both Ou Yang Lie and Yang Kai deeply understood this principle, but more importantly, Shi Da Zhuang had undoubtedly achieved the desired results at this moment.
Countless Open Heaven Realm Masters began to cheer at the sight.
Meanwhile, Yu Chang Dao reached up to stroke his beard. His heart was filled with a sense of relief, but he smiled brilliantly in the face of the congratulatory cheers from the people around him.
On this day, the first of the new generation of Ninth-Order Masters was born to the Human Race outside the Star Boundary. It was later recorded in history books that the birth of this Ninth-Order Master heralded the arrival of a new era!
Yang Kai did not stay for long. Although Shi Da Zhuang had successfully advanced to the Ninth Order, he would need time to consolidate his new strength; therefore, Yang Kai left Ou Yang Lie to watch over Shi Da Zhuang and returned to the Star Boundary.
Without alerting anyone, he came to a certain spot on the World Tree clone where a tree cave was located. The interior was spacious and resembled a secluded home. This tree cave secluded home was where he had hidden himself to recuperate from his wounds in the past.
To cultivate the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art back then, Yang Kai had paid a huge price to create his Human Self and Monster Self. Each time he created one of his Selves, he would severely damage his foundation by splitting his Soul in half; hence, he had hidden himself here to recuperate from his wounds.
On this occasion, his return was not for recuperation but for cultivation.
Several hundred years had passed since he advanced to the Ninth Order and his heritage had clearly increased during this period, but strictly speaking, he was still just a newly advanced Ninth Order Master with a lot of room for growth.
If he cultivated steadily, he would probably need to spend thousands of years to improve his cultivation to the limits in his current Order. Unfortunately, the Human Race’s second crusade was fast approaching. There was not much time left for him to cultivate, so he had to improve his strength as soon as possible.
If it were anybody else, they might not have a good method to increase their cultivation quickly, but fortunately for Yang Kai, he was one of the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, so he could borrow the power of the Star Boundary to increase his strength.
That was precisely the reason why the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary and even Thunder Shadow were able to increase their cultivation to their limits far faster than ordinary people. It was because they cultivated with support from the power of the Universe World.
That was especially true for the Star Boundary. The accumulation of feedback from the World Tree clone over several thousands of years had greatly enhanced the Star Boundary’s heritage. At present, not only was the Star Boundary’s World Energy indescribably rich, but the World’s Grand Dao and Principles were also extremely stable. It could be said that there had never been another Universe World like the Star Boundary throughout history, and this unprecedented phenomenon was all thanks to the uninterrupted feedback from the World Tree clone.
If somebody had the ability to absorb all the power in the Star Boundary, it would be enough for them to become a Ninth-Order Master out of thin air. Furthermore, that person would be an extremely mighty Ninth-Order Master.
Yang Kai planned to borrow the power of the Star Boundary to cultivate. To put it simply, he would be utilising the World Energy of the Star Boundary to enhance the heritage of his Small Universe directly.
He had done something similar before. At the time, he had borrowed the power of the Star Boundary to temporarily raise his cultivation from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order in order to confront a powerful enemy. Although he later returned most of the power to the Star Boundary, a small portion had remained in his Small Universe. This small portion of power had saved him hundreds of years of secluded cultivation, and it was precisely because of this incident that he discovered the benefits of being a Great Emperor of such a Universe World.
Extracting the World Energy from the Star Boundary would naturally cause damage to the Star Boundary, but the Star Boundary’s heritage was unprecedentedly rich. As long as he was measured in his usage and avoided causing damage to the foundation of the Star Boundary, there would not be any problems. Furthermore, the power he absorbed would eventually be replenished again as long as the World Tree clone remained in the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged inside the tree cave and focused his mind. With a single thought, the entire Star Boundary came under his control.
“Please assist me,” he murmured softly and opened the portal to his Small Universe.
In the next moment, an invisible and intangible force slowly began to gather from various parts of the Star Boundary. The force subsequently flooded into his Small Universe only to be refined and absorbed by him.
Despite the drain on the Star Boundary’s World Energy, the change was minimal. Even if a Ninth-Order Master were standing here, they would have trouble detecting the changes unless they were paying very close attention. Nevertheless, the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary noticed the changes immediately. Having been recognised as Great Emperors by the World’s Will, they shared the fate of the Star Boundary. It was only natural for them to notice the slightest changes and abnormalities in the Star Boundary.
For a moment, the Great Emperors looked startled and immediately tracked the source of the phenomenon to investigate the situation. Once they learned the disturbance was caused by Yang Kai’s actions, they immediately felt relieved and did not bother to interrupt his cultivation.
This couldn’t be helped. Every one of them had done something similar in the past, including the two youngest Great Emperors. The two newly-advanced Great Emperors had advanced from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order in several hundred years. That was not a cultivation speed that an ordinary person could hope to achieve. If they had not used the power of the Star Boundary to strengthen themselves, it would have been impossible for them to advance to the Eighth Order so quickly.
Conversely, Yang Kai had never done this in the past because he had always been travelling extensively throughout the years. That was why the Great Emperors immediately understood his intentions once they realized that the incident was caused by Yang Kai. It was evident that he wanted to increase his strength as quickly as possible so that he would have an easier time in the upcoming war.
Yang Kai was the strongest Ninth-Order Master alive; hence, it would be greatly beneficial for the Human Race if he could increase his strength at a rapid pace.
The Star Boundary’s World Energy flowed continuously into Yang Kai’s Small Universe like an invisible stream of water and vanished into thin air. At the same time, the heritage of the Void World in his Small Universe strengthened at an astonishing speed.
Using this method to enhance his cultivation with the power of the Star Boundary was orders of magnitude more efficient than refining cultivation materials or Open Heaven Pills.
The power of a Universe World itself contained various types of Grand Dao, so if someone like Zhan Wu Hen were to cultivate with this method, he would have to spare some time and energy to remove the Dao Strengths that he did not cultivate. Such measures were necessary to prevent his Small Universe from being polluted.
However, Yang Kai had no such need. He was currently proficient in 10,000 Grand Daos, so he basically dabbled in every kind of Dao Strength that existed. Therefore, he would not be troubled by the different kinds of Dao Strengths pouring into his Small Universe from the Star Boundary. On the contrary, these Dao Strengths would enhance his attainments in their corresponding Grand Daos instead. It could be said that he was completely accepting of all the power that flowed into him from the Star Boundary. Everything could become his capital to become stronger.
As the days passed and turned into years, the power of the Star Boundary constantly flowed into the Void World without pause. Nevertheless, Yang Kai ensured that his actions created minimal effects by scrupulously following the principle of making gradual and orderly progress. That was why ordinary cultivators could barely sense any changes to the Star Boundary. Only the Open Heaven Realm Masters with high enough cultivation gradually began to notice that the Star Boundary was different from before.
10 years passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Yang Kai opened his eyes inside the tree cave located in the World Tree clone. Closing the portal to his Small Universe, he severed his connection with the Star Boundary and breathed out deeply.
Although he had only cultivated in retreat for 10 short years, his overall strength had undergone Earth-shaking changes. When he looked inside himself, he discovered that the heritage of his Small Universe had more than doubled in depth compared to 10 years ago. That was not all. Even the various Dao Strengths in his Small Universe had gotten more potent during this period.
If the Ninth Order was divided into early, middle, and late stages, then Yang Kai had undoubtedly belonged in the early stage 10 years ago. In contrast, he was now well into the middle stage. The past 10 years of cultivation had been almost as effective as cultivating for 2,000 years with normal methods. It was the benefit of using the power of a Universe World to cultivate, as well as the exclusive right of a Great Emperor.
Furthermore, this outcome was the product of Yang Kai’s intentional restraint. If he had disregarded the consequences and opened his Small Universe wide to devour the World Energy to his heart’s content, he would have completely devoured the power of the Star Boundary in just a few short years.
Just like how his heritage had improved by leaps and bounds, the Star Boundary’s heritage had suffered a corresponding amount of damage as a result. Fortunately, the Star Boundary’s heritage was rich enough that there was not much impact on it even though a substantial amount of World Energy had been lost. At the very least, the cultivation and advancement of the cultivators in the Star Boundary would not be disrupted by this incident. Besides, the lost heritage would eventually be replenished by the World Tree clone’s continuous feedback.
Yang Kai had carefully planned everything in advance before he borrowed the power of the Star Boundary to boost his cultivation; after all, he could not disregard the future of all the living creatures in the Star Boundary just for his own selfish interests; otherwise, he would have done so a long time ago.
Even though this was the fastest growth in his cultivation he had ever experienced since he advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai could not shake the feeling that he had not grown enough.
Back in the Barren Territory, he and several other Ninth-Order Masters had worked together with Ah Da and Ah Er to fight the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods; hence, he was very familiar with the strength of the Giant Spirit Gods. According to Yang Kai’s estimations, he would need to reach the peak of the Ninth Order just to fight a Black Ink Giant Spirit God on even ground. Even then, it was nothing more than a possibility. Seeing as he was only in the mid-stage of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it was obvious that he did not fulfil the basic requirements at the moment.
“Big Brother, go to the Myriad Monsters World,” seeming to sense his intentions, Thunder Shadow’s voice appeared in his mind, “Have you forgotten? I am a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World.”
Yang Kai chuckled at those words, “I did not forget.”
Yang Kai had been planning to take a trip to the Myriad Monsters World, but he had not been certain whether such a trip would be useful; after all, it would be more accurate to say that Thunder Shadow was dead. All that remained was Thunder Shadow’s consciousness. There was no saying whether Yang Kai would be recognized by the Myriad Monsters World’s Will. Nevertheless, it was something he had to try to find out.
With that in mind, Yang Kai left the tree cave and transformed into a stream of light, soaring into the sky. It did not take long for him to arrive in Myriad Monsters Territory by travelling through the Territory Gate; then, he flew straight in the direction of the Myriad Monsters World.
Many years had passed since Yang Kai first planted the World Tree clone in the Myriad Monsters World. Compared to back then, the barbaric Universe World where only ancient beasts existed now contained many traces of activity from the Human Race. In fact, the entire Myriad Monsters World could be said to be ruled by both the Human Race and Monster Race.
The Myriad Monsters World had consecutively given birth to many other Great Emperors since the birth of its first, Thunder Shadow. Most of them were from the Monster Race, but there were also a few from the Human Race. That was only natural since the Grand Dao in the Myriad Monsters World was more inclined towards the Grand Dao of the Monster Race.
Under the feedback from the World Tree clone, the Myriad Monsters World’s heritage was no longer comparable to the past. While it was not equal to the Star Boundary, it was certainly extremely abundant.
As soon as Yang Kai arrived in the Myriad Monsters World, he allowed Thunder Shadow to take over his physical body. They found an isolated place with nobody around, and then Thunder Shadow sat down cross-legged and opened both his mind and Small Universe to connect with the Myriad Monsters World. In the next moment, the same phenomenon that occurred in the Star Boundary repeated itself. The World Energy of the Myriad Monsters World poured into Yang Kai’s Small Universe without pause and became part of the Void World’s heritage
Upon seeing this situation, Yang Kai knew that Thunder Shadow’s status as a Great Emperor was still recognized by the Myriad Monsters World’s Will; otherwise, the connection would not have been formed so easily.
His actions immediately attracted the attention of the Great Emperors in the Myriad Monsters World, and when they learned that Yang Kai was behind the phenomenon, they couldn’t help feeling a little surprised. As far as they knew, only the Great Emperors of the Myriad Monsters World had the qualifications to perform such actions. Yang Kai was not a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World, so how was he able to achieve such a feat?
In any case, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was not something any of them had ever achieved before. Combined with the fact that Yang Kai was often performing extraordinary stunts, they did not bother to question the situation even though they were puzzled.
…
Five years later, a general order was issued by the Supreme Headquarters and relayed throughout the lands where the Human Race inhabited.
When the news spread to the public, everybody knew… the war was about to resume. Be that as it may, this war was different from the previous wars. In this war, the Human Race was taking the initiative to attack the No-Return Pass and launch an offensive against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If everything went smoothly, they might even succeed at eliminating the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
The Human Race Army that had been resting for the past 20 years assembled once more and set off for Black Territory. At every location where the Human Race inhabited, every single person came forward to send off the soldiers who were bravely heading to war. They did not seem overly worried or anxious. On the contrary, they were filled with determination and faith that they would not give up until they broke through the enemy’s defences. When the belief rooted itself in their very being, they firmly believed that the Human Race Army would be invincible and indomitable!
For a time, all the places that the Human Race’s various outposts and bases became deserted as all those with the ability to participate in the war had set off to join the fight.
In just three months, the 12 Armies had gathered in Black Territory. The entire Black Territory instantly became overcrowded. As Warship after Warship continuously arrived, they eventually formed an enormous fleet.
At this moment, Mi Jing Lun stood with his hands behind his back on a Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located, outside of Pure Yang Pass. He stared fixedly at the Territory Gate in the direction of High Heaven Territory. He knew that many of the soldiers who embarked on this mission might never return home. There was a high possibility that many of them would lose their lives on the battlefield.
Nevertheless, it was a decision that had to be made. It was also a painful tragedy that the Human Race was bound to face one day. They could never coexist with the Black Ink Clan, and this war would either see their ultimate rise or eternal fall. They would either destroy their enemy or perish in the attempt!
A stream of light suddenly came from afar. When the light came closer, Ou Yang Lie’s figure was revealed and Mi Jing Lun inquired, “How is it?”
Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “He is still cultivating in retreat at the moment, but he should be done soon. The World Energy of the Myriad Monsters World has almost been drawn to the limit before it will severely affect the Universe World. That brat will never drain the lake just to catch the fish, after all.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded and suddenly seemed fascinated, “I wonder how much his strength has grown by now.”
Ou Yang Lie had a nonchalant attitude towards the question, “In any case, he is bound to be much stronger than you or I.” Then, he couldn’t help clicking his tongue in mock annoyance, “If I had known earlier, I would have found a Universe World and become the Great Emperor there.”
Mi Jing Lu burst out laughing, “It’s useless even if you become a Great Emperor. The feedback from the World Tree clone is the only reason the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World have such rich heritage. The Great Emperors of ordinary Universe Worlds would not be able to emulate him.”
“That’s true.” Ou Yang Lie nodded, “As the saying goes, ‘Heroes are born during troubled times’. While it is different for the Myriad Monsters World, I’m sure that brat never expected the Star Boundary to become one of the last hopes of the Human Race when he first planted the World Tree clone there.”
If not for the Star Boundary, it would have been impossible for the Human Race to possess such powerful heritage in the present circumstances. Be that as it may, Yang Kai had only planted the World Tree clone in the Star Boundary to save his dying homeland at the time.
Needless to say, his Small Universe and the Myriad Monsters World also played a huge role in the grand scheme of things. It was precisely because of these three Open Heaven Realm Cradles that countless talented individuals were perpetually being produced among the Human Race.
“How is the situation with the Void Guard?” Ou Yang Lie asked.
“The Space Arrays connecting the Star Boundary to the No-Return Pass are already being installed, so it should be completed soon,” Mi Jing Lun replied.
At the moment, their rear was practically deserted. All the cultivators with the slightest ability to participate in the war had been recruited into the Human Race Army; therefore, only a small number of the old and weak had been left behind.
The reason the old and weak had remained behind was not to protect the rear though. To put it bluntly, the Human Race would go extinct if they failed to obtain victory in this war, so there was no point in leaving behind the old and infirm when they could not protect anything either. On the contrary, the main reason they stayed behind was to guide the cultivation of the younger generations. Doing so would ensure that the Human Race had a steady stream of fresh blood being produced in the future, which was extremely crucial for them to gain the capital required to support the frontlines during the war.
Originally, it would have taken even an Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Master quite some time to travel from the Star Boundary to Black Territory; however, the presence of the Teleportation Road laid by the Void Guard would greatly shorten the travel time required. Besides, this was simply the early stages of their preparations. Once the Human Race Army conquered the No-Return Pass, they would further proceed with the Space Arrays that would eventually connect directly to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Ou Yang Lie said, “Since everything is going smoothly, I will head to Black Territory first.”
“Go ahead. Relay the order for the troops to wait at ease,” Mi Jing Lun instructed.
Ou Yang Lie nodded and left in a flash.
A few days later, Mi Jing Lun’s wait finally ended. He suddenly raised his head to look in a certain direction. There seemed to be a figure rapidly approaching him from that direction. A short while later, a figure stepped out from the ripples in the Void. It was none other than Yang Kai, who was late.
“Long time no see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly at Mi Jing Lun.
Mi Jing Lun studied Yang Kai for a moment. Although he could not determine the depth of Yang Kai’s strength, the aura that was inadvertently emanating gave him a heavy sense of oppression.
It had to be said that Mi Jing Lun was also in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The fact that Yang Kai gave him a sense of oppression meant that the latter’s strength had grown tremendously during this period. After all, he did not experience this feeling from Yang Kai 20 years ago. He couldn’t help feeling taken aback, “What do you estimate your current strength is like?”
Yang Kai did not know how to answer Mi Jing Lun’s abrupt question. According to his personal breakdown of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he had entered the late middle stage of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm after devouring and refining the heritage of the Myriad Monsters World.
After pondering in silence for a moment, he answered the question, “The me right now can defeat three of me from 20 years ago!”
The explanation was so novel and unique that the corners of Mi Jing Lun’s mouth twitched in response; however, he soon became shocked.
The Yang Kai from 20 years ago had already been very strong, but the current Yang Kai could defeat three of himself from that past… In just 20 years, his strength had improved significantly. It was difficult to imagine just how much he had grown after devouring and refining the power of two Open Heaven Realm Cradles.
Nevertheless, this was a good thing for the Human Race. There were not many Ninth-Order Masters at the moment, so the greater Yang Kai’s strength, the greater the suppression he could exert against the Black Ink Clan.
“Has everything been prepared?” Yang Kai glanced at the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located.
This place had always been bustling with people whenever he came here. Not only was the crowd generally packed shoulder to shoulder, but there would also be numerous cultivators constantly flying around performing various tasks. In comparison, the entire Universe Fragment was vacant and silent at this moment. There was not a single person to be seen anywhere. In fact, the vast Pure Yang Pass contained only Mi Jing Lun. It was obvious that Mi Jing Lun had been waiting for him alone.
The Human Race had drained their entire heritage in order to prepare for the upcoming war. Just looking at the Myriad Dao Sealed World built by Yang Kai more than 20 years ago could provide a clear example. The Myriad Dao Sealed World no longer existed in anything but name. While the Sealed World remained in existence, there was no Dao Strength left inside. Even if a cultivator were to enter the Sealed World for training, they would no longer obtain any benefits.
Such a huge Sealed World had been hollowed out by the Human Race Army in just 20 years, and a large number of Eighth-Order Masters had been produced as a result. Many veteran Eighth-Order Masters also benefited from the Sealed World as their attainments in their Grand Daos had improved significantly, which in turn boosted their strength.
After so many years of preparation, the Human Race had exhausted all their possible options. At this moment, they could be said to stand at the pinnacle of the Human Race!
“Everything is ready!” Mi Jing Lun replied.
Yang Kai grinned, “In that case, let’s begin.”
When the words left his mouth, he summoned the Space-Time River. The meandering river wound itself around the majestic Pure Yang Pass and encircled it like a Dragon. As Yang Kai continuously urged the Dao Strengths, the Void containing the Pure Yang Pass was stripped away and then gradually compressed.
The main reason why Mi Jing Lun had waited for Yang Kai at this spot was that he had no means to bring Pure Yang Pass away with him. Apart from Yang Kai, the Human Race had no other means to transport or move the huge Great Pass. Even Yang Kai had to rely on his Space-Time River and a certain Secret Technique to refine the Void containing the Pure Yang Pass into an existence that resembled a World Bead.
Needless to say, Yang Kai could probably take the entire Pure Yang Pass into his Small Universe with the current heritage. It was just that Pure Yang Pass was so gigantic that taking in Pure Yang Pass would place an enormous burden on him, which would inconvenience his future plans. Therefore, Yang Kai decided to follow the original plan and summoned the Space-Time River instead.
The Dao Strengths kept vibrating strongly. Meanwhile, the Space-Time River wrapped around Pure Yang Pass shrank at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. After an hour, Pure Yang Pass finally transformed into a fist-sized World Bead.
Yang Kai put the World Bead away and called out to Mi Jing Lun, “Let’s go.”
Mi Jing Lun took one last look at the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters had been located; then, he quickly retracted his gaze and left with Yang Kai.
After several transfers through various Territory Gates, Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun arrived at Black Territory a few days later. The huge void was densely packed with an overwhelming number of Warships everywhere Yang Kai looked. Most of these Warships were standard Squad-Class Warships, but there were also quite a few Purifying Black Ink Battleships in the mix. The Purifying Black Ink Battleships which were surrounded by Squad-Class Warships looked very conspicuous among the fleet.
Even Yang Kai, who had experienced countless large-scale battles, could not help feeling amazed at his first glance at the scene in Black Territory.
Back when the Human Army launched their first crusade against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the size of the fleet had not been small either. Nonetheless, that was merely the gathering of forces from 100 or so Great Passes.
Comparatively, the current force contained all the existing heritage of the Human Race. The Human Race Army from back then could not compare with the current Human Army in terms of the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters or the size of the fleet.
The only lacking aspect was the number of Ninth-Order Masters. In that regard, the current Human Race Army could not compare to the Human Army from back then. There used to be more than 100 Ninth-Order Masters in the past, but there were no more than 10 of them now.
“Huh? There’s an additional Ninth-Order Master!” Yang Kai glanced in a certain direction in surprise. As soon as he stepped foot in the Black Territory, he instantly detected an unfamiliar aura belonging to a Ninth-Order Master. It was not Shi Da Zhuang who advanced to the Ninth Order 20 years ago, but somebody he did not recognise.
“Tang Tao of Golden Antelope Paradise. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of her before,” Mi Jing Lun explained casually, “She advanced to the Ninth Order five years ago.”
[Five years ago…] Yang Kai did a quick calculation. That was around the time he entered the Myriad Monsters World and borrowed its power to boost his cultivation.
“A woman?” He sounded even more stunned.
Listening to Yang Kai’s tone, Mi Jing Lun wondered in astonishment, “Are you prejudiced against women?”
“No, I’m just surprised.”
“That would be for the best,” He smiled, “Junior Sister Tang is slightly prejudiced against men. I hope you won’t take her words to heart if she says something unpleasant to you when you meet each other, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Of course, I won’t take offence from a Junior.”
Mi Jing Lun sighed in amazement, “The new era is here. If the Human Race had just another 1,000 years… No, even 200 years would be enough. At that time, we would be able to conquer the No-Return Pass with ease. It’s such a pity that the time we have is so short.”
Shi Da Zhuang’s advancement symbolised the arrival of a new era. He represented the emergence of the rising stars who had received feedback from the first World Tree clone. They were the hope and future of the Human Race and the light illuminating the coming dawn.
As part of the Open Heaven Realm Masters from the previous generation, Mi Jing Lun and the others were sincerely pleased by the situation. Born as part of the Human Race in this chaotic era, they did not fear death or pain. On the contrary, what they feared most were the lack of successors and the inability of their descendants to take over the burdens of their Ancestors.
In just two decades, the Human Race welcomed the birth of two new Ninth-Order Masters; moreover, it was believed that more and more Ninth-Order Masters would rise soon.
Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun walked forward without hiding their auras. As they passed the Warships, countless soldiers stationed aboard them turned to stare at them with expressions of great admiration in their eyes.
It did not take long for them to arrive in the middle of Black Territory where the secret passage was located. Many higher-ups from the Cave Heavens and Paradises knew about this place; after all, it was at this spot that Yang Kai had travelled to the Black Ink Battlefield alone.
Thousands of years ago, the Black Ink Clan had enthusiastically searched for the entrance to this secret passage, but their efforts had proven futile; after all, Yang Kai would make sure to seal the entrance completely whenever he entered or exited the secret passage. Only those with great proficiency in the Dao of Space could find traces of his handiwork if they investigated this place carefully.
Many Ninth-Order Masters were waiting here on the deck of a Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun flew over, landed in front of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and cupped their fists in greeting, “Many thanks for your patience, everyone.”
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters quickly bowed in return with Ou Yang Lie explaining, “We didn’t wait very long. Big Head Mi considered your cultivation time when he issued the assembly order, so our timing is just right.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and swept his gaze across the gathered Ninth-Order Masters. In the end, he fixed his gaze on an unfamiliar-looking woman and smiled warmly, “You must be Junior Sister Tang.”
Tang Tao immediately took two steps forward and her face flushed as she bowed in greeting, “Tang Tao greets Senior Brother Yang.”
He reached out his hand and gestured for her to skip the formalities, then he showered her with praises, “Great talents are born in every generation indeed. The fact that both you and Junior Brother Shi managed to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm at such a critical moment proves that the fate of the Human Race is not in decline. The future of the Human Race will depend on you now.”
After Yang Kai finished speaking, he involuntarily froze for a moment, [What an elderly-sounding speech… I’ve truly gotten old…]
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai was indeed an old man in terms of both age and seniority. He was probably looking at Tang Tao and Shi Da Zhuang in the same way that the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors had looked at him back then. It would seem that the torch of the Human Race was being passed down from generation to generation in an everlasting cycle.
Tang Tao hurriedly waved her hands in embarrassment, “You are praising me too much, Senior Brother. It has not been long since Senior Brother Shi and I advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Please take care of us in the future, Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters.”
After saying that, she turned her eyes to Shi Da Zhuang, who was standing next to her, and secretly kicked him in the shin.
Shi Da Zhuang came to his senses and nodded repeatedly, “Uh… En, Junior Sister Tang is right.”
Tang Tao added, “Senior Brother, both Senior Brother Shi and I are from the Star Boundary too. In fact, I came from the Southern Territory.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised a brow at those words, “The Southern Territory is said to have produced countless talented individuals throughout history. I guess it’s true. Don’t forget to take good care of yourself when the war breaks out. Only by staying alive can you slaughter more Black Ink Clansmen in the future and witness our final victory.”
“Yes!” Tang Tao nodded so hard that she resembled a chicken pecking rice.
Afterwards, Yang Kai turned around without wasting more time and his expression grew stern, “This matter cannot be delayed. Let’s begin.”
When the words left his mouth, he stepped forward and stood in the void. He then shouted, “Where are the Void Guard?”
In the next moment, the Void Guard under the leadership of Li Wu Yi responded from one of the nearby Purifying Black Ink Battleships. There were only 140 of them as not all of them were gathered here. Some of them had been dispatched to prepare the Space Arrays connecting to the No-Return Pass.
“Greetings, Sir Yang!” They cupped their fists in greeting.
“Void Guard, heed my command! We now open a passage to the Black Ink Battlefield!”
“Yes!”
After the order was relayed, the Void Guard disciples sped off in a certain direction under Yang Kai’s leadership and soon came to stand at a certain spot. Then, Space Principles flared as they began to unseal the previously sealed passage.
Most of the people on the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were watching Yang Kai; however, Ou Yang Lie was looking at Tang Tao with an amused expression.
Sensing his gaze, Tang Tao glanced at him with a faint blush on her face, “What are you looking at, Senior Brother Ou Yang?”
He shook his head, “Junior Sister Tang, you can’t treat Yang Kai differently just because that brat is handsome. You should show proper respect and treat everybody equally.”
She snorted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Senior Brother.”
Then, she turned away and continued to watch Yang Kai. Nevertheless, the tips of her ears were pink with embarrassment.
Ou Yang Lie sighed and shook his head. Glancing at Mi Jing Lun, he exchanged a wry smile with the other party. It should be said that he understood the situation perfectly and knew that Tang Tao’s feelings were not of love for Yang Kai. In any case, he was a Ninth-Order Master, so how could he be bothered by the romantic relationships between the younger generation, especially at such a critical moment when the survival of the Human Race was at stake?
The truth was that the rising stars simply had an inherent sense of awe and admiration for Yang Kai, regardless of their cultivation or aptitude. This situation was related to the history of the Human Race, including the tragic events that transpired in the past and Yang Kai’s contribution during that difficult time. More than that, it was related to the ones who taught and raised these rising stars.
During the darkest days of the Human Race, there was a person who showed up to turn the tide when the situation seemed helpless. With his strength alone, he had obtained some breathing space for the Human Race and even saved the Human Race from the brink of extinction. It was also because of him that the Human Race gained the capital to resist the Black Ink Clan.
That was why even Tang Tao, who was prejudiced against men and constantly criticized an old man like Ou Yang Lie with sharp words, couldn’t help showing the attitude of an awestruck fangirl when she encountered Yang Kai in person. It could be said that the rising stars who were born in the darkest age of the Human Race could never escape the name ‘Yang Kai’ during their growth process, and that was especially true for those with great aptitude.
Everybody watched intently as the Space Principles fluctuated vigorously. It did not take long for the entrance of the passage that Yang Kai sealed in the past to appear before them in the form of a perpetually rotating vortex. Furthermore, there was an aura of nihility radiating from the entrance.
Yang Kai slipped inside, and the Void Guard followed closely behind him, their figures vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
The entrance to this passage was located in Black Territory. On the other hand, the exit was located somewhere in the void of the Blue Sky Theatre, within the Black Ink Clan’s former territory.
Yang Kai had used this secret passage to travel between Black Territory and the Black Ink Battlefield on multiple occasions, so he was very familiar with the process.
It would take no effort for Yang Kai to bring a small number of cultivators through this Void Corridor as they would succeed as long as they persistently forged forward and overcame the few obstacles in their way. However, a massive number of people would soon be passing through this passage. There were 12 Armies, and each one had at least two to three million soldiers in their ranks. In other words, the 12 Human Race Armies consisted of nearly 30 million soldiers.
The original passage could not meet the requirements of the Human Race Army. If they wanted to transport the Army to the Blue Sky Theatre in short order, they had to figure out a method to expand and fortify the corridor.
Even Yang Kai, who had advanced to the Ninth Order, could not achieve such a feat with his strength alone. Fortunately, he was not the only person who was proficient in the Dao of Space. With 140 Void Guards assisting, this task was no longer impossible to pull off.
Deep inside the passage, everyone immediately noticed the presence of the ubiquitous Void Turbulence around them. Strictly speaking, this corridor was just a long Void Crack. If those who entered this place were not proficient in the Dao of Space, they would quickly lose their way and never find their way out again, be it to the exit or the entrance. Even those who were proficient in the Dao of Space had to be very careful in such places.
Yang Kai took the lead to clear and mark the path ahead, his Space Principles oscillating constantly. Meanwhile, the Void Guard formed a long line behind him and drew upon their respective Space Principles in a similar fashion. It was thanks to these actions that the passage was expanded at a steady pace and the Void Turbulence was smoothed into an orderly tunnel.
During this period, Yang Kai also arranged Dao Arrays along both sides of the passage to further increase its stability. The fortified passage continued to extend forward under their wholehearted cooperation.
Whenever they progressed forward by a certain distance, a Void Guard would remain behind under Yang Kai’s orders to monitor the situation and deal with any unexpected emergencies that might occur. Seeing as it was Yang Kai’s first time undertaking such a task, he did not dare to guarantee that the passage would remain stable at all times. It was better to prepare some safety measures just in case.
They steadily progressed forward with only 100 Void Guards remaining by the time they arrived at the exit. 40 Void Guards had been left behind to monitor various locations in the passage.
At the exit, Yang Kai stood motionless and glanced behind him. When he saw that Li Wu Yi and the others were following closely behind him, he raised his hand and pressed against the space before him. Space Principles fluctuated, and ripples suddenly appeared in the void that had been sealed for many years. As the ripples spread out, a portal soon emerged. Yang Kai slipped out of the passage, and the Void Guard rushed out from behind him under Li Wu Yi’s lead.
“Stay here and expand the passage as quickly as possible. Don’t forget to send a message to inform Supreme Commander Mi that the preparations have been completed. I will go and check out the surrounding situation,” Yang Kai instructed.
Li Wu Yi accepted the order. After choosing one person to report back to Mi Jing Lun, he assigned a group of people to stand guard around the exit. As for the rest, they began to expand and stabilize the passage further.
Back in Black Territory, Mi Jing Lun soon received news of their progress. Following his command, the Squads quickly kept their respective Warships in their Small Universes before flying into the passage under the leadership of their higher-ups.
On the other side, Yang Kai’s figure flickered as he travelled through the void, his Divine Sense spreading out to investigate his surroundings. Now that he was in the Ninth Order, his Divine Sense was extremely powerful so it did not matter whether the movement was as slight as the wind blowing through the grass, nothing in the vicinity could be concealed from his perception.
A group of Black Ink Clansmen with a dozen or so members was wandering around the void. They did not seem to have any fixed goals in mind. On the contrary, they seemed to be searching for something in all directions. Every corner of the void and every piece of rock and debris was carefully investigated without exception.
When they reached a certain part of the void, something unexpected occurred. Space suddenly shattered apart like a piece of broken glass. Caught in the shattered Void, they didn’t even have time to react before they were turned into hashed meat and severed limbs.
In the next instant, Yang Kai’s figure appeared not far away with a deep scowl on his face.
Several dozen years ago, Yang Kai had spent some time chatting with Mo Na Ye at the No-Return Pass. Although they probed each other for information, neither party had gotten any valuable clues from their exchange. Yang Kai had failed to learn whether Mo, in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, had awoken, and Mo Na Ye had failed to discover the location of the secret passage that led from the 3,000 Worlds to the Black Ink Battlefield.
Although Mo Na Ye did not know much about the secret passage, that did not prevent him from taking action to search for it. This was actually the fifth Black Ink Clan team that Yang Kai eliminated so far. All of them had been Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Strangely enough, not a single Feudal Lord had been seen. Furthermore, the number in each team was small, ranging from a handful to a dozen at most.
It could be conceived that Mo Na Ye had dispatched many Black Ink Clansmen to search in a grid-like manner over the years, all in hopes of finding the location of the secret passage. Despite knowing that this method might not show any results, Mo Na Ye still ordered it in the hopes of preventing an ambush from the Human Race. At the very least, the Black Ink Clan would quickly receive feedback that five Black Ink Clan search teams that Yang Kai eliminated had gone missing. Based on such reports, Mo Na Ye would be able to determine the general location of the Human Race Army and make some preparations in advance. It could even be said that these Black Ink Clansmen were dispatched to be killed by the Human Race, which also explained their weak strength and low numbers.
Mo Na Ye had no doubt that the Human Race Army would enter the Black Ink Battlefield via the secret passage and launch an offensive against the No-Return Pass; after all, that was the only viable option. That was why he assigned a large number of scouts throughout the Black Ink Battlefield. The places where the scouts disappeared would indicate the direction that the Human Race Army would be attacking from.
Although Yang Kai was aware of this fact, he had no choice but to act. The scale of the Human Race Army was so large that it was not feasible to hide it. Once they gathered together to take action, the Black Ink Clansmen scattered everywhere would surely notice their movements anyway; hence, he might as well remove all the scouts in the area beforehand.
After searching a wide perimeter and eliminating at least 30 Black Ink Clan teams, Yang Kai finally returned.
From a distance, he saw that a large part of the Army had gathered around the exit of the secret passage; moreover, numerous Warships were being summoned one after the other. The Squads who arrived first were clearly making preparations for the arrival of their companions.
Mi Jing Lun and most of the other Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had also arrived, leaving only a few to bring up the rear.
The Ninth-Order Masters convened together, and Yang Kai reported his discoveries.
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Mo Na Ye is certainly not an easy opponent to face, but his actions are within our expectations. Besides, we never expected to succeed in launching a sneak attack on the No-Return Pass. Since our movements have been discovered, we might as well start the fight with a spectacular bang.”
Yang Kai observed, “The scouts in this vicinity have all been removed, so there should be some delay before the Black Ink Clan receives news of our arrival; even so, the delay will not be long. I estimate that we have a month at most, possibly even less.”
No matter how slow the reaction of the Black Ink Clan was, they were bound to notice that something was wrong when so many of their scouting parties failed to contact them after a month.
“That’s enough,” Mi Jing Lun said, “The Army will only take half a month to assemble here from Black Territory.” Looking back at the exit of the passage, he sighed heavily, “It’s just a pity about the passage. The location of the secret passage will be completely exposed.”
Through Yang Kai and the Void Guard’s joint efforts to expand and fortify the passage, the corridor had been transformed into an existence that resembled a Territory Gate, though it still had some noticeable differences.
A real Territory Gate connected two Great Territories together, allowing a cultivator to arrive at the opposite side by passing through it. The key feature of such Territory Gates was the journey would only take a brief moment; on the other hand, travelling through the entirety of this passage not only required a noticeable amount of time, but also came with all kinds of potential risks. Naturally, the risks were not too high thanks to the Void Guard stationed at various positions along the passage, but they undoubtedly existed.
Such a passage could no longer be hidden completely at this stage. Even if Yang Kai used various means to seal the entrances to the passage again, it was no longer possible to completely conceal it. There was a high chance for the Black Ink Clan to locate this opening if they worked hard enough.
“If we lose this battle, the Human Race will be doomed to extinction. It doesn’t matter whether the passage is exposed or not,” Xiang Shan said lightly from the side.
Yang Kai nodded, “Let’s proceed as planned.” Then, he turned to look at Li Wu Yi, “Take a group of Void Guards and set off immediately towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Don’t forget to set up the Space Arrays along the way.”
Although the Human Race Army was currently targeting the No-Return Pass, it was just as Yang Kai had said. They should not limit their focus to the situation at hand; they also have to look towards the future.
Looking at the bigger picture, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the biggest affliction tormenting the Human Race. Not to mention, the journey to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was very, very long. It was necessary to make various preparations in advance. They would not have enough time if they waited until the war at the No-Return Pass was one to get started.
With this arrangement, the best outcome was that the Human Race would spend a dozen years conquering the No-Return Pass. This period would provide the Void Guard with enough time to finish preparing the Space Arrays connecting to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. At that time, the Human Race Army would only need to undergo some slight reorganization before quickly travelling to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction via the Space Arrays.
These actions were part of the plans that the Supreme Headquarters made in advance. During the journey from the Supreme Headquarters to Black Territory, Mi Jing Lun had explained the plans to Yang Kai in detail. In regards to manpower, the Supreme Headquarters had also taken the necessary measures beforehand.
When Li Wu Yi heard Yang Kai’s statement, he immediately accepted the order, “Yes!”
Yang Kai glanced at Li Wu Yi and warned, “The road ahead is dangerous. May fortune be with you!”
Li Wu Yi nodded heavily and immediately gave a wave of his hand, “Designated Squads, with me!”
Out of the 100 or so Void Guards left, 80 instantly departed with Li Wu Yi. That was not all, a fleet of Warships also headed swiftly into the depths of the void. These Squads were tasked with protecting the Universe Temples; after all, the distance between this place and the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was too vast. Li Wu Yi and the others would have to prepare more than one Space Array along the way, and every Space Array they established would need to be guarded. Relying on the Void Guard’s manpower alone would not be enough to carry out the task.
Every Void Guard was proficient in the Dao of Space, so they travelled extremely quickly.
Even though the fleet of Warships set off at the same time as Li Wu Yi and the others, they did not travel together. They simply needed to arrive at each Space Arrays that were established along the route, then divide their forces to establish protective details for those Space Arrays. Hence, there was no need for them to push themselves to travel together with Li Wu Yi and the Void Guard.
In Mi Jing Lun’s plans, each Universe Temple would have at least one Eighth-Order Master standing guard. It was fortunate that the heritage of the Human Race had improved drastically over the years, so there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to spare nowadays. If it had been several thousand years ago, the Human Race would not have had the capital to throw their manpower around in such a luxurious manner.
“I’ll be leaving first,” Yang Kai informed Mi Jing Lun. After picking out two Void Guards, the three of them immediately travelled in the direction of the No-Return Pass.
According to the original plan, Yang Kai was also supposed to prepare some Space Arrays, it was just that he was responsible for preparing the Space Arrays that connected the exit of the passage to the No-Return Pass instead.
The exit of the secret passage was located in the Blue Sky Theatre, within the territory occupied by the Black Ink Clan back then. Although the distance between this place and the No-Return Pass was not as great as the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it could not be considered short either. With the Human Race Army’s current enormous line-up, they would need to spend at least two years to arrive at the No-Return Pass without the help of the Space Array, which was an unacceptable delay.
Now that the Black Ink Clan’s scouts in the vicinity had been removed, it would not take long for the enemy to learn about the Human Race’s attack. Speed was crucial under these circumstances. Naturally, it was better for the Human Race Army to attack as soon as possible.
After Yang Kai departed, the remaining Void Guards began to prepare the first Space Array that would be located here. Setting up the Space Array was not a difficult task because all the Space Arrays had been prepared beforehand and transported in the Universe Temples that had been collected previously. Hence, the Void Guard simply had to search for a suitable location, place the Universe Temple in position, and make some slight adjustments to the Space Array inside.
One of the Void Guards in the Eighth Order opened the portal of his Small Universe. Following his actions, the portal expanded incessantly. It did not take long before a Universe Temple emerged. Under Mi Jing Lun’s guidance, he placed the Universe Temple at a certain spot in the void.
Several Void Guards immediately flew into the Universe Temple to check and calibrate the Space Array. A short while later, they reported that everything was ready and the Space Array was in perfect working condition. Thereupon, the Human Race Army finally succeeded in placing their first Space Array on the Black Ink Battlefield.
With this Space Array acting as a connection point, the Space Arrays laid by Yang Kai in the direction of the No-Return Pass and the Space Arrays laid by Li Wu Yi in the direction of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction could easily form a connection with the Space Array in this place. As such, they would have a direct transportation route from the No-Return Pass to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction once they completed their tasks.
There would be many transfer points along the way, but that was preferable compared to the long journey that the Human Race Army would have had to make instead. In this way, they could aim straight at the heart of their enemy as soon as they conquered the No-Return Pass and launch a crusade towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at the fastest speed.
Afterwards, a steady stream of soldiers poured out from the exit of the secret passage. Aside from the group of elites who arrived earlier, all those who came later were soldiers with lower cultivation.
The current Human Race was extremely powerful, and their heritage was unprecedentedly rich. Be that as it may, the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters occupied the largest proportion of their strength. In particular, the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters held the highest numbers. The amount of Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was the highest, exceeding the total number of Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and below.
This situation was vastly different from the situation during peaceful times.
Before the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, those in the Third Order and below had accounted for the majority of the Human Race. In fact, Yang Kai had encountered many First-Order and Second-Order Masters when he first arrived in the 3,000 Worlds.
On the contrary, hardly any First-Order or Second-Order Masters were born among the Human Race nowadays. Even the weakest Open Heaven Realm Masters advanced directly to the Third Order. As for those who came from the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles, the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World, the Fourth Order was the minimum.
There were two reasons for this situation. In addition to the feedback from the World Tree clone, the process to obtain resources was also much simpler than before.
In the past, most of the ‘low-born’ cultivators had neither the ability nor the capital to obtain the resources needed to advance to the Open Heaven Realm; however, they could now redeem these resources from the Human Race Army as long as they had enough Military Merits to perform an exchange. Strictly speaking, it did not become easier for cultivators to obtain resources, it was simply a more direct method of resource acquisition that had not been available to those who were born from humble backgrounds before.
Back when the Great Passes were in conflict with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield, the minimum requirement to enter the Black Ink Battlefield was the Sixth Order; after all, those below the Sixth Order were completely helpless against the corruption of Black Ink Strength.
Unlike back then, the Human Race now had the means to resist Black Ink Strength. Not only did they have Purifying Light, which could dispel Black Ink Strength in a cultivator’s Small Universe, but they also had the Purifying Black Ink Pills, which could prevent the corruption of Black Ink Strength. Thus, the requirements had been reduced by a slight margin. Nevertheless, no matter how much they lowered their requirements, the Fourth Order remained the most basic requirement.
Only those in the Fourth Order and above qualified to contribute their strength on the battlefield. Those in the Fourth Order and below would not have much value on the battlefield. In other words, those in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and below did not meet the basic requirements to enter the battlefield; after all, the Human Race did not have the habit of using those with weaker cultivation as cannon fodder.
Even so, Mi Jing Lun did not hesitate to bring along all those who were in the Third Order and below for this crusade. The mission of those in the Third Order and below was not to fight on the battlefield but to mine resources!
The Human Race had been lacking cultivation resources for a long time now. If Yang Kai had not brought back a large amount of materials from the Black Ink Clan a couple dozen years ago, the repair of Pure Yang Pass would not have been possible.
At the moment though, the Human Race was practically bankrupt. The demand for various resources would only increase exponentially once the war at the No-Return Pass broke out. Not to mention that resources were required each time they transported the army via the Space Arrays.
Seeing as the entire Human Race Army would need to be transported to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in the near future, there was no doubt that the consumption of resources would soar to a shocking level. That was why they had to make preparations in advance. Even if they expected to receive an enormous amount of resources once they conquered the No-Return Pass, that would only come after they succeeded in their crusade.
The 3,000 Worlds was an empty shell right now. There was no place left where resources could be sourced from, but the Black Ink Battlefield was different. The vast Black Ink Battlefield had always been a treasure trove of various cultivation resources due to how expansive it was. Over the years, both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had been mining resources in the Black Ink Battlefield, and although the Black Ink Battlefield was bound to grow barren one day, it was currently enough to meet the needs of the Human Race.
Therefore, the cultivators in the Third Order and below were dispatched here after the elites of the Human Race Army arrived and settled in. These cultivators did not waste any time; as soon as they arrived, they immediately split into small groups and scattered in all directions to search for locations with resources.
The dozen or so Void Guards who remained behind also split up in various directions. Their current task was to construct more Universe Temples equipped with Space Arrays at various locations throughout the Black Ink Battlefield. This way, the cultivation resources gathered by the others could easily be sent back to the main Army.
The scene might have seemed frantic and chaotic, but things were actually moving forward in an orderly manner.
Two days later, nearly 3 million Third-Order Masters had arrived from Black Territory. That number accounted for almost 10% of the Human Race Army. They swiftly scattered in all directions across the Black Ink Battlefield. At this rate, it would not take long before they brought huge and continuous benefits back with them.
It was not until this moment that Mi Jing Lun’s anxiety finally reduced slightly. Over the years, he had been in charge of the Supreme Headquarters. He was responsible for coordinating and dispatching the Human Race Army, so the supply of resources had also been a huge headache for him. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do to solve this problem until the Human Race Army set off for the Black Ink Battlefield.
At this point, the Black Ink Battlefield was no longer the Black Ink Clan’s backyard! It belonged to the Human Race!
The Human Race Army was attacking, and the Black Ink Clan could do nothing to stop them except defend the No-Return Pass. The situation at this moment was very similar to the Black Ink Clan’s previous assault on the No-Return Pass, it was just that the offence and defence had been reversed.
At this moment, a figure flew out of the Universe Temple that had just been set up. He came straight to Mi Jing Lun and cupped his fist in greeting, “Supreme Commander Mi, we have established a connection with the first Space Array leading to the No-Return Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly, “Understood.”
Although he seemed calm and collected on the surface, he was secretly amazed by the news.
Yang Kai was very fast indeed. No news came from Li Wu Yi, who had departed earlier; on the other hand, Yang Kai had already finished placing his first Space Array. Thinking about it again though, it was not a surprise. Yang Kai had higher attainments in the Dao of Space compared to Li Wu Yi in the first place, so it was only natural for him to be much faster.
Turning to look at Xiang Shan and the others, Mi Jing Lun issued the order, “Start making arrangements for the teleportation of the Army.”
Xiang Shan and the others nodded, then left to make the necessary arrangements.
Every teleportation that was performed required resources. More importantly, the number of resources consumed was closely related to the number of people being transported; therefore, in order to reduce consumption, the Human Race Army needed the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to accommodate some of their subordinates in their respective Small Universes in an effort to reduce the number of people being transmitted.
These measures would affect the strength of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to a certain extent, but they would not be affected to the extent that they would be completely helpless in the face of danger as long as they were careful about the number of people they took into their Small Universe. Naturally, it was not a great concern currently since the chance of them being in danger was very minimal.
There were many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters nowadays, so almost every Squad had at least two or three Seventh-Order Masters. Some Squads might even have as many as four Seventh-Order Masters. This was a situation that would never be seen on the Black Ink Battlefield back then.
If each Squad was considered a unit, then the Seventh-Order Masters were perfectly capable of accommodating all the members of their respective Squads inside their Small Universe. Some of the Seventh-Order Masters could even be accommodated by the Eighth-Order Masters. Under this arrangement, the consumption of resources would be greatly reduced. At the same time, the efficiency of transmission would also be significantly improved.
At this moment, the first portion of the Human Race Army to arrive was preparing to teleport to the location of the first Universe Temple that had been set up. Nevertheless, more troops were streaming in from Black Territory. With both sides rushing forward simultaneously, the Human Race Army was practically unstoppable as they travelled towards the No-Return Pass in quick leaping motions via the Universe Temples established along the way.
A new Space Array would be added to the network every two days or so, meaning soldiers would have to embark on their next teleportation after only a short respite following their arrival at the previous Universe Temple.
Needless to say, they had to leave some manpower behind to guard and defend the Universe Temples lest they be damaged or destroyed by any unexpected incidents. This was true for both the Space Arrays that Yang Kai and Li Wu Yi prepared.
According to the plan, each Universe Temple would be protected by a Void Guard once the Space Array was activated. It was expected that such high-intensity and frequent teleportation would have some impact on the Space Arrays. If any accidents were to happen, these Void Guards could immediately step in to maintain and repair the Space Arrays. Excluding Yang Kai, there were almost 150 Void Guards, which was just enough for such a task.
During this period, they finally received news from Li Wu Yi. The first Space Array had not only been established, but also successfully connected with the Space Array located in front of the entrance to the secret passage.
Half a month later, the entire Human Race Army that had previously gathered in Black Territory arrived without a single member missing, with Wei Jun Yang, who was in charge of bringing up the rear, arriving last.
At this moment, Yang Kai and the two Void Guards who were preparing the Space Arrays in the direction of the No-Return Pass were already halfway through their journey. They also left behind three Universe Temples that they deployed along the way. Judging by their speed, the first part of the Human Race Army would reach the periphery of the No-Return Pass in another half a month.
It was not until this moment that the No-Return Pass realised that something was wrong, but the delay could not be blamed on the Black Ink Clan’s ignorance. The truth was that Mo Na Ye was already very cautious. After his previous exchange with Yang Kai to probe each other for information several years ago, he confirmed the existence of a secret passage leading between the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield. Thanks to that piece of information, he immediately realised that the Human Race would eventually attack the No-Return Pass through that secret passage.
After all, that was the only method for the Humans to fully maximise their strengths in the assault. It was far too disadvantageous for them to attack from the Territory Gate because the Black Ink Clan could cause significant casualties to them just by establishing a tight line of defence around the location. Nobody would ever choose to use such a foolish method if there was a better option.
Unfortunately, Mo Na Ye had been unable to confirm the exact location of the secret passage’s exit. That was why he quickly dispatched a large number of Black Ink Clan scouts into the Black Ink Battlefield following Yang Kai’s departure from the No-Return Pass.
His plan had been to search for the secret passage while simultaneously guarding against any possible movements from the Human Race. Naturally, his main purpose was the latter. As for finding the exit of the secret passage, he did not expect much and simply did his best to achieve results. For this purpose, the Black Ink Clan even deliberately produced nearly 10,000 Low-Rank Black Ink Nests for the Black Ink Clan search parties to bring along when they ventured deep into the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yang Kai had eliminated several dozen Black Ink Clan squads around the vicinity of the secret passage; moreover, his movements were so swift that the Black Ink Clansmen had no time to react whatsoever.
Although Yang Kai managed to prevent the enemy from learning about their presence in the immediate term, the Black Ink Clansmen overseeing the nearby Low-Rank Black Ink Nests soon noticed that something was wrong when they failed to make contact with their search teams for the past half a month; therefore, they followed the instructions they received from Mo Na Ye before they were dispatched here and sent word to the No-Return Pass via the Black Ink Nest Space.
Upon receiving the message, Mo Na Ye immediately realised the problem. It was impossible for the Black Ink Clan scouts searching the Black Ink Battlefield to disappear for no apparent reason; after all, there were currently no dangers on the Black Ink Battlefield. It was understandable if something had happened to one or two teams, as accidents or unexpected delays did still occur, but the fact that dozens of scout teams had gone missing at the same time was self-explanatory.
Under the premise that the Human Race Army would launch an assault from the Black Ink Battlefield, Mo Na Ye would not hold any unrealistic illusions towards the information he received and immediately concluded that the Humans were coming! Furthermore, their general direction and distance could now be determined from the location of the lost Black Ink Clan scouts!
With the No-Return Pass as the starting point and the location of the lost scouts as the endpoint, Mo Na Ye plotted a route and hastily ordered the Black Ink Clan scouts along the route to investigate their surroundings carefully and report any sign of abnormalities immediately.
The arrival of the Human Race Army came far earlier than he expected, which was extremely bad for him. Mo Na Ye’s only consolation was that their starting point was extremely distant. Even if the Human Race Army moved at full speed, he estimated they would not be able to reach the No-Return Pass for at least a year or two, which would give the Black Ink Clan some time and space to prepare countermeasures.
After he pondered for some time, he hurried to Mo Yu and reported the situation; then, he discussed some countermeasures. At the same time, he ordered the Pseudo-Royal Lords under his command to continue tempting the two Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory.
When the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods escaped into the No-Return Pass back then, Yang Kai had decisively sealed the Territory Gate shut. Be that as it may, the Black Ink Clan had long since reopened the Territory Gate. Moreover, the Black Ink Clan had never stopped trying to target Ah Da and Ah Er over the past few years.
Mo Na Ye knew that these two Giant Spirit Gods were the strongest forces of the Human Race Army. If they could eliminate the two Giant Spirit Gods before the Humans arrived, then the enemy would be no match for the Black Ink Clan, regardless of how many Ninth-Order Masters were born during this period.
Among the Black Ink Clan nowadays, the number of Royal Lords could no longer compare to the Ninth-Order Masters, and the number of Territory Lords could no longer compare to the number of Eighth-Order Masters. Nevertheless, there were many Pseudo-Royal Lords, so if the Humans lost their two Giant Spirit Gods, who were the pillars of their Army, how could they prevent the onslaught of the numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords and the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods?
According to the information that Mo Na Ye received from the Black Ink Disciples, the Giant Spirit Gods were of a Race that did not boast high sentience despite their overwhelming strength. If they could utilize this aspect properly, they might just be able to eliminate those two behemoths without too much trouble.
Nonetheless, they had to lure the two Giant Spirit Gods into the No-Return Pass if they wanted a chance to eradicate them. The No-Return Pass was the headquarters of the Black Ink Clan, with countless Masters gathered here in addition to the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. As long as the two Giant Spirit Gods dared to step foot into the No-Return Pass, they would never leave this place alive again.
Provocation was one method; however, no matter how the Black Ink Clan tried to taunt them, Ah Da and Ah Er never forgot Yang Kai’s instructions to protect the Territory Gate before he departed. Their orders were to smash any Black Ink Clansman who tried to pass through the Territory Gate, nothing more, nothing less.
Several Pseudo-Royal Lords were injured as a result. After that, no Pseudo-Royal Lord dared to enter the Barren Territory at will again. A single slap from the Giant Spirit Gods contained a Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering might. Not even a Pseudo-Royal Lord could survive a direct hit.
The Black Ink Clan did not stop at provocation though, they also employed another method, temptation.
The Black Ink Disciples who originated from the Human Race had given Mo Na Ye another valuable piece of information; the Giant Spirit Gods fed on dead Universe Worlds.
The 3,000 Worlds was now barren and infertile, so the two Giant Spirit Gods had probably been starving for many years now. For that reason, Mo Na Ye ordered his men to drag over several dead Universes Worlds from the far depths of the Black Ink Battlefield to tempt Ah Da and Ah Er through the Territory Gate. This plan nearly succeeded.
As soon as the bald Giant Spirit God saw the dead Universes Worlds through the Territory Gate, his drool flowed down his chest like a waterfall. In fact, he nearly charged right into the No-Return Pass at first sight. If not for the Giant Spirit God with a tuft of hair on his head who desperately held his clansman back and ruined the plan, the Black Ink Clan could have obliterated one of them on the spot!
Back when Mo Na Ye first witnessed the scene, he was so furious that he nearly choked on his rage.
Now that the Pseudo-Royal Lords received another order from Mo Na Ye recently, they immediately looked very distressed. Their confrontation with the Giant Spirit Gods over the past 10 years or so had shown them that the two beings were not easy opponents despite their slow-witted appearances. When the overwhelming power of each Giant Spirit God surpassed essentially all other living creatures in the Universe, their low sentience no longer mattered. Their strength alone was not something that could be ignored.
Fortunately, one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords quickly came up with a good idea. He smashed one of the dead Universes Worlds nearby to pieces and threw a small Universe Fragment into the Barren Territory.
The two Giant Spirit Gods happily shared the Universe Fragment between themselves, then they turned to look at the Pseudo-Royal Lord eagerly through the Territory Gate. He quickly threw a larger Universe Fragment to them, and they immediately shared the food again. Then, he threw another larger piece…
After repeating the cycle several times, he picked up an enormous Universe Fragment and pretended to throw it into the Barren Territory; however, the Territory Gate was too small for the enormous Universe Fragment to pass through.
He then set down the Universe Fragment and beckoned towards the two Giant Spirit Gods through the Territory Gate, as though inviting them over to eat.
Ah Da was tempted, then… Ah Er smacked his bald head hard several times. The blows made him clutch at his head in pain with an extremely aggrieved expression. His appearance was very pitiful, as though he did not know what he had done wrong.
“Stay here and smash them! Don’t go there!” Ah Er reminded in a rumbling voice. Even though he was standing in the vast void, his voice still echoed like explosions of thunder.
Ah Da nodded repeatedly, finally recalling the warnings of the little one. Raising his head once more, he glared at the Pseudo-Royal Lord fiercely and shouted, “Give it, or I will smash you to death!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was stunned for a moment. In the next moment, he raised his hand and shattered the enormous Universe Fragment into dust while shouting at Ah Da through the Territory Gate, “Come and smash me if you dare!”
Ah Da immediately lost his temper. Starving as he was, how could he tolerate the sight of a perfectly good piece of food being ruined right in front of him? No matter how good-natured he was, he had reached his breaking point. He stood up and took a step forward.
Just as Ah Da was about to charge through the Territory Gate, Ah Er threw himself at Ah Da and pinned the latter down.
On that day, the entire Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass heard the roars that came from the other side of the Territory Gate. They could hear the bald Giant Spirit God screaming the words “Smash you to death!” over and over again… It was a terrifying sound!
Inside the High-Rank Black Ink Nest that belonged to Mo Yu, Mo Na Ye was reporting the situation to him, but another Black Ink Clansman was sitting next to them. Given his right to sit together with Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu on equal footing, the identity of this Black Ink Clansman went without saying. He was a Royal Lord!
The Human Race had produced a new generation of Ninth-Order Masters; likewise, the Black Ink Clan had also seen the rise of the next generation of Royal Lords. It had to be said that all Acquired Territory Lords had the qualifications to become Royal Lords; thus, the only question that remained was whether they had the necessary aptitude.
There was the issue where it was significantly more difficult for a Territory Lord to become a Royal Lord than an Eighth-Order Master to advance into the Ninth-Order. The root cause was the method that the Black Ink Clan employed to increase their strength was very different from the Humans.
Unlike the Human Race, which relied on personal effort and accumulation to enhance their strength, the Black Ink Clan relied upon their Black Ink Nests to cultivate. As the power of a Black Ink Clansman grew, the process for them to enhance their strength became harder in turn. It was precisely because of this factor that despite having so many powerful Territory Lords, most were unable to become Royal Lords.
Nevertheless, the difficulty of the process did not matter in the end. The accumulation over thousands of years was enough for some of those Territory Lords to overcome the bottleneck in their cultivation. Yang Kai had already noticed that particular issue when he came to the No-Return Pass more than 20 years ago. At that moment, he was certain that new Royal Lords were going to be born into the Black Ink Clan in the near future.
A few years after that, the Black Ink Clan had indeed produced a third Royal Lord. It was none other than the individual sitting here with Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. Although sitting here meant that he could join the discussion between Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu, the newly advanced Royal Lord simply sat there and listened quietly.
In terms of qualifications and strength, he was much inferior compared to Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. The Black Ink Clan was different from the Human Race. There was no place for him to express his opinions here. He was only summoned so that he could listen to their discussion.
“Is there a need to intercept the Human Race Army?” Mo Yu scowled deeply, “There are many Ninth-Order Masters with them now, won’t it be disadvantageous for us if we send out our troops to confront them?”
Upon learning that the Human Race Army was coming to attack them, Mo Na Ye immediately came up with a plan that Mo Yu frowned upon. His plan was to prepare an ambush along the route and intercept the Human Race Army during their advance. On the other hand, Mo Yu preferred to fortify the defences of the No-Return Pass and fight the Human Race Army from within the No-Return Pass.
The fate of the entire Black Ink Clan rested upon this matter, so it was only natural for the higher-ups to have various conflicting opinions. Mo Na Ye was not surprised by Mo Yu’s stance in this matter; in fact, he had already anticipated Mo Yu’s opinion before he even came here.
Hence, Mo Na Ye brought out the speech he had prepared in advance, “Sir, the Human Race Army is taking an extremely aggressive approach. I’m sure they are fighting with everything they have; moreover, based on my understanding of the Human Race, the No-Return Pass is not their true goal. If they manage to conquer the No-Return Pass, they will definitely dispatch their Army towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.”
“The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!?” Mo Yu’s expression darkened at those words.
The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the origin of the Black Ink Clan. It was understandable for the Human Race to attack the No-Return Pass, especially since the No-Return Pass originally belonged to them. The Black Ink Clan had simply occupied this land for the past several thousands of years; however, the fact that the Humans planned to use the No-Return Pass as their stepping stone to launch an offensive against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction enraged Mo Yu.
“The Humans are too arrogant! We currently have many Pseudo-Royal Lords among our ranks, so we are perfectly capable of defending and holding the No-Return Pass. Not to mention, we also have the support of the two of the Supreme One’s Soul Clones. It will not be easy for the Human Race Army to conquer the No-Return Pass.”
Mo Na Ye cautioned Mo Yu, “There is no need to be concerned about the ordinary members of the Human Race, but I hope you do not forget about Yang Kai, Sir. It’s true that we currently have many Pseudo-Royal Lords among our ranks, but the situation on the battlefield can change in the blink of an eye. If Yang Kai was given the chance, there is no guarantee that the Pseudo-Royal Lords would be able to survive a sneak attack from him.”
Upon hearing that name, Mo Yu’s expression darkened even more as he couldn’t help recalling the battle from several thousand years ago.
When the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds back then, they had forced the Humans back into a mere dozen or so Great Territories. With such a glorious achievement, it seemed as though they could exterminate the Human Race with just a little more effort. That was the era when the Innate Territory Lords had been locked in conflict with the Eighth-Order Masters!
At the critical juncture though, Yang Kai had abruptly appeared out of nowhere. Wielding a strange Secret Technique that harmed both himself and the enemy at the same time, he caused panic among the Innate Territory Lords scattered across the various battlefields. In the end, he even managed to force the Black Ink Clan to concede and sign a series of truces on the condition that he would no longer attack them. These agreements had given the Human Race some breathing room.
Now, that person, who overturned the entire situation between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan by himself, had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. There was no denying that the Black Ink Clan currently boasted a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but based on Yang Kai’s previous battle records, it was clear those Pseudo-Royal Lords had no means to protect themselves from him whatsoever.
His interference alone had caused the Black Ink Clan to lose eight Pseudo-Royal Lords in E-5 Territory.
The current situation could be said to be even worse than the one in the past. A few thousand years ago, Yang Kai had relied upon his strange Secret Technique that harmed both himself and the enemy to carry out his attacks. As a result, he had always needed to recuperate for some time after each strike. Now, however, he no longer had such scruples.
“The goal of the Human Race Army has never been the No-Return Pass. Now that they have dispatched their troops, they must be confident they will obtain the ultimate victory. If we wish to gain the upper hand under these circumstances, then we must change our approach from being passive to aggressive. We must strike a crushing blow while the Human Race Army is on the march; otherwise, they will only become harder to defeat once they establish themselves outside the No-Return Pass.”
Mo Yu fell into deep thought at those words.
Mo Na Ye relentlessly pressured Mo Yu, “Sir, this is our only chance! The opportunity will not come again!”
After a long time, Mo Yu finally raised his head to look at Mo Na Ye, “How should we deal with Yang Kai?”
Mo Na Ye replied, “Alone, I am definitely not his opponent, but I am capable of restraining him with the help of several Pseudo-Royal Lords.” Then, he turned to look at the Royal Lord who had remained quiet all this time, “Di Ya Luo can hide in the shadows and find an opportunity to ambush him. If all goes well, we might even be able to injure him heavily!”
Di Ya Luo nodded lightly, “If given the chance, I will do my best.”
Mo Na Ye added, “The Human Race is unaware of your existence, which makes you our trump card against Yang Kai. Do not expose your existence unless you have absolute confidence in achieving success.”
“I understand.”
Mo Yu questioned once more, “What about the Supreme One’s Soul Clones? Do we need to mobilize them?”
Mo Na Ye shook his head, “We must not mobilise them. The two Giant Spirit Gods are watching us hungrily from the Barren Territory. What’s more, we don’t know if the Human Race has any other plans in place. If the Supreme One’s Soul Clones leave the No-Return Pass, we will lose the ability to restrain the two Giant Spirit Gods. The consequences will be dire if those two beings charge into the No-Return Pass at that time.”
Mo Yu frowned deeply in thought. Although he felt that Mo Na Ye’s words made sense, he could not bring himself to make a decision.
Seeing that, Mo Na Ye earnestly continued to persuade Mo Yu, “Sir, in the worst-case scenario, we will be besieged by the Human Race Army at the No-Return Pass. They will chip away at our strength, just like how we attacked the No-Return Pass in the past. In such a situation, our defeat will be inevitable. On the contrary, we might have a chance at victory if we take the initiative to strike first.”
After he finished speaking, he watched Mo Yu calmly. Mo Na Ye had said everything he needed to say, so it was now up to Mo Yu to make the decision. There was nothing else he could do if Mo Yu refused to dispatch their troops to intercept the Human Race Army. He might have made their situation sound extremely serious, but the truth was things were not that bad. Even if the Human Race Army laid siege on the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan was not completely helpless to fight back. They had made various preparations in the No-Return Pass over the years, all for the arrival of this day. It was just that… Comparatively, Mo Na Ye preferred to take the initiative and launch an offensive for once.
After a long time, Mo Yu nodded lightly, “I hope you are right.”
Mo Na Ye was overjoyed, but just as he was about to leave to make arrangements, a Territory Lord rushed into the room from the outside with a panicked expression.
Mo Yu scowled at the Territory Lord and questioned in great displeasure, “What is it!?”
The Territory Lord hurriedly submitted a jade slip, “Sirs, the scouts on the frontlines have discovered something of critical importance.”
Mo Yu raised a hand and grabbed the jade slip. Sending his Divine Sense inside, he studied the contents before his expression abruptly changed.
Mo Na Ye’s heart thundered uneasily at the sight as he instantly realised that something had gone terribly wrong. Although he did not know what was written in the jade slip, he could tell from Mo Yu’s expression that it was something detrimental to the Black Ink Clan.
In the next moment, Mo Yu silently handed the jade slip over.
Mo Na Ye took the jade slip and checked the contents. His expression quickly changed upon reading the contents and he exclaimed in alarm, “How can that be!?”
The information indicated that they had lost contact with countless Black Ink Clan scouts along the route that he previously plotted from the No-Return Pass to the secret passage. More importantly, the location of these scouts was situated along the midpoint of the route. In other words, there were Human Race Masters who not only travelled the distance that would have normally taken a year in less than 10 days, but also eliminated some of their spies who were stationed to monitor their progress.
Mo Na Ye immediately thought of Yang Kai; after all, Yang Kai was the only Human at the moment who had enough proficiency in the Dao of Space to travel at such mind-boggling speed. Looking back at the contents once more though, he felt his heart sinking after reading the second part. According to the information recorded, some of the Black Ink Clan scouts had seen a magnificent Grand Hall in the void from a distance. Furthermore, the periphery of the Grand Hall was heavily guarded by the Human Race Army!
[A Universe Temple!]
The Black Ink Clan was no stranger to these Early Ancient Era creations, having learned about the functions of the Universe Temples from the Black Ink Disciples. The Universe Temples were mainly used by the Humans in their travels thanks to the ability to shorten the time and distance required during their journey. Almost every Great Territory in the 3,000 Worlds had a Universe Temple, it was just that the Black Ink Clan had destroyed many of them during the initial invasion. Nevertheless, it was evident that some had survived the war.
Mo Na Ye never expected that an object which should have remained in the 3,000 Worlds would appear on the Black Ink Battlefield. Recalling the function of the Universe Temples, however, he immediately realised what was happening.
Mo Yu had obviously come to the same conclusion. Looking at Mo Na Ye, he dryly made an observation, “Looks like we do not need to attack them anymore. Prepare our defences.”
In just half a month, a Universe Temple had appeared at the midpoint of the route that Mo Na Ye had previously plotted. Wouldn’t that mean that a Universe Temple would appear outside the No-Return Pass in another half a month? Under these circumstances, there was not enough time for the Black Ink Clan to even organize an attack on the Human Race Army. By the time they finished their preparations, the Humans would already be at their doorstep.
At this point, there was nothing else that Mo Na Ye could do about the situation. All his plans and schemes were useless in this situation. If he wanted to defend the No-Return Pass, then he could only confront the Humans; thus, he composed his expression and said, “I understand.”
Mo Yu added, “We also need to come up with another solution for the two Giant Spirit Gods.”
“Agreed!”
There was some time until the Human Race Army arrived. If they could deal with the two Giant Spirit Gods before the attack, then they would be invincible.
Over the next few days, the Black Ink Clan significantly increased the intensity of their attempts to entice and provoke the two Giant Spirit Gods. They even tried to send the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods into the Barren Territory. Be that as it may, the enraged Ah Da did not give them any chance to take a single step forward. He stood firmly in front of the Territory Gate, smashing anybody who dared to step forward through the portal. Even the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were beaten so badly that they were forced to retreat.
A steady flow of information was consistently being relayed to the No-Return Pass, and the various reports indicated that the Human Race Army had erected seven or eight Universe Temples along their anticipated route. Some of the Black Ink Clan scouts even witnessed the Human Race Army appearing and disappearing from the Universe Temples from a distance. The current situation clearly explained the deployment of the Human Race Army. With the help of the Universe Temples, they were rapidly approaching the No-Return Pass.
Some 10 days later, a figure appeared just half a day away from the No-Return Pass. It was none other than Yang Kai, who had arrived ahead of the others.
Gazing at the magnificent base in the distance, he raised his brow at the sight. The layout of the No-Return Pass had changed significantly compared to his previous visit. When he came here 20 years ago, the ruins of numerous destroyed Great Passes had been scattered around the No-Return Pass and countless Black Ink Nests had been distributed all over them without any regularity.
At this moment however, it was clear to see that the ruins of the Great Passes had been organised. The Black Ink Clan had arranged the destroyed Great Passes left behind by the Human Race in a sphere outside the No-Return Pass to form a solid defensive barrier. Furthermore, the Black Ink Clan Army was gathered on the Great Passes. The impressive High-Rank Black Ink Nests had also been moved closer to the centre of the No-Return Pass so that they could be strictly protected. It could be seen that the Black Ink Clan had made various preparations in advance to deal with the Human’s impending attack.
Yang Kai even saw traces of large-scale artifacts on some of the destroyed Great Passes. The Black Ink Clan were unable to perform Artifact Refining themselves, but they had many Black Ink Disciples under their command. These artifacts must be the handiwork of those Black Ink Disciples.
Furthermore, two enormous Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods stood guard on either side of the No-Return Pass, like two Guardian Gods. They towered over the majestic base with a chilling atmosphere around them.
As soon as Yang Kai emerged, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods immediately detected his presence, raising their heads and turning to look in his direction. The Black Ink Giant Spirit God on the left even raised his hand and grabbed hold of a Universe Fragment nearby.
In the next moment, he viciously threw the Universe Fragment in Yang Kai’s direction with a roar. Thanks to his immense strength, the Universe Fragment, which contained Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power, broke through the barriers of space as it rapidly hurtled towards Yang Kai.
Although Yang Kai was half a day’s journey away from the No-Return Pass, that only referred to the time required to arrive at the No-Return Pass through normal means for a Human Race Squad Class Warship.
Be that as it may, such a distance was well within the attack range of Yang Kai and the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
At any rate, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God did not expect his attack to harm Yang Kai in any way. Yang Kai was in the Ninth Order, so how could a trivial Universe Fragment injure him?
In response to the menacing attack, Yang Kai simply raised his hand slightly. The Universe Fragment that was hurtling towards him at an astonishing speed instantly came to an abrupt halt and quietly hovered in front of him. Then, he clenched his raised hand into a fist. The huge Universe Fragment subsequently exploded into dust.
The loud and flashy confrontation instantly alerted the entire Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass to the enemy’s presence. One after another, countless figures quickly rushed out of the No-Return Pass and stared in Yang Kai’s direction. Those figures radiated with powerful auras that shook the void. They were none other than the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords had obtained tremendous power with the help of the Source Fusion Technique, but in exchange, they could never utilize their full strength. The price of their power was also their lack of ability to control it. For that reason, every one of them was extremely conspicuous. They generally resembled bright lights in the dark of the night when they stepped onto the battlefield, which made it impossible for them to carry out any kind of ambush.
Yang Kai also saw Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu. The two Royal Lords were standing in the middle of the No-Return Pass, surrounded by many Pseudo-Royal Lords. When their gazes collided, Yang Kai grinned at them. On the other hand, the expressions of Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu darkened at the sight.
Now that Yang Kai was here, how far behind could the Human Race Army be? The Black Ink Clan had known that the Humans were coming to attack the No-Return Pass and consequently made the necessary preparations in anticipation of the enemy’s imminent arrival. Nevertheless, the speed of the Human Race Army’s advance was simply too swift.
After staring at each other across the distance for some time, Yang Kai raised a hand and made a slashing motion across his throat at Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu before he casually departed. It did not take long before his figure vanished from sight.
Inside the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye scowled fiercely. There was no denying that Yang Kai’s actions were incredibly childish, but he could not guess the reason for him acting this way.
[Did he come here just to demonstrate his might? But, what was the point? Could he have other intentions?] Mo Na Ye instantly fell into deep thought, but he could not be blamed for being so cautious. Having been in conflict with Yang Kai for so many years, he knew that the latter had always taken advantage of the situation on every occasion. That was why, in his opinion, Yang Kai’s every move was worthy of vigilance.
At the same time, a Universe Temple had appeared in the void approximately three days’ journey from the No-Return Pass and a steady stream of Human Soldiers was emerging from it.
The first to arrive was the Azure Sun Army. When their members had all been assembled, they quickly formed a solid line of defence around the Universe Temple. That was not all as the Void Guard who arrived here the earliest were also searching for Universe Fragments of various sizes in the vicinity to serve as temporary camps.
Mi Jing Lun was standing near the Universe Temple when Yang Kai hurried over and reported his discovery at the No-Return Pass.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s report, Mi Jing Lun nodded, “I expected as much. The Black Ink Clan has always ignored the Great Passes because we had no means to threaten the safety of the No-Return Pass, but now, they are the ones under attack instead. Knowing that an attack by our Army is imminent, I am sure they made various arrangements in preparation. The Great Passes that we left behind back then are perfect as barricades and barriers.”
After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Yang Kai and asked, “Did Mo Na Ye discover you?”
Yang Kai replied, “I wasn’t hiding.”
Mi Jing Lun chuckled, “In that case, they won’t dare to act rashly. Mo Na Ye is both shrewd and suspicious, so your sudden appearance outside the No-Return Pass will definitely make him worry about various possibilities. I was worried that we might be attacked, but it looks like there’s no need for such concerns anymore.”
If the Black Ink Clan struck before the Human Army could finish assembling, the latter would definitely be troubled. The situation at this moment was the perfect example. Just the Azure Sun Army alone would not be able to hold back so many Black Ink Clansmen.
Naturally, such an endeavour would also have been a huge risk to the Black Ink Clan. The defences at the No-Return Pass would weaken considerably if such a large number of Black Ink Clan Masters were to leave, which would have allowed the Humans to exploit.
The possibility was not likely to occur now though, so Mi Jing Lun was only being vigilant towards every scenario. At this moment, he was practically certain that the Black Ink Clan would not dare to act rashly again after Yang Kai’s actions.
This incident had given the Human Race Army the opportunity to fully assemble their troops. An endless stream of soldiers poured out of the Universe Temple, but they all marched in an orderly manner without the slightest display of chaos.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai took out the sphere that had been compressed by his Space-Time River. After finding a wide and open place, he raised his hand and threw the sphere. The Space-Time River lingered around the void, then the sphere expanded violently and quickly transformed into a majestic Great Pass. It was the Pure Yang Pass.
Pure Yang Pass was not only the last remaining Great Pass in the possession of the Human Race, but would also be an important weapon in conquering the No-Return Pass. What’s more, many of the soldiers learned for the first time that they had managed to regain one of the Great Passes from the hands of the Black Ink Clan; thus, they couldn’t help cheering at the sight.
The Ninth-Order Masters who arrived earlier flew over and came to stand beside Yang Kai. Staring at the modified Great Pass, they couldn’t help feeling emotional. It was as though they were recalling the tragic battle at the No-Return Pass.
A large number of troops soon swarmed into Pure Yang Pass. Following the arrangement that had been determined in advance, they swiftly took their positions. It did not take long before the many Spirit Arrays began lighting up consecutively.
At the same time, numerous Array Masters prepared some Spirit Arrays and unique artifacts in the nearby void. There was no need to mention the specific purpose of the Spirit Arrays for the time being. On the other hand, the artifacts were actually a set of Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, something that Yang Kai researched and refined in the past.
The artifact was a large-scale one meant for teleporting massive objects, so it had no power for offence or defence. Each set of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors was composed of 16 Array Boards, which were divided into two sides, Yin and Yang. Once activated, the artifact could swap the spaces within the range of the Yin and Yang Mirrors like flipping the front and back of a mirror. The effect was both profound and mysterious.
Yang Kai had mainly researched the artifact for the purpose of mining resources in Black Territory. At the time, he had used the Loyalty List to bring Luan Bai Feng under his command; Black Territory had also fallen into his hands as a result. Black Territory was abundant with resources, but mining them was extremely dangerous. Nobody could delve deep into Black Territory due to a massive Early Ancient Era Super Array.
Therefore, Yang Kai’s initial idea was that the ore slaves could mine the resources safely if he could figure out a method to transport the Ore Stars located inside the Array to a safer location. That was how the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors came into existence.
The artifact was first created by Yang Kai, but was later modified by the Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster Ma Fan. The performance of the artifact became much better as a consequence.
Yang Kai had not only brought this artifact to the Black Ink Battlefield, but also spread it throughout the various Great Passes, allowing them the chance to study and replicate it. Thanks to the effects of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, Yang Kai managed to solve the shortage of supplies among the major Great Passes in one fell swoop.
Before the existence of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, the major Great Passes were forced to dispatch their soldiers deep into the void to gather supplies. These soldiers not only had to search for and mine materials, they also had to keep a constant lookout against ambushes and raids from the Black Ink Clan. Things were different ever since they acquired the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. They could now transport dead Universe Worlds and Fragments that contained abundant resources to the vicinity of the Great Passes and mine them without worry. In this way, the efficiency of collecting resources naturally increased significantly.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the lives of the soldiers at the major Great Passes improved considerably after Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield.
At this moment, the Human Race Army was preparing many Void Yin-Yang Mirrors in their surroundings. Needless to say, they were preparing to transport many Universe Worlds and Fragments here. It was just that the purpose of these Universe Worlds was not for sourcing resources. The three million Human Race Masters in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and below were responsible for collecting resources, so there was no need for the main Army to worry about supplies. As for the Universe Worlds that they transported here from deep within the void, there were other uses for them.
For this purpose, the remaining Void Guard, except those who had to stay behind to monitor the Universe Temples along the way, had immediately sprung into action after Li Wu Yi left for the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction with 80 Void Guard. Each of them had carried either the Yin Mirrors or the Yang Mirrors of a Void Yin-Yang Mirrors set and searched various areas of the void.
As time passed, the various Armies gathered in this place. Aside from the Central Army under Mi Jing Lun’s direct command who occupied Pure Yang Pass, the other Armies claimed a Universe World or large Universe Fragment in the vicinity as their base camp. Each of these camps was soon overflowing with people as they worked to establish temporary outposts.
The Human Race currently retained 12 Armies, just like before. Mi Jing Lun had not made many adjustments to the organization; after all, each Army had experienced thousands of years of fighting together. The heart of the Army was united by the blood of their companions and their enemies at this point, and it might instead be detrimental to make any rash changes. Therefore, the 12 Armies remained even though there were not enough Ninth-Order Masters to oversee them all.
Luo Ting He was in command of the Azure Sun Army, Xiang Shan was in charge of the Blood Flame Army, Ou Yang Lie commanded the Profound Nether Army, Wei Jun Yang led the Wolf Fang Army, Xiao Xiao was in command of the Soaring Cloud Army, Wu Qing commanded the Purple Feather Army, the newly-advanced Shi Da Zhuang was in command of the Shocking Thunder Army while Tang Tao led the Red Flame Army.
As for the Burning Moon Army, Twin Instrument Army, Azure Dawn Army, and Jade Cicada Army, these four remained unchanged. These four Armies might not be under the leadership of a Ninth-Order Master, but they had the largest numbers of Divine Spirits. In terms of overall strength, they were not inferior to the rest of the Armies. Besides, these four Armies contained many new generation Eighth-Order Masters who could advance to the Ninth Order at any time. Once they experienced a breakthrough, these Armies would also have the protection of a Ninth-Order Master.
A few days later, large ripples spread out endlessly from an area somewhere in the void that was warded off by a set of Void Yang Mirrors. The vibration from these ripples was so strong that the Space anchored by the Yang Mirrors became extremely unstable, making it difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was illusory.
With the spreading of the ripples, the fluctuations of Space Principles became increasingly obvious. As time passed, under the watch of countless eyes, something seemed to appear in the space that was originally empty. Once all the commotion had settled, the object turned out to be an enormous Universe World that had appeared out of nowhere!
Several soldiers quickly stepped forward to retrieve the Yin Mirrors before moving to set them up in a new free space. Many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners then rushed towards the Universe World and gathered on the side of it that was facing away from the No-Return Pass. Following a cursory survey of the geography, they immediately sprang into action and prepared a large-scale Spirit Array on the back of the Universe World!
After the first Universe World was transported here via the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, more and more began appearing. Meanwhile, almost all the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners from the 12 Armies were dispatched, working diligently without rest.
In the short span of one month, hundreds of Universe Worlds of varying sizes appeared in the void where the Human Race Army had gathered thanks to the teleportation effects of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors.
At this moment, every single Artifact Refiner and Array Master in the Human Race Army was hard at work; even Yang Kai was toiling away alongside them. Following the consumption of substantial resources, numerous Spirit Arrays were constructed on the Universe Worlds.
Another two months later, their preparations were complete. The dwindling resources of the Human Race were completely exhausted after such a grand and large-scale project; however, the Ninth-Order Masters did not seem worried about the situation.
There were nearly three million Humans at or below the Third Order gathering resources throughout the Black Ink Battlefield and many Universe Temples equipped with Space Arrays connecting to various locations; therefore, it would not take long before large amounts of materials came flowing in from all directions. It could be said that they no longer had to worry about resources as soon as they entered the Black Ink Battlefield through the secret passage.
During the past three months, the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass had repeatedly sent out scouts to investigate the situation. As they did not dare to dispatch any Masters for the task, the information that the weak Black Ink Clansmen could obtain was very limited. All the Black Ink Clan knew was that the Human Race Army had assembled at a spot some three days’ journey from the No-Return Pass, and that they could attack at any moment. They could not gain any further information regarding the situation.
On this day, all preparations were completed. The Human Race Army finally embarked on their quest to retake the No-Return Pass!
This crusade was the first of its kind in the thousands of years since the Black Ink Clan first invaded the 3,000 Worlds, the first time the Human Race had truly taken the initiative in the war. The roles of the hunter and the prey were reversed at this moment. It was also the first battle since the Human Race Army launched their offensive; hence, every single soldier in the Human Race Army displayed high morale and intense fighting spirit.
The bustling void became empty in a flash. Aside from the Squads who had to stay behind and guard the Universe Temples and the Human Race Masters with special duties, the rest of the Army had divided into two groups and advanced towards the No-Return Pass.
One day later, the movements of the Human Race Army were relayed to the No-Return Pass by their lookouts. Mo Na Ye finally felt his anxiety receding slightly at the knowledge.
The Human Race Army had come to attack, but there had been no movement from them for the past three months. The feeling of having a knife held against his neck was extremely uncomfortable. He did not know what sort of preparations and arrangements the enemy was making during this period, but he could be certain about one thing, he could not afford to underestimate them. Now that the blade had been swung, who was stronger and who was weaker would be determined in combat.
There was no doubt that the Human Race Army was the strongest it had ever been, but the Black Ink Clan was not inferior. Mo Na Ye also believed that the Black Ink Clan had a slight advantage as the defending party. Under these circumstances, the Human Race Army would most likely be sent back in defeat if they came attacking directly from the front. It was truly unfortunate that the Commander of the opposing party was Mi Jing Lun, who would never make such a stupid decision.
After receiving the report from the scouts on the frontlines, Mo Na Ye glanced at the information and frowned deeply. It was just as he had expected, the Human Race Army had made various deployments and arrangements in advance.
The reports indicated that the Human Race Army was not aiming for a frontal attack. On the contrary, they had divided their forces into two groups and taken a considerable detour by travelling in a wide arc. Judging by their formation, they seemed to be approaching the No-Return Pass from both the right and left sides in a pincer attack.
The deployment of the Human Race Army was both reasonable yet also unexpected; nevertheless, their actions confused Mo Na Ye. He knew that Mi Jing Lun was not naïve enough to believe the Humans could conquer the No-Return Pass with such a simple pincer attack, but he could not figure out the purpose behind their deployment either.
Unable to determine their aim, Mo Na Ye could only adopt countermeasures on the fly according to how the situation evolved. At his command, most of the Black Ink Clan Army in the No-Return Pass mobilised various defensive measures ahead of the Human Race Army’s advance.
The Humans sailed forward aggressively. It was always necessary to take the initiative in a war; after all, the only deciding factor between victory and defeat was the limit of casualties that could be sustained by the respective parties.
At this moment, Yang Kai was back at the base camp of the Human Army on one of the largest Universe Worlds in the vicinity of the Universe Temple. He was lying down in a deserted mountain valley with his arms behind his head and one leg crossed over his knee. Staring into the void blankly, he looked like he was enjoying a rare moment of peace amidst the chaotic situation.
He had been fighting the Black Ink Clan for countless years. During this period, he had always been cultivating hard or rushing somewhere to accomplish a mission. There had never been a time when he could relax, so he couldn’t help feeling a little strange at the abrupt change.
Nevertheless, the reason he did not join the assault was that he had his own mission to carry out. Dozens of Void Guard and hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters were also tasked with carrying out similar missions. At this moment, they were scattered around the numerous Universe Worlds that had been prepared beforehand.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s unfocused gaze sharpened without warning and a light flashed through his eyes at the same time.
“It’s about time!” He muttered to himself, climbing to his feet as he stretched lazily.
Peaceful and happy times were often short-lived in this age of chaos. After taking the time to forget about his troubles and enjoying a carefree rest for a day, Yang Kai felt refreshed and full of energy. It was time to take action.
With a shout, he circulated his strength and channelled his World Force into the Spirit Array beneath his feet. The intricate patterns of the Spirit Array immediately lit up and rapidly spread outward like an uncontrolled wildfire. Looking down from the void, it could be seen that the Spirit Array was extremely large. In fact, the Spirit Array practically covered 10% the entire Universe World’s surface. When the Spirit Array was activated, an enormous light barrier emerged to surround the Universe World.
Propelled by the power of the light barrier under Yang Kai’s control, the gigantic Universe World which had been peacefully hovering in the void slowly began to move as though it was being pushed by a large, invisible hand.
At first, this movement was slight; however, its momentum became greater and greater with the passage of time. After passing through the various Spirit Arrays that were constructed in the void beforehand, the speed of the Universe World’s increased sharply. Furthermore, the direction in which the enormous Universe World was advancing was none other than the direction where the No-Return Pass was located!
Behind this enormous Universe World, countless other Universe Worlds and Fragments of varying sizes were moving in the same direction. It was a magnificent sight to behold.
Yang Kai stood on top of the Universe World, looking bold and heroic. Throwing his head back with laughter, he sent a Divine Sense transmission in all directions, “Proud soldiers of the Human Race, let us charge into battle!”
Many Eighth-Order Masters and Void Guards responded gallantly from the backs of those Universe Worlds.
The strategy to attack the Black Ink Clan by making use of the impact caused by the collision of Universe Worlds was pioneered by the Great Evolution Army during the previous war.
While the Northern and Southern Great Evolution Armies blockaded the Great Evolution Pass under Mi Jing Lun’s command, Xiang Shan led the Eastern and Western Armies to assault the Royal City. At that time, Xiang Shan had repeatedly unleashed this tactic, draining the strength of the Black Ink Clan to a huge extent.
This strategy was generally very difficult to employ; after all, it was very strenuous to gather the Universe Worlds that were scattered throughout the void. Simply transporting appropriate Universe Worlds with manpower alone was not only extremely time-consuming but also incredibly labour-intensive, so the effort was considered impractical. However, the strategy became much more viable with Yang Kai’s Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. The Human Race Army gained the ability to gather Universe Worlds that were originally scattered throughout the void thanks to the support of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. Then, they prepared various Spirit Arrays to support and reinforce their ‘weapons’.
The Great Evolution Army had employed this tactic to cause not only tremendous damage to the Black Ink Clan, but to also threaten the Royal City in the Great Evolution Theatre. At the same time, the losses faced by the Great Evolution Army were reduced significantly.
The scouts dispatched by the No-Return Pass had naturally discovered traces of the Human Race Army gathering Universe Worlds. Needless to say, even Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen couldn’t miss hundreds of Universe Worlds being brought over by the Humans. The gathering of so many Universe Worlds was by no means a small-scale action after all.
When Mo Na Ye received the information from his scouts, he was amazed that the Humans had such mysterious means. He did not think too much about this matter though as he simply assumed that the Human Race Masters were planning to mine resources from those Universe Worlds. How could he have known that they were planning to use these Universe Worlds to attack the No-Return Pass?
If there were any survivors from the Black Ink Clan Army of Great Evolution Theatre, they would have understood the Human Race Army’s intentions in a heartbeat. It was a pity that the entire Black Ink Clan Army from the Black Ink Battlefield back then had been exterminated by the Humans during the first crusade.
Furthermore, the Black Ink Disciples under the current Black Ink Clan’s control had not participated in the previous war on the Black Ink Battlefield. There had also been no need for the Human Race Army to employ this tactic over the past few thousands of years. The assault on the No-Return Pass was the first opportunity to make use of this strategy!
Mi Jing Lun did not expect this battle to determine victory and defeat. There were countless Masters in the No-Return Pass, not to mention two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. They were by no means easy prey to defeat.
Nevertheless, it was the first battle since the Human Race Army set off to conquer the No-Return Pass, so it was only natural to start things off on the right foot. Therefore, they had not hesitated to bring out the Universe World impact strategy that was used to besiege Great Evolution Royal City in the past. The Humans even exhausted their remaining resources transporting and modifying several hundred Universe Worlds for this initial battle.
The reason why the Human Race Army had to divide into two groups and sail in a wide arc was to leave a clear path for the Universe Worlds that were hurtling towards the No-Return Pass. Otherwise, these Universe Worlds would have collided with their troops that were blocking the way. It would be extremely embarrassing if they struck their own forces before they even managed to attack their enemy.
Besides, the Human Race Army would also distract the Black Ink Clan’s attention by marching ahead. All the forces of the Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass were currently focused on the Human Race Army advancing from the left and right sides. How could they ever have imagined that hundreds of Universe Worlds would come flying at them from their centre?
Many Black Ink Clansmen were gathered in the Grand Hall of the No-Return Pass, and the atmosphere was gloomy. The attack of the Human Race Army had long been expected; in fact, Mo Na Ye had already anticipated today’s situation all the way back when he recalled all the Pseudo-Royal Lords more than 20 years ago.
At the time, the Black Ink Clan could have chosen to retreat from the No-Return Pass, but where would they go after leaving this place? Were they supposed to aimlessly wander around the Black Ink Battlefield? Even if they did that, they would be found by the Human Race Army one day. Rather than fighting in the void of the Black Ink Battlefield, it was better to stay and defend the already fortified No-Return Pass.
Furthermore, the mission of the Black Ink Clan had always been to erode the 3,000 Worlds and destroy the Human Race so that Mo would rule the Universe. The Black Ink Clan was not born to fight for their survival, but for their Supreme One’s ultimate hegemony.
Report after report came from the front. Following the steady approach of the Human Race Army from both sides, the atmosphere in the Grand Hall became increasingly depressed.
It was not until the Human Army was only half a day’s journey away from the No-Return Pass that Mo Na Ye slowly got to his feet. Glancing around at the many Pseudo-Royal Lords gathered below him, he solemnly declared, “Everyone, assume your duties and take your positions. Since the Humans dare to come attacking, then we will slaughter them until not a single one of them is left alive!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords accepted the order and hurriedly flew away.
Then, Mo Na Ye looked at Mo Yu again, “Sir, when the time comes, we will need you to restrain one of the Ninth-Order Masters; however, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Please adapt to the circumstances as you see fit.”
Mo Yu nodded, “I know, but I probably won’t even need to worry about anything. The Ninth-Order Masters will come to me themselves.”
Mo Na Ye agreed. There were more Ninth-Order Masters than Royal Lords at the moment, so they would surely attempt to restrain both himself and Mo Yu. There was really no need for Mo Yu to bother taking the initiative.
Mo Na Ye glanced at Di Ya Luo, “I will engage with Yang Kai in battle; meanwhile, look for an opportunity to make your move. Do not expose yourself unless you find a suitable opening!”
“I understand!” Di Ya Luo nodded heavily.
As the only Royal Lord born within the Black Ink Clan over the past 20 years, he was the trump card that Mo Na Ye had prepared against Yang Kai, so his existence could not be exposed. The moment he appeared, he had to strike a deadly blow against Yang Kai.
Among all the Ninth-Order Masters, Yang Kai posed the greatest threat to the Black Ink Clan. No matter the strength of the other Ninth-Order Masters, they could be contained by several Pseudo-Royal Lords working together.
Only Yang Kai, whose Dao Strength River was both profound and mysterious, was extremely difficult to handle. The Pseudo-Royal Lords alone were not enough to restrain him. It was only possible to stop him if a Royal Lord personally took action. Moreover, it would also depend on whether there was an opportunity to obstruct Yang Kai as the latter was proficient in the Dao of Space, which made him as slippery as an eel. Without the right opportunity, nobody could even hope to pin him down.
Although the Black Ink Clan had two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, they could not be dispatched into battle casually as the true Giant Spirit Gods were eyeing the No-Return Pass eagerly. If the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods left their post in the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan would have no means to guarantee the safety of their rear. It could be said that the existence of the two Giant Spirit Gods was keeping the Black Ink Clan’s strongest combat force in check. Naturally, the same could be said in reverse. In this situation, neither side had an advantage over the other.
After making various arrangements, Mo Na Ye darted out of the Grand Hall and stared into the depths of the void. With his cultivation and eyesight, he could naturally see the imposing Human Race Army around him.
The huge and boundless fleet coming from both sides resembled a swarm of locusts that covered his entire field of vision. Just looking at the scene gave off an extremely strong sense of oppression. Not to mention, there was a conspicuous and majestic Great Pass on the left side of the Human Race Army that stood out like a sore thumb. The corner of his face twitched involuntarily at the sight of the Great Pass as it was none other than Pure Yang Pass that Yang Kai took from the No-Return Pass some 20 years ago.
Despite knowing that the Human Race Army would use Pure Yang Pass against the Black Ink Clan if they let Yang Kai take it, the Black Ink Clan was forced to make certain concessions due to the pressure from various threats caused by Yang Kai at the time. That was because the safety of the Pseudo-Royal Lords wandering outside could not be guaranteed if Yang Kai was allowed to act as he pleased.
The Great Pass had been repaired and modified by the Human Race. At this moment, the entire Great Pass seemed to radiate with a sense of grandeur. It was easy to see that the various artifacts mounted on the walls of the Great Pass were not mere decorations. Any Black Ink Clansman who dared to approach the Great Pass would instantly be greeted with a storm of attacks.
With Pure Yang Pass, the safety of Mi Jing Lun, who served as the Supreme Commander of the Human Race Army would be guaranteed. Mo Na Ye couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret at the sight. He had been searching for an opportunity to eliminate Mi Jing Lun the entire time, but the latter had always remained in the Supreme Headquarters during the previous wars. Because Mi Jing Lun rarely entered the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan had been unable to touch a single hair on his head up until now. Besides, it had been obvious that Yang Kai was preparing the Great Pass for Mi Jing Lun when he came to the No-Return Pass and demanded Pure Yang Pass.
Mo Na sneered coldly to himself, [Yang Kai sure takes good care of Supreme Commander Mi.]
Then, various other thoughts came to mind unbidden, [I wonder if the Human Race Army will fall into chaos if Mi Jing Lun is killed before they launch their attack on the No-Return Pass. Haaa… Where is Yang Kai?]
He swept his gaze over the Human Race Army coming from both sides but did not spot his nemesis anywhere. The realization caused Mo Na Ye to become vigilant. Not only was Yang Kai proficient in the Dao of Space, but he also seemed to have mastered a mysterious Secret Technique that almost perfectly concealed himself. If he wanted to stay hidden and ambush the Pseudo-Royal Lords during the battle, none of the Pseudo-Royal Lords would survive the encounter.
[Could he be hiding in the vicinity? That’s certainly a possibility…]
Just as Mo Na Ye was starting to feel suspicious, the Human Race Army that had been approaching the No-Return Pass slowly from both flanks suddenly accelerated. The news was instantly relayed to the entire No-Return Pass.
The battle was about to begin, and the atmosphere in the No-Return Pass was chilling! The entire Black Ink Clan had mentally prepared themselves to fight the Humans to the death; likewise, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were blazing with intense fighting spirit. They displayed their auras proudly, not bothering to conceal their presence in the slightest.
Four hours passed and the Humans were now closing in on the No-Return Pass. Be it the Human Race Army or the Black Ink Clan Army, the stronger soldiers now could already see the various deployments of the opposing party clearly.
At this moment, none of the Black Ink Clansmen, including the Royal Lords, noticed anything abnormal; however, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods standing guard on both sides of the No-Return Pass reacted as though they had discovered something.
One of the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods grabbed a Universe Fragment from nearby and hurled it into the distance, just like how he had attacked Yang Kai several months ago. The rather large Universe Fragment shot through the void at a high speed, but under the astonished gaze of the Black Ink Clan, it did not hurtle towards the Human Race Army but instead soared off into the empty middle void. Then, the two Giant Spirit Gods began to hurl Universe Fragment after Universe Fragment into the void without pause.
A great surge of anxiety immediately washed over Mo Na Ye at the sight.
According to the original plans, the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were supposed to use this tactic against the Human Race Army once the war began. They were responsible for guarding the No-Return Pass, so they could not move around easily. Nevertheless, they could rely on throwing these Universe Fragments to create a great degree of disturbance to the Human Race Army. If they were lucky, they might even injure their enemies. Even the Eighth-Order Masters would not be able to withstand such an attack from these Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
However, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods had unexpectedly begun to take action before the war started or the Black Ink Clan Army in the No-Return Pass engaged the enemy. The sudden turn of events was very different from the original plans.
As the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were both Soul Clones of the Supreme One, Mo Na Ye had no right to criticize them for anything. Be that as it may, he gradually began to notice the abnormality after observing their actions. He looked in the direction where the Universe Fragments were being thrown, and what entered his field of vision were countless shadows of indescribable size!
When he finally caught a clear glimpse of the shadows, his body began to shake involuntarily. At the same time, he felt as though his head was about to explode at the sight. Those shadows were actually enormous Universe Worlds!
He finally realised something about the piece of information that he had neglected before. The reason the Human Race Army had gathered so many Universe Worlds was not to mine for resources! They were using them as weapons to attack the No-Return Pass!
With the abilities of the Human Race, it was not surprising for them to achieve such a feat, it was just that Mo Na Ye never expected them to attack in such an outrageous manner. The Black Ink Clan had only thought of relying on the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods’ strength to attack the Human Race Army by throwing Universe Fragments at them, but the Humans found a way to do something similar! They had brought the Universe Worlds to the war! Moreover, there were hundreds of them! It was simply outrageous!
In Mo Na Ye’s field of vision, the Universe World that came first was particularly massive.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s figure finally appeared on the periphery of a large Universe World. He was flying through the void, leading hundreds of unstoppable Universe Worlds in a torrent behind him. Facing the first Universe Fragment that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God hurled at him, Yang Kai simply raised his hand slightly and clenched his fist lightly. In response, the Universe Fragment instantly exploded into dust.
“Pointless tricks!”
10 million kilometres away, Yang Kai looked in the direction of the No-Return Pass and grinned at Mo Na Ye. Immediately after that, he summoned the Space-Time River. The river was like a whip, dancing wildly in the void, smashing all the Universe Fragments hurtling towards him.
“Useless! All useless!” His voice resounded through the void, “Mo Na Ye, there is an old saying among the Human Race that goes, ‘It’s rude not to reciprocate a kind gesture’! The Black Ink Clan delivered Pure Yang Pass and a considerable amount of resources to me 20 years ago, so I brought you a generous gift today in return. Please accept my sincerity!”
Behind the Universe Fragments, hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters shouted in unison, “Please accept our sincerity!”
Their unrestrained and defiant expressions nearly gave Mo Na Ye a heart attack from rage; likewise, the expressions of the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass turned increasingly solemn.
They would not have worried if they were simply attacked with hundreds of Universe Worlds. All from the Black Ink Clan Masters were currently assembled in the No-Return Pass, so with their combined strength, mere hundreds of Universe Worlds could easily be destroyed before they even got close.
However, the Human Race Army was currently surging towards their left and right flanks. If the Black Ink Clan diverted their strength to intercept these Universe Worlds, the Human Army would surely take advantage of their distraction. On the other hand, the impact on the No-Return Pass would be too much if they simply ignored the Universe Worlds. The Black Ink Clan Masters might not be too affected, but those with lower cultivation would definitely suffer heavy casualties.
Any possible casualties were merely their secondary concern however as their primary worry was that the impact of such an attack might threaten the safety of the Black Ink Nests; after all, Black Ink Nests were all extremely fragile.
At this moment, the intention of the Humans was extremely clear. The two groups pressing them from either side abruptly increased their speed so that they arrived at the same time as the Universe Worlds. They were planning to completely overwhelm the Black Ink Clan from all sides.
It was too late to reposition the troops at this point, so all Mo Na Ye could do was make some subtle adjustments here and there. He relayed order after order to the Black Ink Clan Army, and to their credit, the Black Ink Clan Army flawlessly executed his commands.
The short wait that followed felt like endless torture. As the hundreds of Universe Worlds drew nearer, their huge shadows seemed to block out the entire sky, causing every single Black Ink Clansman to feel a heavy and oppressive pressure. Many Black Ink Clan Masters also held their breaths and braced themselves against the coming impact.
An hour later, the hundreds of Universe Worlds that were launched from the depths of the void finally entered the attacking range of the Black Ink Clan. Mo Na Ye swiftly unleashed a Secret Technique. His actions were immediately followed by an overwhelming wave of attacks that burst out from the No-Return Pass and blasted towards the distance.
“Good!” Yang Kai pushed his Space-Time River in front of the lead Universe World, coiling it into a giant swirling shield that absorbed and blocked the various Secret Techniques blasting towards it, causing the water to churn violently.
Yang Kai could only endure this barrage for 10 breaths before he began to buckle under the pressure. His strength was impressive and his attainments in the Grand Daos were extremely profound; nevertheless, it was an extravagant hope to withstand the combined attacks of so many Masters from the Black Ink Clan. If he stubbornly insisted on this course of action, the very foundation of his Grand Daos would be affected once the Space-Time River was damaged.
After uttering such haughty words, Yang Kai decisively dodged to the side. Without his interference, the enormous Universe World was blasted apart by the rain of Secret Techniques that came flying over in the next moment. The Universe World shattered to pieces and scattered about
At the same time, the Human Army approaching the No-Return Pass unleashed a volley of attacks. The void immediately lit up in various colours of all intensities. Then, these lights streaked across space like shooting stars and rained down upon the No-Return Pass.
Countless Black Ink Clan miscellaneous troops were stationed along the outermost edges of the No-Return Pass, and their numbers were overwhelming in every sense of the word. This formation was the most commonly used tactic by the Black Ink Clan.
Throughout the years of constant conflict with the Human Race, the Black Ink Clan often relied upon the sacrifice of their cannon fodder to shave away at the strength of the Humans at the outset of battle; after all, they could spawn as many of these miscellaneous troops as they wanted as long as they had Black Ink Nests and resources. That was why the Black Ink Clan remained unaffected by the deaths of these troops, no matter how many of them died.
Besides, the existence of the cannon fodder could do more than just wear down the strength of the Human Race Army. Following the deaths of the countless lower soldiers, the Black Ink Strength in their bodies would permeate their surroundings and gather together to form dense Black Ink Clouds. It was equivalent to artificially creating a battlefield that was advantageous to the Black Ink Clan. Fighting under such circumstances was undoubtedly disadvantageous for the Human Race Army, but the Black Ink Clan took to such conditions like how fish took to the water.
In the past, the Humans used to be greatly hindered by this tactic and suffered heavy casualties as a result; fortunately, they had the Purifying Black Ink Pills and Purifying Light nowadays. The existence of the Purifying Black Ink Pills and Purifying Light drastically reduced the deterrent effect of these tactics on them, but they could not ignore the detrimental effects completely. There were bound to be some remaining effects from fighting the Black Ink Clan under these conditions for extended periods.
After the first volley of fire from the Human Race Army, countless Black Ink Clan troops were blasted into a cloud of blood mist and the entire periphery of the No-Return Pass facing the Black Ink Battlefield was gradually covered in Black Ink Strength.
When the Human Race Masters launched their offensive, the Black Ink Clan Masters in the No-Return Pass were busy intercepting the Universe Worlds that came hurtling down their centre. One after another, the Universe worlds were blown apart into Fragments of varying sizes that still hurtled towards the No-Return Pass. The scene was a huge mess.
Fortunately, the Human Race Army had prepared many Universe Worlds; moreover, they did not pack them too closely together. Despite suffering some losses, the damages did not affect the overall situation. Nevertheless, more than 50 of the Universe Worlds were destroyed in the blink of an eye. At this rate, the Universe Worlds would all be completely destroyed before they could even cause any damage to the No-Return Pass.
But how could the Humans simply allow the Black Ink Clan to do so?
The Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder stationed around the outermost edges of the No-Return Pass suffered heavy casualties, and enormous gaps soon appeared in the defence line that they formed. Although a steady stream of these miscellaneous troops rushed forward fearlessly to replenish their lines and fill the gaps, the reinforcements could no longer keep up with the speed of the losses.
The Human Army steadily approached from opposite sides; in addition, the continuous barrage of Secret Techniques and artifacts that blasted out of the huge fleet and shot in the direction of the No-Return Pass forced the Black Ink Clan to rely on the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods to intercept the attacks.
Looking down from outside the battlefield, the scene of the war was extremely magnificent. Both the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race had made extensive preparations for the battle. Numerous attacks containing violent and destructive power rose from their respective camps only to fall towards the opposing one. The battle was in full swing.
Many Masters from the Black Ink Clan were being increasingly restrained by the forces of the Human Race Army that were closing in, so they could only watch as the hundreds of Universe Worlds and Fragments approached the No-Return Pass. The sight left them feeling powerless and anxious.
At this moment, Mo Na Ye was inside the No-Return Pass. He was simultaneously summoning various Secret Techniques to intercept the attacks from the Human Race Army and monitoring the movement of his surroundings with his Divine Sense. Despite his calm demeanour on the surface, he was actually wracked with anxiety for one simple reason: Yang Kai was gone!
When the Universe Worlds came flying towards the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai had been standing atop the biggest one leading the way. Be that as it may, he had vanished without a trace after the Universe World was smashed to pieces by the combined forces of the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai’s sudden disappearance sent a chill down Mo Na Ye’s spine.
Unknown dangers were the most terrifying, especially when a Master like Yang Kai was involved. It would not be a good thing for the Black Ink Clan if Yang Kai concealed his figure and aura, then took advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the No-Return Pass.
After a quick look around, Mo Na Ye was relieved to see that many of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were still following his previous instructions and arrangements. The Pseudo-Royal Lords were in Three Fortunes Battle Formations, which allowed them to guard each other’s backs. In this way, they could protect themselves to a certain degree if Yang Kai suddenly appeared and launched a sneak attack on them.
As for the Territory Lords below the Pseudo-Royal Lords… There was no helping them. They could only blame their poor luck if they were targeted by Yang Kai. With Yang Kai’s current status and cultivation, while he might not even care enough to specifically target these Territory Lords, there was still a possibility that he would eliminate them in passing.
The ongoing battle remained unchanged. Although the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties, their losses mainly came from the ranks of their cannon fodder while the Masters were mostly unharmed.
On the other hand, the Human Race also suffered some degree of loss. Some of the Warships out front had been damaged, and a few were completely destroyed. Of course, there were casualties among the soldiers too.
Be that as it may, Mo Na Ye was not optimistic about the situation. Anybody with a discerning eye could see that Humans had carefully planned and prepared their attack today. The Black Ink Clan was bound to pay an expensive price in this battle.
The Human Race Army rapidly closed in on the No-Return Pass from both sides, and the hundreds of Universe Worlds flying forward approached the No-Return Pass at a high speed. These Universe Worlds were constantly being blown up as they closed in. It was fortunate that the Eighth-Order Masters controlling these Universe Worlds quickly noticed the danger and escaped beforehand. If not, they could not have defended themselves from the dense storm of attacks raining down on them.
Ultimately though, the Black Ink Clan found themselves lacking the necessary numbers to handle the situation. Even though the Black Ink Clan desperately tried to defend themselves, they simply lacked the manpower to face both the Human Race Army and the Universe World attack at the same time.
An hour into the confrontation, one of the Universe Worlds finally broke through layers of heavy blockades and slammed into the Black Ink Clan’s outermost line of defence. At the moment of collision, the Spirit Arrays arranged on the Universe World suddenly blazed with light and illuminated the entire sky like a great sun. The spectacle was immediately followed by the grand explosion of the Universe World, which detonated with a terrifying force. It could be seen that the power of the Spirit Arrays was impressive indeed.
It only took a moment for the Black Ink Clan soldiers in the vicinity to be wiped out completely. Even a few of the Territory Lords staggered backwards from the force of the explosion. Meanwhile, the auras of many Feudal Lords vanished from existence.
The expressions of many Black Ink Clansmen changed at that sight as they gained a new understanding of their predicament. These Universe Worlds hurtling towards the No-Return Pass did not just contain enormous momentum but were also covered in various dangerous Spirit Arrays. That was what made these Universe Worlds even more terrifying. Unfortunately, their realisation came too late. After one Universe World broke through the Black Ink Clan’s defence perimeter, a second and a third quickly followed…
Although the majority of the Universe Worlds were destroyed en-route, the Human Race Army was extremely well prepared. In fact, they even went so far as to exhaust all their remaining resources just to arrange the Spirit Arrays on so many Universe Worlds.
The places along the line of defence that were struck by the Universe Worlds were in complete disarray. There were countless casualties, and several spots now had wide gaps in them. Hence, the Black Ink Clan Masters nearby were rushing to restore the defence perimeter to hold the line.
Nevertheless, this was just the beginning!
At this point, the true power of the Human Race Army had yet to be displayed. The previous exchange had merely been a long-distance confrontation, and the attack relying upon the collision of the Universe Worlds was simply borrowed from external forces. The power of the Humans itself remained hidden from sight.
Mo Na Ye’s heart sank! Before the war began, he had already mentally prepared himself for the fact that the Black Ink Clan would suffer considerable losses; however, it would now seem that they were going to take far more casualties than he originally expected.
All of a sudden, he turned his head to look in a certain direction. Three Pseudo-Royal Lords were standing along the line of defence in that direction. They had formed the Three Fortunes Formation and were working together to attack one of the incoming Universe worlds.
This Universe World had almost made it to the defence line at this point. Just as the Universe World was about to collide with the outermost perimeter, it was abruptly stopped and exploded thanks to the joint attack of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords. The huge impact unleashed a shockwave that caused ripples to spread out across the void in all directions, and the figures of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords involuntarily staggered from the resulting aftermath.
“Watch out!” Mo Na Ye’s furious roar suddenly rang out in the ears of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Their reaction was undeniably swift. Almost at the same time that Mo Na Ye shouted his warning, they drew upon their respective power and blasted their strongest attack in a certain direction.
In that direction, a figure suddenly emerged from the space that was originally empty. It was none other than Yang Kai, who had gone missing previously.
Nobody knew how Yang Kai had infiltrated the defences of the Black Ink Clan or when he had appeared at that position. After his three Selves united, he successfully mastered Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability which gave him an unmatched advantage in terms of concealment. Only a Royal Lord could perceive his movements and whereabouts within a limited range.
If the Pseudo-Royal Lords had investigated their surroundings wholeheartedly, they might have had a chance to notice his approach; unfortunately, it was impossible for the Pseudo-Royal Lords to see through the traces of Yang Kai’s movements under such chaotic conditions. The chaos had created the perfect conditions for Yang Kai to hide in.
Therefore, it was not until he made his move that the three Pseudo-Royal Lords noticed his presence. Mo Na Ye’s warning had sounded at roughly the same time. When the sound of the surging river entered the depth of their hearts, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords involuntarily gulped nervously as a wave of fear washed over them.
Yang Kai’s achievements in E-5 Territory had long since spread throughout the No-Return Pass. At this point, not a single Black Ink Clansman remained ignorant about that tragedy. A total of eight Pseudo-Royal Lords had died at Yang Kai’s hands, all thanks to the mysterious Dao Strength River he possessed.
As the saying went, ‘A lesson from the past was a guide for the future’. The deep-seated fear of Yang Kai experienced by these three Pseudo-Royal Lords could be said to come from the bottom of their hearts.
Accompanied by the sound of roaring water that resounded throughout the void, the Dao Strength River appeared and swept towards the three Pseudo-Royal Lords like a flood. It was natural to try to avoid such attacks as soon as possible under normal circumstances; after all, they would never recover if they were caught in the currents of the Dao Strength River.
Unexpectedly though, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords did not dodge the attack immediately; on the contrary, their fighting spirits seemed to awaken at this juncture of life or death. The aura that was closely connected between them became increasingly solid as a result as they swiftly blasted out a continuous barrage of attacks at the Dao Strength River sweeping towards them.
The Dao Strength River, which was relatively calm in the beginning, abruptly churned violently. As the bombardment from the Pseudo-Royal Lords intensified, the waves of the Dao Strength River swelled to greater heights.
Yang Kai, who was holding the Dao Strength River in his hand, involuntarily gave a muffled grunt. At the same time, the strength of his offensive weakened considerably as a result.
Seeing that, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords were overjoyed as they also secretly felt a sense of admiration and respect for Mo Na Ye. [Sir Mo Na Ye is a hero indeed! His instructions were indeed an effective method to counter Yang Kai’s Dao Strength River!]
The truth was that Mo Na Ye had taught the Pseudo-Royal Lords various methods and strategies to counter Yang Kai’s Dao Strength River after the battle in E-5 Territory. Not only did he confront Yang Kai inside the Universe Furnace, but he was also swept into the Space-Time River by Yang Kai once and broke free from its restraints thanks to various circumstances. That was why he had a certain degree of understanding regarding the Dao Strength River.
The battle at E-5 Territory had resulted in great losses for the Black Ink Clan. The deaths of eight Pseudo-Royal Lords had left Mo Yu and Mo Na Ye heartbroken. They no longer had the means to increase the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords anymore, so there would be one less Pseudo-Royal Lord with every death.
After that incident, Mo Na Ye had seriously considered various methods to overcome Yang Kai’s Dao Strength River. He knew that the mysterious river was condensed from Yang Kai’s Dao Strengths, but since it was a physical manifestation of Dao Strengths, it could theoretically be damaged. Combined with his experience from fighting Yang Kai inside the Universe Furnace, he eventually came to a conclusion.
Blindly dodging and retreating from an attack launched by Yang Kai’s Dao Strength River would only lead to a delayed death. Only by facing the attack head-on and striking at it with a mighty force could one defend themselves against him!
Naturally, this was only a hypothesis and the actual results of confronting Yang Kai with such methods could not be confirmed.
When Yang Kai abruptly appeared and launched a sneak attack on the three Pseudo-Royal Lords, Mo Na Ye had swiftly rushed over to assist. At the same time, he also widened his eyes and observed the situation intently to verify whether his theory was correct. As soon as he saw the three Pseudo-Royal Lords defending themselves against the Dao Strength River with their combined strength, his heavy mood lightened considerably! Sure enough, his suggestion was effective! Yang Kai was not invincible after all!
Having advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai was very strong; nevertheless, the most threatening ability in his arsenal was currently his Dao Strength River. The main reason the Pseudo-Royal Lords in E-5 Territory had suffered such huge losses was that they had never encountered such a strange method before. With no means to defend themselves, they were caught off guard and suffered horribly.
As long as the Black Ink Clan had the means to suppress the Dao Strength River, then Yang Kai’s threat to the Black Ink Clan would be reduced greatly. Needless to say, achieving such a feat would not be easy. Having three Pseudo-Royal Lords working together to establish a Battle Formation was the minimum requirement.
“Oh?” In the centre of the battlefield, Yang Kai made an astonished exclamation as he observed three Pseudo-Royal Lords before him. Although he was surprised by this development, he had to admit that their response was certainly the correct method to resist him. The approach of taking the offensive and advancing relentlessly had certainly suppressed his attack.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mo Na Ye rushing towards him. The other Pseudo-Royal Lords were also coming over to provide support. At this rate, it would not take long before he was surrounded, but even though the situation was very dangerous, Yang Kai showed no signs of panic.
Wielding the Dao Strength River like a whip, he constantly brandished it at the three Pseudo-Royal Lords. On his other hand, he suddenly raised his hand above his head and Space Principles condensed into a brilliant ball of light above his palm!
Nobody knew what Yang Kai was planning to do, but looking at Yang Kai’s actions gave Mo Na Ye an ominous feeling and he immediately shouted, “Kill him!”
In the next instant, a series of powerful attacks blasted out from Mo Na Ye and the Pseudo-Royal Lords rushing over to help. These attacks landed unerringly in Yang Kai’s direction.
The space around Yang Kai suddenly became distorted, and under the impetus of the rampaging Space Principles, those attacks barged into the distorted space like uninvited guests. Then, an astonishing phenomenon occurred. The attacks that had originally been travelling at an extremely high speed suddenly became as slow as a crawling turtle after entering the distortion. They were still approaching Yang Kai, but at a speed that was hard to even see. At such a slow speed, even a three-year-old child standing there could easily avoid these attacks.
Fortunately, Mo Na Ye was very discerning. He could tell at a glance that the Secret Techniques thrown at Yang Kai had not become slower. On the contrary, it was the space that had become extremely distorted.
Near Distant Horizon!
This Space Secret Technique might not contain any defensive abilities on its own, but it had great defensive effects. The Void surrounding Yang Kai’s figure was infinitely stretched out thanks to the manipulation of Space Principles. Even though the Secret Techniques continued to travel at a terrifying speed, they seemed almost frozen on the spot under the effects of the infinitely stretched-out space.
At the same time, Yang Kai abruptly brought down his hand that was held above his head earlier!
Nothing seemed to occur, but be that as it may, the expressions of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords facing Yang Kai changed drastically in the wake of the seemingly useless blow. A turbulent wave of fear surged through their hearts at that moment because their intricately linked auras, which had seemed indestructible previously, suddenly fell apart as though sliced by a sharp blade when Yang Kai’s hand came swinging down. The Three Fortunes Formation had been broken!
The Space-Time River swept towards them in the next moment and unfortunately for them, they no longer had the means to defend themselves against the attack. Without the support of the Battle Formation, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were no match for Yang Kai with their strength alone.
One of the Pseudo-Royal Lords was dragged into the depths of the river and disappeared quickly with a small splash. On the other hand, the second Pseudo-Royal Lord reacted swiftly under the circumstances. As soon as he was caught in the currents of the river, he began to struggle desperately. Unfortunately for him, it was as though he was stuck in a quagmire and the more he struggled, the faster he sank into the raging waters.
The third Pseudo-Royal Lord turned out to be the smartest. As soon as the Three Fortunes Formation was destroyed, he immediately turned tail and fled. Even Yang Kai could not catch the fleeing Pseudo-Royal Lord in time despite his quick reflexes.
At this moment, the barrage of attacks from earlier finally overcame the limits of his Near Distant Horizon Secret Technique and slammed into Yang Kai’s body.
A dazzling Golden Dragon Phantom emerged from nowhere and coiled around Yang Kai’s body. When the powerful attacks exploded, the Phantom Dragon dissipated and Yang Kai’s body shook violently from the impact. A trickle of blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth as a result!
If it were any other Ninth-Order Master who bore the brunt of these attacks instead, they would inevitably suffer heavy injuries as a result; however, Yang Kai was a Divine Dragon. By relying on the physique of a Divine Dragon to protect him, he only suffered minor injuries from these attacks. That was an advantage that no other Ninth-Order Master enjoyed. The Dragon Clan stood at the top of the Divine Spirits after all, so it was only natural for them to possess incredible strength.
Mo Na Ye was close at hand and a howl burst from his lips, “Yang Kai!”
“Why are you calling my name?” Yang Kai sneered and took a step backwards. At the same time, his figure suddenly turned into an illusory phantom and Space Principles fluctuated wildly.
Mo Na Ye’s fist landed on the illusory phantom, causing it to shatter. Unfortunately, Yang Kai was nowhere to be found by then.
Yang Kai’s laughter came from the distance, “Who can stop me if I am determined to eliminate your Pseudo-Royal Lords?”
Mo Na Ye turned and looked in the direction of Yang Kai’s voice only to see Yang Kai standing at the head of the Dao Strength River. The waters in the Dao Strength River were turbulent, churning and roiling violently. At a glance, it almost seemed as though Yang Kai was standing on top of a Dragon. It was a magnificent and majestic sight to behold!
If there was no other external aggression threatening the Black Ink Clan, Mo Na Ye would not have allowed Yang Kai to be so arrogant; unfortunately, the Human Race Army was pressing their attack, and there were still many Universe Worlds threatening to impact the No-Return Pass. Even now, Mo Na Ye was powerless to rescue the two Pseudo-Royal Lords who were captured earlier.
Yang Kai glanced at Mo Na Ye coldly, and then he turned around and plunged into the river. In the next moment, the movements within the Space-Time River became more turbulent. It was evident that Masters were fighting inside.
Just 10 breaths later, Yang Kai’s figure appeared once more with a corpse in each hand. It was none other than the two Pseudo-Royal Lords whom he dragged into the river previously.
All the Black Ink Clansmen who witnessed the scene couldn’t help feeling a sense of sympathy for their comrades. The war had yet to begin in earnest, but the Black Ink Clan had already lost two Pseudo-Royal Lords. While there were indeed many Pseudo-Royal Lords, their numbers would not be enough to endure for long at this rate.
What happened next terrified the Black Ink Clan even more. Yang Kai held up the corpses of the two Pseudo-Royal Lords in a demonstrative manner, then he casually tossed them aside and withdrew the Space-Time River. In the next moment, his figure vanished out of sight once more.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were in mortal danger and the realisation caused a chill to run down their backs. Moreover, they all now felt that Yang Kai was watching them intently from the shadows, harbouring malicious intentions towards them…
Contrary to the reaction of the Black Ink Clan, the morale of the Human Race Army increased sharply after they witnessed Yang Kai infiltrating the enemy camp alone and reaping the lives of two Pseudo-Royal Lords. The attacks shooting out from the Human Race Army and towards the No-Return Pass became more vicious and concentrated as a result. Furthermore, the Human Race Masters all rolled up their sleeves and prepared to display their respective talents on the battlefield during the coming battle.
The barrage of Universe Worlds also continued. Even though most were destroyed en-route, the efforts of the Human Race Army to suppress the Black Ink Clan forced the latter to allocate more of their energy towards their own defences instead. In this situation, they were strong in will but weak in strength. They simply could not maintain their efforts to intercept the incoming Universe Worlds.
Besides, none of the Pseudo-Royal Lords dared to exert their full strength after witnessing Yang Kai’s flashy demonstration. Every one of them held back slightly in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Mo Na Ye knew that they had fallen for Yang Kai’s tricks. Yang Kai had not infiltrated the enemy camp alone to demonstrate his bravery; rather, his main purpose was to distract the Masters from the Black Ink Clan. Despite knowing Yang Kai’s intentions, Mo Na Ye could not force the Pseudo-Royal Lords to ignore their own safety and go all out. There was no guarantee that Yang Kai would not attack once more if they let down their defences. What seemed real could be fake, and what was fake could become real. It could be said that Yang Kai’s attack had tied the hands of all the Masters of the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai was the only person among the entire Human Race who could achieve such a feat.
The defence line outside the No-Return Pass was created with the damaged Great Passes that were abandoned by the Human Race Army in the past as the foundation and a large number of artifacts had been constructed on these Great Passes, but the Black Ink Disciples were not very adept at Artifact Refining. After all, those who were proficient in Artifact Refining generally contributed to the war efforts from the safety of the rear. As they rarely stepped onto the battlefield, they avoided the fate of being captured by the Black Ink Clan and converted into Black Ink Disciples.
It was for that reason that the artifacts prepared in advance by the Black Ink Clan were far inferior to those possessed by the Humans in terms of both power and attack range. When the Human Race Army first started approaching the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan Masters in charge of operating the artifacts could only watch as the enemy marched forward. The defensive artifacts could be activated at any time, but their effects were extremely limited. It was not until the Human Race Army entered the attack range of these artifacts that countless lights began to blaze from the abandoned Great Passes that surrounded the external perimeter of the No-Return Pass.
Be that as it may, these attacks were nothing to the enormous Human fleet. Aside from causing some slight trouble to part of the Human Army, they did not play an essential role in the war. It did not take long for the Human Race Army to target and suppress them instead.
Many gaps had appeared along the middle of the defensive line due to the constant collision of the Universe Worlds. When the last few Universe Worlds finally arrived at the No-Return Pass and detonated, the gap in the defence line only became bigger.
At the same time, the Human Race Army deployed a massive number of troops straight towards the gaps without the slightest hesitation. It was clear that they were aiming to use these gaps in the Black Ink Clan’s lines to route the Black Ink Clan’s defence entirely. If they succeeded, then they could march right in and conquer the No-Return Pass without obstruction!
The No-Return Pass currently contained all of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests of the Black Ink Clan. If the Human Race Army invaded the No-Return Pass, the High-Rank Black Ink Nests would inevitably suffer extensive losses regardless of the outcome of the battle. There was no question that such losses would affect the production of more Black Ink Clansmen as well as the healing of their Masters. How could Mo Na Ye allow such a thing to happen? He immediately mobilized many Masters and led the Black Ink Army to intercept those invaders.
The opening of the first battle of the No-Return Pass was fought at long-range, and although the Humans gained a huge advantage, it did not fundamentally change the situation. To really retake the No-Return Pass, they still had to rely on their soldiers to engage in close-quarter combat with the Black Ink Clan.
The Blood Flame, Wolf Fang, Soaring Cloud, Burning Moon, Azure Dawn, and Jade Cicada Armies flooded over like a raging tidal wave, pouring through the gaps in the Black Ink Clan defence line!
The remaining six Armies continued their assault from the left and right flanks of the No-Return Pass, holding down the Black Ink Clan Masters and Army as best they could.
As the Human Army continued to tighten its encirclement, the battle between the two sides became more and more intense. There were constant sounds of death all across the battlefield from both the Black Ink Clan and the Humans.
Across the vast conflict zone, aside for the few Masters who stood at the pinnacle, the might of an individual became insignificant. However, the synergistic power of combined forces became more than simple numbers would imply. When this was applied on the battlefield a scenario of ‘death by a thousand cuts’ became a reality.
The Black Ink Clan tried their best to stem the attack, but the strain they were under from the outset of the battle caused their response to be weaker than the opponent’s. Their resistance only lasted less than half an hour before the six Human Race Armies broke through the defence perimeter and stormed through the gaps. The Human soldiers soon reached the broken Great Passes, which once belonged to the Human Race but had been abandoned for thousands of years.
Warships sailed through and struck the enemy with Secret Techniques and artifacts while dodging the enemy’s counterattacks with astonishing agility.
This was the first battle of the Human Race Grand Army at the No-Return Pass, so they needed to achieve a spectacular victory! Mi Jing Lun did not expect to retake the No-Return Pass in one fell swoop; after all, that was simply unrealistic. Nevertheless, momentum and morale were key factors in winning any war.
The ultimate goal of the battle was determined even before the Army was mobilized; inflict maximum damage on the enemy while minimizing their own casualties.
With such an objective, the Human Warships did not act as lone Squads, but rather moved as Battalions. Squad worked in units of eight or nine, protecting each other, advancing and retreating together, so that they could maximize the advantages of the Warships and attack the enemy while preserving themselves.
The Masters of the two sides had also taken action against each other. The Eighth-Order Masters, Territory Lords, and Pseudo-Royal Lords all opened up separate battlefields where they aimed to slaughter each other.
The Humans now had many more Eighth-Order Masters than the Black Ink Clan had Territory Lords.
Thousands of years ago, the situation was completely different.
At that time the Eighth-Order Masters struggled to resist the swarm of Territory Lords and fought every battle with all their might to kill the enemy, every time receiving various hard to recover from wounds.
Ou Yang Lie, for example, was afraid to take the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill given to him by Yang Kai because of the accumulation of such wounds in his body. He was concerned that he might fail in his breakthrough and waste a chance for a potential Ninth-Order Master.
In the end, he succeeded and reached the Ninth Order, becoming Army Commander of Profound Nether Army.
Back when the situation of the Humans was critical, the Profound Nether Battlefield was nearly captured by the Black Ink Clan because they lacked top Masters.
The main reason why they were able to hold out at the time was because the Eighth-Order Masters were bold enough to put their lives on the line when they went to war. Additionally, they had Battle Formations and Warships to assist them. However, all of this was not enough to counter the Black Ink Clan’s overwhelming numerical advantage.
It was not until Yang Kai stepped in and forced the Black Ink Clan to sign a truce that the situation of the Eighth-Order Masters became better; otherwise, many more veteran Eighth-Order Masters would have died.
Today, after thousands of years of accumulation, the heritage of the Human Race has become unprecedentedly strong. There were numerous rising stars who had become Eighth-Order Masters, and now, Eighth-Order Masters completely outnumbered the Territory Lords and were capable of completely suppressing them!
Moreover, the strength of an Acquired Territory Lords was generally inferior to that of an Eighth-Order Master, not to mention their lesser numbers.
However, the Black Ink Clan also had a great number of Pseudo-Royal Lords on their side.
Each Pseudo-Royal Lord had the ability to deal with a Five Elements or even Six Paths Formation formed by Eighth-Order Masters. Worse, in order to defend against Yang Kai, Pseudo-Royal Lords would group in threes to form their own Battle Formations, making them much more difficult to deal with.
Except for the Ninth-Order Masters who could deal with the Three Fortunes Formation formed by Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Eighth-Order Masters had to assume a Five Elements or even Six Paths Formation to deal with a single Pseudo-Royal Lord.
In other words, three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a Battle Formation would keep around 20 or even more Eighth-Order Masters occupied, which greatly compensated for the lack of Territory Lords.
However, due to their fear of Yang Kai, none of the Pseudo-Royal Lords in their respective Formations dared to use all their strength. All of them reserved some of their strength and diverted part of their attention to guard against Yang Kai’s sneak attack.
Therefore, from how it looked, the Eighth-Order Masters in Battle Formations had the upper hand over the Pseudo-Royal Lords also in Battle Formations.
This situation was quite bizarre.
As soon as the Human Race Army bypassed the Great Passes’ defensive line, they immediately set about annihilating everything they could reach. Soldiers of both sides scattered on the vast battlefield and fought so violently that the void trembled under their collective impact.
Blooms of Evil Purging Divine Spears appeared everywhere, resulting in the Black Ink Clan suffering terrible losses.
The Human stockpile of Evil Purging Divine Spears was fully distributed for this battle as there was no need to worry about supplies anymore.
The Human Race was going all out for this battle!
Not long after the six Human Race Armies attacking overwhelmed the Black Ink Clan defence line, the six remaining Armies on the left and right flanks also broke through the Black Ink Clan’s defence line, circumventing the broken Great Passes and meeting the Black Ink Clan in close quarters.
The whole area outside the No-Return Pass was now embroiled in the flames of war.
“Mo Yu!” A roar suddenly sounded from somewhere in the void, and with that roar, a magnificent figure crashed through the Black Ink Clan’s blockade with unstoppable power.
As Mo Yu said to Mo Na Ye before the battle, once the fighting started, the Ninth-Order Masters would definitely come to him. According to the information that the Humans had, he and Mo Na Ye were the only two Royal Lords; thus, suppressing them would greatly benefit the Humans in battle.
Mo Yu’s prophecy came true when he was approached by none other than Xiang Shan.
Mo Yu was prepared for such a situation, and now that Xiang Shan had called him out, he would not avoid the fight.
After Xiang Shan’s roar, Mo Yu rushed out from the No-Return Pass, his Black Ink Strength surging as it transformed into a huge Black Ink Cloud that covered the sky and enveloped the approaching enemy.
A fierce struggle began within the Black Ink Cloud before swiftly moving outside the No-Return Pass.
A battle between a Ninth-Order Master and a Royal Lord was so intense that if they did not move away from the main battlefield, there would be severe collateral damage to both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan.
“Mo Na Ye!” Another roar came from the Human Race Army. Seeing that Xiang Shan had successfully lured Mo Yu away, Ou Yang Lie was ready to take on the other Royal Lord. According to their original plan, as long as he pinned down Mo Na Ye, then the two Royal Lords would be too busy to coordinate the Black Ink Clan, including the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods; thus, even if they were not able to kill the two Royal Lords, the entire Black Ink Clan Army would become leaderless.
However, as soon as Ou Yang Lie moved, a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords in a Three Fortunes Formation blocked his way. There were more Eighth-Order Masters in the Profound Nether Army to help, but the Black Ink Clan also had Territory Lords and the other Pseudo-Royal Lords who were moving towards them.
With Ou Yang Lie at the centre, Human and Black Ink Clan Masters engaged in a ruthless melee.
Ou Yang Lie was so angry that he shouted as he fought with the three Pseudo-Royal Lords, “Mo Na Ye, if you have the guts, come out and fight with me alone!”
However, no matter how much Ou Yang Lie shouted, Mo Na Ye remained unperturbed and ignored him as he remained inside the No-Return Pass to oversee the situation.
With a huge potential threat like Yang Kai lurking in the shadows, Mo Na Ye would not care about Ou Yang Lie. From his standpoint, the biggest threat from the Humans was Yang Kai!
While the Human Race Army attacked from three sides, Yang Kai was repeatedly using both Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability and his own Space-Time River. Needless to say, he made gains almost every time he struck.
All Pseudo-Royal Lords throughout the battlefield were his prey.
Even though the Pseudo-Royal Lords were in Battle Formations and were vigilant of their surroundings, they were still caught off guard when Yang Kai suddenly appeared and struck them.
If they were lucky, they could block Yang Kai’s attacks and save themselves; however, if they were unlucky, as many as three Pseudo-Royal Lords would be caught in his Space-Time River, and the Black Ink Clan knew exactly what would happen once they fell into the raging waters.
Yang Kai weaved through the battlefield, swiftly moving from one success to the next. Each time he found an opening, he dove in to kill the cornered Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Within a short time, more than a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords had been killed by these successive ambushes!
It could be said that Yang Kai alone had done more than all the other Ninth-Order Masters combined.
This was a huge loss for the Black Ink Clan, and Mo Na Ye was getting desperate, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had been trying to keep track of Yang Kai’s whereabouts, but with such a huge battlefield and Yang Kai’s quick and unpredictable movements, it was impossible to do so.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Mo Na Ye knew that things would reach a critical breaking point if he did not do something.
He gritted his teeth and looked up at the lofty Great Pass in the void.
Pure Yang Pass, which Yang Kai took away from the No-Return Pass some 20 years ago had now become the location of the Human Race’s Supreme Headquarters. It was where their Supreme Commander, Mi Jing Lun, remained and directed the fights on the entire battlefield.
After the 12 Armies of the Human Race were fully engaged, Pure Yang Pass became very conspicuous as it remained outside of the battlefield.
The battlefield was vast and chaotic. In such a situation, it was impossible even for the Ninth-Order Masters to know what was happening everywhere at all times.
Once there was no central coordination and control, the Human’s 12 Armies were bound to fail even if they broke through all the Black Ink Clan’s defences. The Ninth-Order Master leading each of their Armies also had to fight, and did not have much spare energy to observe the general situation.
This situation only exacerbated when the Armies broke through the initial defences of the Black Ink Clan as they were then thrown into a chaotic melee and no longer had a structured formation which was easy to coordinate. Once communications broke down, the situation of each Army became more dangerous.
If the Humans needed help at a particular battlefield, forces needed to be re-distributed to maximize benefits without causing detriments.
If the Humans could exploit the weakness of the Black Ink Clan defense, then they could reap twice the results with half the effort.
To achieve all this, the 12 Armies needed a pair of eyes that could overlook the entire battlefield. It had to be a calm and intelligent mind who could transmit battlefield orders rapidly.
The Supreme Headquarters played this role.
The soldiers at the Great Pass could see the whole battlefield clearly and quickly reported the situation from all positions while Mi Jing Lun and his staff were responsible for analyzing the intelligence and formulating plans in the shortest possible time.
In this way, the 12 Armies would be able to coordinate perfectly as a single unit to pose a deadly threat to the Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass.
This time, the Humans came prepared for the battle. Even the intelligent Mo Na Ye did not expect that the Human Race would use tactics such as throwing Universe Worlds filled with Arrays to punch through the Black Ink Clan’s defensive perimeter, causing the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass to suffer a considerable loss. Together with Yang Kai’s unpredictable ambushes and ruthless kills, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were all at their wits’ end.
If Yang Kai continued to cut down the Pseudo-Royal Lords, when their number fell below a certain limit, the Black Ink Clan may not be able to stop the Humans even if they went all out.
Therefore, from Black Ink Clan’s standpoint, they had to find a way to break the Human’s current momentum.
Mo Na Ye had a direct interest in Pure Yang Pass, or more directly, in Mi Jing Lun.
Mo Na Ye had never underestimated the importance of Mi Jing Lun and the Supreme Headquarters and had wanted to find a chance to slaughter them all for many years; but unfortunately, Mi Jing Lun had not ever appeared on the frontline battlefields, so he could not do anything about him.
It was a good opportunity, now that the Humans were attacking the No-Return Pass; however, Pure Yang Pass was going to pose some problems. Although this Great Pass had not yet displayed its power, it was clearly repaired and refurbished over the past 20 or so years. Mo Na Ye could not estimate how much of its original power Pure Yang Pass could display at the moment, but he did not doubt that if it was brought into the battle, it would cause a huge breakthrough for the Human Race, and the Black Ink Clan would have to pay a huge price to stop it.
Even before the fighting started, Mo Na Ye had thought about attacking Pure Yang Pass, and since things had come to this point, it was time for him to act boldly.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind as Mo Na Ye’s Divine Sense surged, sending commands in all directions. The next moment, the Black Ink Clan Army on the battlefield suddenly turned from defence to offence, and many of them rushed towards the Human Warships.
The Warships were caught off guard by this sudden onslaught and many were blown to pieces across the battlefield. The Human soldiers inside now did not have the protection of their Warships and were quickly swamped by the boundless Black Ink Clan soldiers. Only a few managed to escape by virtue of their strong cultivation.
The scene looked like a group of sharks tearing at their bleeding prey.
The nearby Human soldiers quickly moved to provide assistance, but this barely stabilized the situation.
At that moment, Mo Na Ye, who had been watching from the No-Return Pass, lunged forward. Along with him, 12 other figures rushed out from the No-Return Pass.
Judging from the unmistakable auras, those were 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords!
There were numerous Black Ink Clan’s Pseudo-Royal Lords. Not all of them were deployed to the battlefield in the previous wars. It was estimated that only 70% of them fought on the battlefield while the remaining 30% were recuperating in the No-Return Pass. They did this to preserve their strength and to guard the No-Return Pass; after all, Yang Kai could turn up at any moment to harass them so Mo Na Ye did not dare to relax his vigilance. If Yang Kai rushed into the No-Return Pass and stirred up chaos, the High-Rank Black Ink Nests would be decimated.
So even though 12 more Pseudo-Royal Lords were coming out of the No-Return Pass, there were still a good number of Pseudo-Royal Lords engaged in the main battle.
Mo Na Ye attacked together with the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords along with a large Army of a million Black Ink Clansmen, including many Feudal Lords and Territory Lords.
This conspicuous Army rushed towards the disrupted Human lines, and even though the Human Army at that location tried their best to intercept them, they were unable to contain the enemy thrust.
The Human defensive line was torn apart by the Black Ink Clan attack in a short while.
A million bloodthirsty and ruthless Black Ink Clan Soldiers flowed through the gap like a torrent. Led by Mo Na Ye and the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords, they charged straight towards the direction of Pure Yang Pass, their objective obvious to all.
The Humans on the nearby battlefield saw this, and although they wanted to intercept, they were unable to.
In the next moment, Mo Na Ye, who was leading the Army, suddenly stopped, while the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords and the million-strong Army continued their rampage, as if they were not aware of this and still charged in the direction of Pure Yang Pass.
Mo Na Ye turned his head and shouted in the direction of the No-Return Pass, “Yang Kai!”
He thought that if he showed any intention of attacking Pure Yang Pass, Yang Kai would definitely show up and stop him; however, Mo Na Ye never thought that the cunning Yang Kai would instead head straight for the No-Return Pass!
Before the Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass could react, he quickly destroyed two High Rank Black Ink Nests!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were not to be blamed for this as they had no way to conceal their auras; thus, they all stuck out like cranes among chickens in Yang Kai’s senses. All he needed to do was to choose the places where the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ defences were the weakest, and then he could do whatever he wanted.
It was only then that several Pseudo-Royal Lords nearby reacted and rushed to stop Yang Kai, starting a huge fight with him.
This battle rocked the No-Return Pass and the fallout was devastating, decimating several more High Rank Black Ink Nests.
Mo Na Ye quickly turned around and headed for the No-Return Pass, with his heart aching over the losses.
Like the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the High-Rank Black Ink Nest could not be replaced. Without these High-Rank Black Ink Nests, how could the Black Ink Clans create more Soldiers? If the High-Rank Black Ink Nests were all destroyed, the Black Ink Clan of the No-Return Pass would become a river without a source. Their defeat would be inevitable once that happened.
By the time Mo Na Ye rushed back to the No-Return Pass and entered the battlefield, six High-Rank Black Ink Nests had already been destroyed.
Upon seeing this, Mo Na Ye bellowed, “Leave one Formation behind, the others guard the Black Ink Nests!”
Upon hearing his order, the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were ordered to stay with Mo Na Ye joined him in battling Yang Kai while the rest of the Pseudo-Royal Lords formed Three Fortunes Formations to guard their surrounding areas.
Yang Kai did not continue his attacks on the No-Return Pass; instead, he took a step back, dashed past the group of Pseudo-Royal Lords as he glared at Mo Na Ye.
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords did not dare to chase after him, but approached Mo Na Ye and stood beside him.
At this moment, Mo Na Ye looked at Yang Kai with his eyes blazing and gritted his teeth, “Bastard!”
Yang Kai smiled smugly and taunted, “Why do you look so bitter? You deployed your troops against Pure Yang Pass, and you expect me not to do anything? Wasn’t your intention to draw me out? You should be happy that you achieved your goal!”
Mo Na Ye looked at him with a deep frown and his anger slowly eased as he said with a frown, “You saw through my intentions.”
However, he was not faking his anger. Since the beginning of the war, more than a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords had been killed by Yang Kai and now half a dozen High Rank Black Ink Nests had been smashed. Even if Mo Na Ye had a steady temperament, it was impossible for him not to be furious.
However, his anger was not as intense as expected.
Yang Kai raised his hand, pointed to his eyes, and asked as he glared, “Do you know what these are?”
Mo Na Ye’s mind raced and asked in return doubtfully, “What?”
“Eyes!” Yang Kai replied, “I’m not blind!”
Mo Na Ye was flabbergasted.
Although the battle was in full swing outside the No-Return Pass, two top Masters were simply staring at each other inside the No-Return Pass. They just stared and talked to each other without fighting; however, the tension was very tense and treacherous.
Moments later, Mo Na Ye quickly asked, “Has Mi Jing Lun broken through to the Ninth Order?”
“What makes you think so?” Yang Kai asked with a puzzled expression. The Black Ink Clan should not know about Mi Jing Lun becoming a Ninth-Order Master. Even if they found out about the two newly promoted Ninth-Order Masters, it should have been impossible for Mo Na Ye to know Mi Jing Lun had also broken through.
Mo Na Ye replied with a shrug, “It’s obvious. Originally, I had already guessed that Mi Jing Lun might have become a Ninth-Order Master. After the battle in the Universe Furnace, the Universe Furnace World became a hunting ground for the Humans. The Humans might have obtained another Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, and the most logical person to take it would be Mi Jing Lun, but that was all only a guess. When I saw how you reacted just now though, I became 80% certain!”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai appeared to be enlightened, “The attack on Pure Yang Pass was not only to lure me out, but also to verify your suspicions.” After a pause, Yang Kai continued, “Your main purpose must be the latter.”
At this point, there was no point in denying it, as the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords led a million-strong Black Ink Clan Army towards the Pure Yang Pass, which was outside the battlefield. There was no longer a way to hide the fact that Mi Jing Lun had advanced to become a Ninth-Order Master.
If Mi Jing Lun was still only an Eighth-Order Master, Yang Kai would have to go to their rescue instead of boldly attacking the No-Return Pass.
Since Yang Kai appeared in the No-Return Pass, it meant that he was at ease about Mi Jing Lun’s safety, and in such a large-scale battlefield, only a Ninth-Order Master was able to guarantee their own safety.
Mo Na Ye shook his head and said, “No, the main reason was still to lure you out and pin you down. Yang Kai, you must not underestimate yourself. Everyone from the Royal Lords down to the ordinary Black Ink Clansmen fears you deeply.”
Yang Kai grinned and replied, “Should I feel honoured?”
“Do as you please, I’m just speaking the truth!” Mo Na Ye stared at Yang Kai, as did the three Pseudo-Royal Lords standing beside him. None of them let their guard down even when Mo Na Ye was having a conversation with Yang Kai and any abnormal movement would result in a violent exchange between them.
This was also the reason why Yang Kai was willing to stand here and chat with Mo Na Ye; otherwise, he would have already used Instantaneous Movement to disappear to somewhere else on the battlefield to kill more enemies. However, Mo Na Ye had locked onto him using his aura; thus, even if he tried to use Instantaneous Movement, it would have been disrupted.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai suddenly said, “Since you have guessed that Senior Brother Mi had become a Ninth-Order Master, aren’t you worried about the safety of those Pseudo-Royal Lords?”
As they spoke, the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords and the million-strong Black Ink Clan Army had already closed in on Pure Yang Pass. The two sides would clash violently at any moment.
If Mi Jing Lun was still an Eighth-Order Master, then the Black Ink Clan would have had a great chance to capture the Great Pass and kill Mi Jing Lun.; however, now that Mo Na Ye knew that Mi Jing Lun was already in the Ninth Order, it made no sense for him to continue the attack.
It was foolish for them to charge towards danger with no possibility of gains; Mo Na Ye couldn’t make such a choice.
However, that was exactly what he did.
Mo Na Ye replied nonchalantly, “Why should I worry?”
Yang Kai frowned when he heard that. If he did not worry about the safety of his attacking Army, then did that mean that the Humans needed to worry?
At that moment, he saw the Black Ink Clan Army from the No-Return Pass making a very different move. Just as they closed to the defensive perimeter of Pure Yang Pass, this Army, led by 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords, suddenly turned around and charged back towards the battlefield.
In that direction, Human and Black Ink Clan soldiers were in an evenly matched fight with neither side able to send reinforcements within a short period of time. A large Army would be able to change the situation of that local battlefield and allow the Black Ink Clan to gain the upper hand if they rushed over at this moment.
Yang Kai’s expression changed instantly and said, “So this is your plan?”
Mo Na Ye ordered the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords to lead a million-strong Black Ink Clan Army to attack Pure Yang Pass, hold Yang Kai back, and verify Mi Jing Lun’s advancement to the Ninth Order, but his ultimate objective was to wheel around and attack the Humans from behind to create an advantage for the Black Ink Clan!
[Mo Na Ye!] Yang Kai raged!
Mo Na Ye just said that his main purpose was to hold Yang Kai back, which made him lower his guard; however, even that was a deception.
Yang Kai was particularly annoyed with Mo Na Ye at this moment, who could somehow turn an unfavourable situation around with clever tactics and deliver a blow to his enemies they never expected.
Yang Kai nearly died when he intercepted the Innate Territory Lords who had escaped from Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction thanks to a similar scheme. If it was not for the Universe Furnace’s sudden appearance at the critical moment, Yang Kai might not have survived.
In Pure Yang Pass, Mi Jing Lun looked from the top of the walls at the Black Ink Clan Army, which was getting farther and farther away from Pure Yang Pass. He then looked over in the direction of the No-Return Pass and sighed lightly, “Seems’ I’ve been exposed!”
Before the battle began, he had thought of using himself as bait to lure the Black Ink Clan to attack.
His advancement to the Ninth Order was only now known to the higher-ups of the Human Race while the Black Ink Clan was totally unaware; therefore, after the battle started, the 12 Armies all pressed forward, leaving Pure Yang Pass vulnerable outside the battlefield.
This was to send a message to the Black Ink Clan and Mo Na Ye.
“The Supreme Headquarters is on Pure Yang Pass, and Mi Jing Lun is also on Pure Yang Pass.” As long as the Black Ink Clan could take down Pure Yang Pass, then the Humans would become blind and deaf. When that happened, regardless of how strong the Humans were, even if they could re-capture the Supreme Headquarters, they would eventually be defeated.
This deception was initially successful. Mo Na Ye had an Army charge towards Pure Yang Pass, but just when they were about to engage each other, the Pseudo-Royal Lords leading the way turned around and flew back to the battlefield. Their target had always been the Human Race Army.
If Black Ink Clan defeated the Humans at their targeted spot, then the Black Ink Clan Army would be able to gain a foothold and use that part of the battlefield to expand their advantage.
“No need to hide anymore, let’s fight!” Mi Jing Lun said softly.
The next moment, numerous figures suddenly shot out from Pure Yang Pass and chased after the Black Ink Clan Army with the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords leading them.
The two leading figures, with powerful auras, were the two newly promoted Ninth-Order Masters of the Human Race. Right behind them were nearly 200 Eighth-Order Masters!
Mi Jing Lun had used Pure Yang Pass and himself as bait, so naturally, he had made all the necessary arrangements!
The garrison of Pure Yang Pass might have seemed obvious at a glance, but under the cover of many Concealment Arrays, the two newly advanced Ninth-Order Masters and a large group of Eighth-Order Masters were quietly lying in wait. If the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords and the million-strong Black Ink Clan troops dared to set foot on Pure Yang Pass, they would end up with heavy casualties.
For this reason, Mi Jing Lun even hid Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao from the public even when the battles began.
However, now that they had been exposed, there was no longer any point in hiding them anymore. They were now Ninth-Order Masters; thus, it was time for them to play a role in the battlefield.
The two Ninth-Order Masters led some 200 Eighth-Order Masters towards the Black Ink Clan Army, and although their numbers were far less than the enemy, their strength was comparable. The two Ninth-Order Masters took point and charged into the enemy Army, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter. Black blood splattered with body parts flying everywhere, leaving a trail of dead and dying Black Ink Clansmen.
It was only when the leading 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords managed to intervene and blunt the Human Race Masters’ assault, halting the wanton slaughter of their subordinates.
“So, you had two more Ninth-Order Masters!” Mo Na Ye remarked calmly as he watched Yang Kai closely, able to sense the violent fallout from the clash even from where he stood.
The sudden appearance of the two Ninth-Order Masters’ auras naturally did not escape his notice.
Mo Na Ye was actually not surprised by this.
Since Black Ink Clan had a new Royal Lord, then the Humans could also have new Ninth-Order Masters. If he counted Mi Jing Lun, the Humans had three more Ninth Orders in just the last 20 years.
It was unknown whether the two new appearances relied on their own accumulation of cultivation to break through, or did so with the help of Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills. If it was the latter, then it did not matter as the number of Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were limited and would eventually run out; however, if it was the former, then the situation was untenable.
The Human Race had produced several new Ninth-Order Masters while the Black Ink Clan only gained one new Royal Lord, it was obvious which side had the advantage and time would only exacerbate the situation.
“The Black Ink Clan is doomed!” Yang Kai taunted.
Mo Na Ye scoffed and replied, “Brother Yang underestimates my Black Ink Clan.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai frowned and continued, “Is it possible that a new Royal Lord appeared in the Black Ink Clan? Which one is it? Why doesn’t he introduce himself?”
Mo Na Ye maintained a straight face, “If that is the case, you will find out eventually.”
The answer was so flat and plain it was difficult for Yang Kai to determine if there was a new Royal Lord in the Black Ink Clan or not. He had carefully checked all parts of the No-Return Pass previously but did not find anything.
He had an ominous feeling when he came to the No-Return Pass but could not be sure based on that feeling alone. There were so many Masters from the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass right now, so if he was not careful, he could find himself in a critical situation regardless of the truth.
“So…” Mo Na Ye lowered his eyes, and his tone suddenly lowered, “That’s the end of the small talk!”
Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “Is it time to fight? No more stalling? I see that your Pseudo-Royal Lords seem to be secretly setting up something. If it’s not properly set up, we can chat a while longer.”
His completely nonchalant attitude made Mo Na Ye’s flaming rage burst out as he roared, “Yang Kai, you arrogant bastard! Do you really think that the No-Return Pass is a place where you can come and go as you wish!?”
Yang Kai looked at him seriously for a long time and then said, “This is the territory of the Human Race, so of course I can come and go as I please!”
“Prove it!”
As soon as Mo Na Ye finished his sentence, the No-Return Pass hummed in all directions as if there was an invisible power swept through it. In the next instant, this huge stretch underwent a subtle change…
This change was extremely inconspicuous, and it was difficult for ordinary people to notice, but Yang Kai only had to scan around to know what happened. He frowned slightly and remarked, “You improved the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array?”
The Black Ink Clan always wanted to use the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array to deal with Yang Kai; however, the Spirit Array was a bit troublesome to set up and could not be done so quickly. On several occasions, the Black Ink Clan would be in the middle of setting up the Array when Yang Kai suddenly dashed away or interfered.
They could only hope for Yang Kai to stay somewhere long enough for them to finish setting up the Array. For example, the first time the Black Ink Clan used the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array was in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. They managed to block the entire Divine Spirit Ancestral Land with it, and a Pseudo-Royal Lord personally led numerous Innate Territory Lords to attack and kill Yang Kai.
It would have been disastrous for Yang Kai had he not taken advantage of Ancestral Land’s favourable conditions and if the Pseudo-Royal Lord had been more measured.
Without the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array, there was no way to limit Yang Kai’s Space Secret Techniques, and without limiting his Space Secret Techniques, they had no chance to kill him.
While Yang Kai was chatting with Mo Na Ye, some Pseudo-Royal Lords were sneaking around in the background, which Yang Kai naturally noticed.
Now, the Black Ink Clan had turned the entire No-Return Pass into a huge trap.
Compared to the previous Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array, the current Array was undoubtedly better hidden and covered a wider area. Without Yang Kai noticing, the Array had already been activated.
“Damn!” Yang Kai cursed in contempt.
Mo Na Ye coldly snorted, “Don’t you Humans have a saying, ‘if you often walk next to the river, how can your shoes not get wet?’ You went on three rampages in the No-Return Pass already. Do you really think that I won’t learn from those failures and prepare for today?”
“That’s why you always stayed in the No-Return Pass, so that you could trap me here when I came again. It’s unbelievable that the Black Ink Clan has a talent capable of this.”
This kind of improvement to the Array could only be done by one who had a high attainment in the Dao of Spirit Arrays. The Black Ink Clan had numerous Black Ink Disciples, but they did not have many who were skilled in the Dao of Spirit Arrays and Dao of Artifact Refining; thus, they were still vastly inferior compared to the Humans.
However, it had been so many years that if those Array Masters worked hard enough, they could achieve some gains.
“It’s too late now,” Mo Na Ye raised his hand and pointed at Yang Kai, “Today, you will be buried here!”
Yang Kai glanced around and said grimly, “Aren’t you afraid that the High-Rank Black Ink Nests in the No-Return Pass will be destroyed if we fight here?”
This was where the Black Ink Clan’s foundation was located. Although there were still a large number of Masters, the presence of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests here was also a constraint for the Black Ink Clan.
“That’s why I only let three Pseudo-Royal Lords come to assist me,” Mo Na Ye replied indifferently.
Yang Kai looked surprised for a moment before he nodded, “So that’s how it is.”
There were many Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass, but only three were participating directly in the battle together with Mo Na Ye while the others remained at their posts. They were responsible for guarding the High-Rank Black Ink Nests in their respective areas. None of them could stand up to Yang Kai, but they were more than capable of blocking some shockwaves from hitting the Nests. With them stationed here, the High-Rank Black Ink Nests would most likely not be affected.
“Of course, if necessary…” Mo Na Ye said with determination, “There can be more Pseudo-Royal Lords to deal with you. Simply said, I am prepared to do whatever it takes to kill you today!”
From these words alone, one could see Mo Na Ye’s determination to eradicate Yang Kai.
There was nothing left to say as everything was in place on the Black Ink Clan’s side. As such, Yang Kai simply decided to follow the flow.
He slightly raised his hand, summoned the Azure Dragon Spear, and clenched its shaft. As his Dao Strengths stirred, the Space-Time River began to coil around the long spear.
His fighting spirit began to boil and his killing intent surged. Yang Kai held the spear, pointed it forward, and proclaimed, “Then, let’s see how many of your Masters I kill before I fall!”
“Begin!”
Mo Na Ye and the three Pseudo-Royal Lords lunged forward simultaneously and attacked Yang Kai from opposite sides.
Yang Kai immediately thrust the Azure Dragon Spear forward, sending out a spear shadow filled with Dao Strengths so powerful that it terrified the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The spear sliced a Pseudo-Royal Lord’s body, drew some black blood, and continued its momentum towards Mo Na Ye’s face.
Mo Na Ye roared and his Black Ink Strength surged, turning into a protective layer covering his body. However, that barrier was directly pierced by the long spear. At the critical moment, Mo Na Ye raised his arm and managed to deflect the spear away from his body.
The tip of the spear still scratched Mo Na Ye’s face and Yang Kai swiftly made a sweep with it, sending the former flying with a powerful strike.
Yang Kai was about to give chase when he felt a powerful force coming at him from behind. It was the three Pseudo-Royal Lords who attacked together, forcing him to draw back his spear to defend himself.
Mo Na Ye quickly regained his balance but still appeared bewildered.
The last time he faced Yang Kai head-on was in the Universe Furnace World when Yang Kai had just advanced to the Ninth Order and he had just become a Royal Lord.
He was almost killed by Yang Kai back then, but Meng Que sacrificed himself for the greater good and helped him to escape.
It had been hundreds of years since that encounter.
Now, fighting Yang Kai once again, Mo Na Ye suddenly found that this bastard seemed to be a lot stronger than back then…
Of course, Yang Kai would certainly become stronger after hundreds of years, but likewise, Mo Na Ye was also much stronger than back then. Both of them still had serious injuries back when they first fought, so neither was able to display their peak strength.
However, Yang Kai had now become much stronger than Mo Na Ye had expected.
He knew how Humans cultivated and understood well that a Ninth-Order Master required many years of accumulation to improve themselves; thus, he could not figure out how Yang Kai managed to grow so much in just a few hundred years.
Mo Na Ye thought that one group of three Pseudo-Royal Lords together with himself would be enough to deal with Yang Kai, but now it seemed that was not sufficient.
Unfortunately, he was not prepared to let more Pseudo-Royal Lords come forward to fight against Yang Kai as just adding more bodies may not help the situation!
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords who were already in a Battle Formation could only withstand Yang Kai’s assault for 10 breaths before they started to crumble under his relentless attacks.
They had previously fought with other Ninth-Order Masters and basically concluded that if they used a Three Fortunes Formation, they would be able to contend with the enemy. Even if they were ultimately outmatched, they did not have to fear dying. However, this killing star seemed to be far more powerful than other Ninth-Order Masters.
Fortunately, Mo Na Ye quickly came over to assist them.
Even then, it was just barely enough to contend with Yang Kai!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were tasked with protecting the No-Return Pass saw this and became concerned and gloomy.
It was impossible to realize how powerful Yang Kai was until one actually fought him.
Three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a Formation could compete with a Ninth-Order Master, that was the standard rule, but now, even with Mo Na Ye, who was a true Royal Lord, their power was barely enough to hold Yang Kai back. Yang Kai was even beginning to gain the upper hand over them which was a terrifying sight to behold.
The battle was fierce and ruthless. Several figures darted around as they fought throughout the No-Return Pass. Every single attack on Yang Kai was well coordinated and powerful, which showed how well prepared the Black Ink Clan was for this confrontation. The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were guarding the High-Rank Black Ink Nests were also able to block all the fallout, leaving the Black Ink Nests untouched.
As the battle dragged on, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords who were fighting became wounded and drained, causing their strength to drop.
At that moment, three other Pseudo-Royal Lords flew out from the perimeter, formed a Battle Formation, and joined the fight. Once that happened, the three exhausted and wounded Pseudo-Royal Lords made a feint and withdrew.
“Hmm?” Yang Kai remarked in slight surprise, “So this is your plan?”
Three fresh Pseudo-Royal Lords replaced the three who were exhausted. This tag-team tactic was easy for the Black Ink Clan to execute and sustain as they had enough Pseudo-Royal Lords to rotate into the fight.
As long as the three Pseudo-Royal Lord replacements joined the battle smoothly, Yang Kai would constantly be under pressure.
“Since you’re using this tactic, why don’t you summon more Pseudo-Royal Lords and fight together?” Yang Kai asked as he thrust his spear at Mo Na Ye.
Mo Na Ye dodged, coldly snorted, and counterattacked, “There’s no need for that. The Array has been activated, and the No-Return Pass has been isolated.”
“You want to take me down with minimal effort? That’s a good plan,” Yang Kai raised his brow as he continued his rush towards Mo Na Ye, “Although I have to admit that this tactic is effective, you might have forgotten that there is a major flaw to it.”
Mo Na Ye asked indifferently, “What?”
Yang Kai replied, “The most crucial factor of this plan is you; after all, there is no one to replace you!”
“So what?”
“So…” Yang Kai’s aura suddenly changed and became exceedingly violent, “All I have to do is kill you!”
The Space-Time River, which had wrapped around the Azure Dragon Spear suddenly turned into another spear which had the Dao Strengths attached and shot out towards the three Pseudo-Royal Lords to block all their attacks. Simultaneously, Yang Kai thrust out his Azure Dragon Spear and charged at Mo Na Ye.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed as he realized that Yang Kai had not exerted his full strength, causing him to stare at his opponent in total disbelief.
[How could he have grown so much in just a few hundred years!?]
However, Mo Na Ye could not afford to think about it at this moment. Yang Kai had obviously grown significantly, but he too had not idled in the last few hundred years and had also grown stronger. Though not as much as Yang Kai, his cultivation was completely consolidated now, he was able to fight back and not just be on the receiving end of Yang Kai’s killing blows.
Black Ink Strength rumbled as a giant Black Ink Cloud billowed, enveloping a huge portion of the void. The Black Ink Cloud resonated with Mo Na Ye’s roar, “How long can you last like that?”
He could see that Yang Kai had used some kind of Secret Technique to boost his strength, but such Secret Techniques always had limitations.
Yang Kai immediately snarled, “Not for long, but it’s enough to kill you!”
“Come!”
The two taunted each other like petulant children within the Black Ink Cloud, confusing the Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai was fighting alone while the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army were engaged in a chaotic melee on the perimeter of the No-Return Pass. While the Humans were woefully outnumbered, they seemed to have the upper hand.
Moreover, Black Ink Clan’s tactical situation was different from that of the Humans.
The Humans had Pure Yang Pass outside the battlefield coordinating their movements. Precise orders were issued from Pure Yang Pass to all parts of the battlefield, so the soldiers only needed to follow these directives and the entire Human Race Army became like a tightly-knit entity. They advanced and retreated together, providing assistance to each other whenever needed.
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu were both fully engaged in the fighting. Mo Na Ye had anticipated this situation before the war started and had informed several of his subordinates to take over commanding the Black Ink Clan Grand Army; however, they did not have enough experience, and their tactical and strategic thinking were lacking. They did not stand a chance against the battle-hardened veteran Mi Jing Lun.
If the Black Ink Clan did not have the geographic advantage as the defensive side, and could not immediately receive reinforcements, they would have lost the battle already.
However, the Humans also had their concerns. Despite the fact that they had the advantage in essentially all aspects of this battle, the Black Ink Clan still had the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods which were eyeing them dangerously.
These two beings were wary of Ah Da and Ah Er, who were still in the Barren Territory, and dared not move from the No-Return Pass just yet; however, they could still launch attacks remotely.
Even the simplest attack from a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was so powerful that it could not be underestimated and many Humans had already been slaughtered by them; thus, it was unrealistic for the Humans to think that they could retake the No-Return Pass in a single battle. Just as the Black Ink Clan had a clear understanding of the situation between the two sides, so did the Humans.
The deciding factor of the war between the two Races was the four Giant Spirit Gods. Whoever could solve the other’s Giant Spirit Gods first would seize an irreversible advantage.
However, how could either Army even attempt to solve the Giant Spirit Gods of the other side?
The biggest gain so far for the Human Race was the Black Ink Clan Army feigning an attack on Pure Yang Pass, exposing their backs to the Human’s reserve force.
Outside Pure Yang Pass, the 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords had led a million-strong Black Ink Clan Army towards the rear command post of the Human Race Army before suddenly turning around and heading to a weak spot in the Human’s offensive.
Seeing this, Mi Jing Lun ordered the two newly promoted Ninth-Order Masters to lead 200 Eighth-Order Masters to pursue them.
The Black Ink Clan Army, which wanted to coordinate with their clansmen in the No-Return Pass, was suddenly set upon by these Human Masters. The 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords naturally saw this situation, but instead of confronting the enemy in the open, they ordered their Army to escape back to the safety of the No-Return Pass. Unfortunately, this resulted in half of their subordinates being slaughtered.
Mi Jing Lun looked at the situation on the battlefield from Pure Yang Pass and sighed. After this fight with the Black Ink Clan, he realized that the enemy had more strength than he had expected.
Unlike the Black Ink Clan who did not care about their casualties, every Human Soldier was a rare warrior. Taking the No-Return Pass was just the beginning. The Humans still had to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If too many were killed or critically wounded in retaking the No-Return Pass, how could they embark on the next part of the plan?
So, when Mi Jing Lun dispatched the Army for this battle, he had emphasized the principle of preserving their war potential rather than maximizing the damage to the Black Ink Clan. He endeavoured not to have severe losses in the Army, especially among the high-ranking Open Heaven Realm Masters.
At this point in the battle, the Humans certainly had the absolute upper hand; however, without resolving the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, there was no way to retake the No-Return Pass. If they continued the fight unabated, there would definitely be more casualties.
In such an intensely violent battlefield, every soldier would consume a lot of strength. Additionally, the medicinal efficacies of the Purifying Black Ink Pills, which were taken in advance, were time-limited. With so many dead Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield, creating massive amounts of Black Ink Clouds, the protective effects of the Purifying Black Ink Pills were being constantly eroded.
Once the medicinal efficacies of the Purifying Black Ink Pills failed, it would be difficult to fight in an environment filled with Black Ink Strength.
Mi Jing Lun could not help but turn his head and look at the depths of the No-Return Pass, where he vaguely saw several figures in the midst of a fierce battle. Upon seeing this, he frowned slightly and muttered, “Concealing one’s ability by feigning weakness?”
Unlike Mo Na Ye, Mi Jing Lun was aware of Yang Kai’s actual strength as he had discussed this with the latter recently.
After 20 years of cultivating with the power of the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles, Yang Kai’s strength was vastly superior to what it used to be.
With Yang Kai’s current strength, he should not have any problems killing Mo Na Ye, even if three Pseudo-Royal Lords were assisting the latter.
However, the battle seemed to be an even struggle. Clearly, Yang Kai did not use his full strength as he was intending to conceal the extent of his abilities. Mi Jing Lun naturally was not worried about Yang Kai’s safety. Before the battle started, Yang Kai approached Mi Jing Lun and chatted with him privately, planning for various scenarios, including the current situation he was in.
Mi Jing Lun naturally knew why Yang Kai decided to feign weakness, even to the extent of letting Mo Na Ye live!
Revealing his true strength to Mo Na Ye was not advantageous at this moment. It was far more important for the Humans to deal with the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
Yang Kai decided to conceal his ability and only strike at the critical moment against the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods!
After a few more moments of watching, Mi Jing Lun withdrew his gaze and said to himself, “We’ve met our objective.”
The officers around him immediately focused and waited for the order to be given.
The next moment, Mi Jing Lun declared, “Pass down the order, all Armies are to retreat and regroup at Pure Yang Pass!”
“Yes Sir!” The messages were immediately sent to all the Armies.
At the same time, Pure Yang Pass, which had been outside the battlefield, also moved and pressed forward in the direction of the No-Return Pass as all its artifacts came to life.
Mi Jing Lun then flew up and rushed towards the battlefield.
As a Ninth-Order Master, he should have already taken to the battlefield to kill the enemy; however, he had to remain behind to direct the Armies’ movements.
Now that the battle was coming to an end, there was not much more for him to do. The Human Army only needed to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner according to the original plan, so Mi Jing Lun could finally put down the heavy burden of command and go to the battlefield to act as a lone Ninth-Order Master.
At the same time as Pure Yang Pass began moving, on the battlefield inside the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai muttered, “It’s about time.”
Pure Yang Pass heading to the battlefield was a signal for the retreat of the Human Race Army, and Yang Kai knew it well.
Although he had been fighting alone, he was still taking advantage of the momentum of the Human Army. At that moment, Yang Kai’s extremely fierce attacks suddenly slowed down and he held a stoic expression.
Across from him, Mo Na Ye was drenched in cold sweat as he felt like he just escaped from the gates of death.
He did not expect Yang Kai’s explosive assault to last so long and had almost not survived the onslaught. His body was covered with wounds now, and even though they were not life-threatening, it made him look quite dishevelled.
There had also already been several rounds of Pseudo-Royal Lords who rotated in and out of the battlefield.
He was secretly relieved that Yang Kai stopped his attacks at this point; otherwise, once he was killed, the Pseudo-Royal Lords would have to face Yang Kai on their own. Once that happened, the High-Rank Black Ink Nests would suffer heavy losses, which would make the entire war situation untenable.
“Mo Na Ye!” Yang Kai said after he ‘adjusted his breathing’, “Let me show you something!”
Mo Na Ye kept his cool and remained silent, while he continued his attacks with the three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a pincer move.
“Your Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array…” As Yang Kai spoke, the Space-Time River once again coiled around the Azure Dragon Spear. He then thrust his spear into the Void, causing an eruption of Space Principles that shattered the local space!
“It’s useless against me now!” Yang Kai declared.
With the spear’s thrust and the diffusion of Space Principles, there was a sound of something shattering, and immediately afterwards, the space around the No-Return Pass began to crack in a spider-web pattern.
The Black Ink Clan had tried to use the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array several times to deal with Yang Kai, so naturally he was prepared for this. Even before he entered the No-Return Pass alone, Yang Kai considered the possibility of this Grand Array being set up to trap him.
However, Yang Kai was not worried about such trifles now.
He would have been wary of a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array 700 hundred years ago as, at that time, if the local Space he was in was really isolated, he would be in a lot of trouble. Unless he killed all the Black Ink Clansmen inside and broke open the Array, it would be impossible for him to use Instantaneous Movement to escape.
But he was not the same as back then!
In the Universe Furnace, he had broken through to the Ninth-Order Master and his strength had dramatically increased after his retreat over the past 20 years.
In addition, Yang Kai refined and devoured various Dao Strengths in the Infinite River in the Universe Furnace World. It was also there that he realized his own Space-Time River was actually the condensed manifestation of all his Dao Strengths. With the power of the Space-Time River, Yang Kai could easily break through the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array arranged by the Black Ink Clan, ruining their plans.
Another point was that this Array was only made by some Black Ink Disciples with mediocre attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays at best; thus, the Array they produced was not too effective.
If it had been the Great Grandmaster of the Human Race that devised and set up an array to use against Yang Kai, it would have been more troublesome, but the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array was still easy to break free from.
From the start of the battle today, Yang Kai could have broken the Array at any moment he chose to. What he said about ‘let’s see how many of your Masters can I kill before I fall’ before the fighting started was simply meant to mislead Mo Na Ye.
Mo Na Ye was absolutely shocked the moment the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array was shattered. He did not know much about Spirit Arrays, so he did not expect this one, which he had such high hopes for, to not affect Yang Kai at all.
As such, he and the three Pseudo-Royal Lords who had teamed up with him launched a desperate attack.
This seemed to be a worsening situation, and it was obviously unwise to continue after knowing that it was impossible to contain Yang Kai; however, considering that Yang Kai was also feigning weakness, there was no reason why Mo Na Ye would choose not to take advantage of him when he seemed to be suffering backlash from some kind of sacrificial Secret Technique.
Murderous thoughts flashed through his mind, but Yang Kai suppressed his urge to kill Mo Na Ye here and now; instead, he just summoned a bit of strength to block Mo Na Ye’s blow, making it appear as if the two of them were now evenly matched.
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords in their Formation also attacked from the side, but Yang Kai simply thrust his spear out to force them back.
A single thrust was enough to block these three; after all, Yang Kai was stronger than the other Ninth-Order Masters and Royal Lords by a large margin. Even though he was busy fending off Mo Na Ye, the power of this spear could not be underestimated by the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
However, as Yang Kai swung his spear, the leader of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords actually raised his hand to block the blow…
The moment contact was made, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura changed subtly!
Yang Kai could not help but be stunned for a moment and quickly cursed in his heart. Even though he had been careful enough, he did not expect to fall for Mo Na Ye’s tricks in the end.
He had to admit that Mo Na Ye was a cunning and highly intelligent foe.
The main reason for this admiration was that Yang Kai had realized that the Pseudo-Royal Lord, who was leading the charge towards him, was not a Pseudo-Royal Lord. He was a true Royal Lord!
This caught him off guard; however, Yang Kai was ready for such surprises.
When he came to the No-Return Pass more than 20 years ago, Yang Kai realized that new Royal Lords would soon be born in the Black Ink Clan, and over the past 20 or so years, the Humans managed to gain two new Ninth-Order Masters, so how could the Black Ink Clan lag behind? It was not certain a new Royal Lord had risen, but there was still a good chance at least one had appeared.
When Mo Na Ye answered Yang Kai’s probing question previously, it was difficult for him to conclude anything; however, he still held the mindset that he would rather believe that there was at least one more. With such a mindset, Yang Kai was constantly on guard against any unknown Royal Lord who might be lurking and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
He subconsciously felt that if a new Royal Lord appeared in the Black Ink Clan, he would be hiding somewhere, looking for an opening to attack him.
However, Mo Na Ye chose to hide the new Royal Lord in plain sight, among a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords!
There were not many differences in terms of the auras of a Royal Lord and a Pseudo-Royal Lord, what set the two apart was that a Pseudo-Royal Lord could not control their strength completely. As a result, a Pseudo-Royal Lord could only exert about 70 to 80 percent of their full strength, despite possessing the foundation of an actual Royal Lord.
It was like two identical wells of water, but the lengths of rope used to draw up water were different. Since one rope was shorter, it could not access the well’s entire water supply. This was the difference between a Pseudo-Royal Lord and a true Royal Lord.
This meant that as long as a true Royal Lord simply released his own aura wildly, it was basically impossible to differentiate him from a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Even if he was in a fight, as long as he intentionally held back part of his strength, he would not reveal any flaws.
So, it was only when he started to attack that Yang Kai realized that among these three ‘Pseudo-Royal Lords’, there was a true Royal Lord!
This was what Yang Kai did not expect. He had been distracted, monitoring the movement all around him, lest a Royal Lord suddenly popped out of nowhere; however, he never anticipated that a true Royal Lord was actually lurking right next to him this whole time.
This arrangement was extremely clever and was definitely Mo Na Ye’s idea.
According to Mo Na Ye’s instructions, three Pseudo-Royal Lords would join him in suppressing Yang Kai, and so far, several batches of Pseudo-Royal Lords had rotated in and out of this battle. After establishing a kind of routine, even if Yang Kai was that astute, he would gradually become blind to such a possibility.
Of course, Yang Kai was doing something similar in trying to conceal his abilities by feigning weakness. Consciously having to hold back was actually an additional burden on him which left him somewhat distracted.
There was no point in blaming himself at this point though. The two Royal Lords were close at hand with one of them in the midst of a violent attack. In Yang Kai’s current ‘weakened’ state, it was impossible to dodge the incoming blow.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind as Yang Kai as he weighed between continuing with the deception or revealing his true strength, counterattacking, and taking Mo Na Ye and the new Royal Lord by surprise. In the end, though, he restrained his murderous intent.
The next moment, the new Royal Lord’s fist found its way through Yang Kai’s guard and struck his chest.
This punch was so powerful that it almost caved Yang Kai’s chest in, and a mouthful of fresh golden blood spurted out, turning into a thick mist of blood.
Yang Kai swung his fist back to repel his new foe before sweeping at him with his spear, forcing the new Royal Lord to dodge out of the way.
Mo Na Ye was surprised that the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array was broken by Yang Kai, but his original plan still worked out, which made up for the embarrassment.
While Yang Kai was fighting with Di Ya Luo, he raised his hand and Black Ink Strength broke through the void, aiming at the back of the former’s head.
If this blow landed, it would be disastrous for Yang Kai!
Mo Na Ye appeared exuberant and eagerly awaited what was to come.
However, at this critical moment, Yang Kai unexpectedly swung his Azure Dragon Spear behind his head and blocked the fierce blow precisely.
Mo Na Ye immediately realized what was happening and yelled, “Don’t let him get away!”
As he shouted, he used his aura to shake the Void, and the nearby Black Ink Masters did the same.
However, when Mo Na Ye and Di Ya Luo pounced towards Yang Kai again, the latter’s figure faded away.
Without the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array, there was no way to limit Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement. Even Mo Na Ye’s aura could only interfere slightly with it.
As a result of the interference, Yang Kai showed up not far away and failed to completely escape from the No-Return Pass.
At this moment, he was in a terrible state with his chest sunken considerably and his body covered in blood. His aura was so diminished that it seemed like he might die at any moment.
However, Mo Na Ye knew Yang Kai very well. To a Divine Dragon, recovering from even such serious injuries was not an issue; the only way to ensure Yang Kai was dead, was to kill him on the spot.
Moreover, as soon as he saw Yang Kai’s current location which was close to the Territory Gate, he realized what his nemesis was planning.
At this moment, Yang Kai had only two options to flee. One was to break through the Black Ink Clan’s defence line and escape towards the Human Race Army. As long as the Humans sent some Masters to assist him, he could ensure his own safety.
He was able to sneak into the No-Return Pass silently with the help of Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, but now that so many Masters from the Black Ink Clan were locked onto him, he could not escape using the same tactic. As such, it was difficult for him to sneak his way out of the No-Return Pass.
If he tried to fight his way out now though, Mo Na Ye would surely notice something was off and re-assess his strength.
Thus, he had only one option left, which was to escape via the Territory Gate which led to the Barren Territory!
Yang Kai’s original intention was to use the Human Army to create chaos in and around the No-Return Pass, engaging as many Masters from the Black Ink Clan as possible so he could find a chance to slip through the Territory Gate into the Barren Territory.
That was why he snuck into the No-Return Pass alone when the opportunity presented itself; otherwise, he could have continued to wander the battlefield and kill with impunity. Yang Kai’s mere presence terrified most of the Black Ink Clan, including the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The biggest reason for doing this was it was a strategy that he had discussed with Mi Jing Lun before the Army began the battle.
Ah Da and Ah Er remained in the Barren Territory. These two Giant Spirit Gods were strong, but not very smart. So, it was better to have a Human direct and guide them, especially during the critical moments.
Yang Kai was naturally the best candidate for this role.
The two Giant Spirit Gods considered him a friend and he was strong enough to move alone to the Barren Territory and remain there to guard it.
Furthermore, just because Yang Kai was in the Barren Territory did not mean that he could not participate in the battle. He was so strong that as long as he was in the Barren Territory, the Black Ink Clan would have to divert some energy to guard against him attacking the No-Return Pass from the Territory Gate.
The Black Ink Clan would not be as worried had it been any other Ninth-Order Masters remaining behind the Territory Gate.
Yang Kai intended to escape to the Barren Territory all along, but he did not expect the process to be so turbulent to the point he was forced to make such a bitter choice…
Mo Na Ye had also anticipated Yang Kai possibly escaping through the Territory Gate, but he had thought the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array would be enough to stop the latter.
Previously, Mo Na Ye had quite some confidence in the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array, but to his disappointment, he now realized that this Array could no longer trap Yang Kai.
So, the moment Yang Kai reappeared, Mo Na Ye and Di Ya Luo led a large group of Pseudo-Royal Lords over. Before they even arrived, powerful Secret Techniques were sent out like a storm towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s face paled. Throughout this battle, he had been concealing his ability by feigning weakness; however, he was now really wounded and facing a deadly threat. The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were responsible for guarding the No-Return Pass were all mobilized. In total, there were now nearly 30 top Masters attacking Yang Kai, two of whom were true Royal Lords. With adversaries of such strength and numbers, even he could not resist them head-on.
In his haste, Yang Kai could only hastily summon his Space-Time River and dive inside to shield himself as he fled towards the Territory Gate.
*Hong long long…*
Explosions rang out as waves surged, causing the Space-Time River to tumble and the Dao Strengths to shake.
Space rippled and cracked near the Territory Gate as Yang Kai disappeared while those chasing after him came to a halt. Mo Na Ye, the leader of the group, ground his teeth and snarled, “He’s still alive after all that!”
Although he had not been able to catch Yang Kai off guard and even landed a heavy final blow, he was absolutely certain that Yang Kai was still alive. He also knew that Yang Kai had already escaped into the Barren Territory through the Territory Gate to join up with the two Giant Spirit Gods.
As he spoke, a strong sense of frustration rose in his heart.
According to his plans, as long as nothing untoward happened, Yang Kai had less than a 30% chance of escaping from the No-Return Pass. However, the most critical Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array did not work as it should. Now, not only was his plan a failure, he had shown his trump card.
Di Ya Luo’s identity had been exposed, and the Black Ink Clan had no more Royal Lords; thus, it would now be all but impossible to kill Yang Kai.
Thinking back on all the years he had been fighting with Yang Kai, Mo Na Ye realized he previously had two good chances to kill this plague but always failed at the last moment. No one could be sure if he was unlucky or if Yang Kai’s fortune was just that much better to always allow him to survive.
Di Ya Luo comforted, “Don’t blame yourself. Although we couldn’t kill him this time, he is definitely severely injured and won’t be able to cause any troubles anytime soon. Additionally, now is not the time to think about him. We should consider the overall situation!”
As a Royal Lord, Di Ya Luo did not have many dealings with Yang Kai. More specifically, he had not suffered many losses at his hands; thus, he did not have Mo Na Ye’s obsession with killing Yang Kai. However, right now, the Black Ink Clan had more problems than just a wounded but still alive Yang Kai.
Mo Na Ye forced himself to calm down, nodded, and said, “You’re right!”
When he was fighting with Yang Kai, he did not have the time or the capacity to think of the situation on the battlefield; however, he immediately noticed something unusual as he observed the fights.
The Human Race Army was withdrawing, while Pure Yang Pass, which had kept its distance all this time, was actually advancing. It seemed to be using the power of its various Arrays and artifacts to provide cover for the retreating Humans.
This was a planned withdrawal which was executed in an orderly and disciplined fashion.
A moment later, Mo Na Ye understood why the Humans chose to withdraw their forces despite having the advantage.
It was true that the Humans had controlled the flow of the battle this entire time and gained many advantages thus far, resulting in a lot of casualties among the Black Ink Clan, including numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords. However, the Human Warships also sustained a lot of damage and many of their Masters had fallen. If the Humans continued to fight, their casualties would only rise as more and more of their Warships were destroyed.
By choosing to withdraw at this point, they could preserve their own strength. Mo Na Ye would also make this choice if he was in such a situation.
To put it bluntly, the Black Ink Clan was now a caged beast and there was no need for the Humans to fight them to the death.
As long as there were a few more battles like this one, when Black Ink Clan’s strength was worn down enough, the Humans could launch a decisive final attack and wipe them out.
“Want to leave? It’s not that easy.” Mo Na Ye coldly snorted as he saw through the Human Race’s intention. This kind of hit-and-run tactic was despicable and clearly Mi Jing Lun’s plot, so he swiftly shouted, “Pass down the order, attack the Humans at all costs. Have all the Pseudo-Royal Lords in the No-Return Pass join the offensive!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were shocked by Mo Na Ye’s boldness.
The No-Return Pass was the foundation of the Black Ink Clan as all the High Rank Black Ink Nests were here. The Pseudo-Royal Lords who stayed behind were tasked exclusively with guarding these Black Ink Nests. If they left, the entire No-Return Pass would be unguarded and extremely vulnerable. If at this moment any Human Race Master managed to sneak through, it would definitely cause terrible damage to the Black Ink Clan!
However, the only one who could really achieve this was already badly injured and had escaped into the Barren Territory. Thus, he would not have the strength to cause trouble again… As for the others, there was no need to worry about them accomplishing what that anomaly could do.
Although this order seemed to be a rash decision by Mo Na Ye, it was actually well-considered.
After giving this order, Mo Na Ye and Di Ya Luo took the lead and rushed towards the battlefield, followed by several dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Somewhere on the battlefield, Mi Jing Lun, who had just started killing the enemies, keenly noticed this and sighed, “That guy is really difficult to deal with!”
When an Army was withdrawing from the battlefield, it was most fearful of such a situation. Now, the Humans were bound to incur even more losses.
Thankfully, the advantage that the Humans had gained this time was significant. Even though the Black Ink Clan had responded in the worst way possible, the Humans were still able to withstand the onslaught.
Just as the battle was about to end, the fights suddenly became more intense than before. The orderly withdrawal of the Human Race Army was interrupted by the Black Ink Clan Army doggedly chasing after them, with Masters of both sides clashing in the void.
Comparing the two sides, the Humans were undoubtedly better organized. The 12 Armies coordinated with each other as single units while Black Ink Clan was much more chaotically and haphazardly arranged.
Many of the Black Ink Clan Soldiers that gave chase could not interfere with the Humans meaningfully as they did not coordinate properly and were basically trampling over each other, trying to get ahead.
However, there was still some impact on the withdrawal of the Army. The sudden attacks resulted in numerous losses among the Humans. Many damaged Warships were destroyed and the cultivators on board were crushed.
Seeing the situation deteriorating, one of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships actually turned around and dove into a close-quarters battle, its weapons firing madly as it ploughed its way through the enemy lines. Arriving at the heart of the enemy’s charge, the giant Warship suddenly glowed brilliantly before exploding into a Great Sun made of pure white light, illuminating the entire void.
The Great Sun enveloped a massive area and wounded or killed all the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen, creating an opening for the rest of the Human forces to escape.
The scene was magnificent and the battle-weary soldiers cheered from all corners of the battlefield.
This was how far the Humans were willing to go, how far they could go when they had something to protect!
The 3,000 Worlds was their home, and although it was now an empty shell due to the Black Ink Clan’s wanton plunder, it was still their homeland and none of it would be ceded.
If they wanted to protect their home, they had to uproot the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
The two mighty Armies continued to clash with the Humans fighting hard as they retreated. The Black Ink Clan continued their pursuit for 5 million kilometres before finally stopping.
The relentless and tenacious pursuit of the Humans frustrated Mi Jing Lun and he was tempted to order an immediate counteroffensive; however, considering that most of the Warships were damaged and the effects of the Purifying Black Ink Pills was wearing out, he had no choice but to give up on this risky idea.
The soldiers were very reliant on their Warships for protection. For so many years, the Human Warships were the key to them taking on the numerically superior enemy and prevailing.
Most of the losses in the later part of the battle were due to the destroyed Warships, leaving the soldiers without extra protection.
It was only when the pursuing Black Ink Clan Army retreated like an outgoing tide that this battle finally ended.
The Human Race Army regrouped at their temporary camp three days away from the No-Return Pass. After this battle, the Humans would be unable to launch another full assault on the No-Return Pass within a short time.
The wounded soldiers needed time to heal, not to mention that the logistics were also unable to keep up with the intense consumption.
A large number of damaged Warships needed to be repaired, Evil Purging Divine Spears needed to be replenished, and the Purifying Black Ink Pills had to be refined.
All of this required a lot of resources, so although there were currently three million Third-Order and below cultivators mining supplies in the vast Black Ink Battlefield, it would always take some time to accumulate enough.
A conservative estimate was that for the next two to three years, they would not have the ability to attack the No-Return Pass again.
The Black Ink Clan, even though they had found out that the Humans had set up camp just days away, did not dare to harbour any aggressive thoughts. When the entire Human Race Army withdrew, the Black Ink Clan could still chase after them in order to thin their numbers; however, now that they had settled down and regrouped, it was not wise to disturb them again.
Thus, although the Humans were not far from the No-Return Pass, the two sides co-existed for a long period without much conflict.
One month after the battle, at a certain place in the Barren Territory, Ah Da and Ah Er sat facing each other, looking down helplessly at the space in front of them.
In their field of vision, a figure covered in blood was sleeping quietly. The blood had already congealed and stained the clothes.
The figure slept on his side, suspended in the void as if there was an invisible bed underneath.
Such a figure was small as an ant when compared with the towering Giant Spirit Gods.
This figure was none other than Yang Kai, who entered this place from the No-Return Pass. At the last moment, he used the power of his Space-Time River to block the fierce attacks of the two Royal Lords and dozens of Pseudo-Royal Lords. The impacts were so violent that his own Dao Strengths were severely impacted and his vitality plunged to the point he became delirious. He passed out soon after entering the Barren Territory.
He would not have been able to sleep so peacefully for so long if not for Ah Da and Ah Er watching over him. With their protection, Yang Kai felt safe enough to recuperate in peace.
However, his condition caused the two Giant Spirit Gods to worry about him.
After staring at the tiny figure in front of him for a long time, Ah Da suddenly wailed, “Dead!”
Ah Da had said this so many times that Ah Er was so frustrated, but he still patiently explained, “Not dead! Asleep…”
Ah Da suddenly remarked, “Oh… ate till he was full.”
He had always maintained a routine of napping when he was full and looking for food when he woke up; therefore, he expected that all the living creatures should be the same as him. Since Yang Kai was asleep, he must have eaten enough and was now taking a nap.
When this topic was brought up, Ah Da reached out, rubbed his belly, and grumbled, “I’m hungry…”
Ah Er also instinctively echoed, “En!”
The two Giant Spirit Gods looked at each other gloomily.
At that moment, the sleeping Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He appeared dazed, drowsy, and stiff for a while before yawning. He stretched his back and mumbled, “That was a good nap!”
It had been ages since he was able to sleep so comfortably. Since his strength became so much stronger, he almost did not need to sleep normally to recover his energy. Now, he took advantage of his wounds and the protection of the Giant Spirit Gods to sleep peacefully and allow his body to heal. Waking up, he immediately felt mighty as a Dragon and fierce as a Tiger. His revitalized energy coursed through his veins and he could not wait to barge into the No-Return Pass and beat those two bastards to a pulp, but then, a huge face suddenly filled his entire vision and thundered, “Are you… hungry?”
The void shook under the thunderous but clearly concerned voice. Yang Kai was nearly blown away by the force of the wind that resulted from the Giant Spirit God’s breath, but he quickly stabilized himself, looked up at the humongous bald head, and knew immediately that it was Ah Da.
Yang Kai chuckled, raised his hand, and waved his hand, “You’re talking about yourself, right? Okay, okay, I know. Back up a little bit, I haven’t forgotten what I promised you the last time!”
When he left the Barren Territory some 20 years ago, he instructed Ah Da and Ah Er to guard the Territory Gate and smash anyone who dared to cross the Territory Gate. He promised them that if they did that, he would bring them food the next time he came.
The two Giant Spirit Gods had done a good job over the years, and it was because of their deterrence that the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods of the Black Ink Clan did not dare to join in the battle a month ago. Yang Kai naturally had to fulfil his promise to them.
Yang Kai raised his hand and flipped it over, and an orb appeared on his palm. He said childishly, “Look, at this. Do you know what it is?”
Ah Da and Ah Er’s eyes were immediately attracted by the orb. They could smell the delicious fragrance that emanated from the orb and knew that this was their food; however, what puzzled them was that this food was not quite the same as what they would eat previously. So, even though their stomachs were rumbling, they resisted the urge to feast.
Yang Kai laughed at the look of the two Giant Spirit Gods before throwing out the World Bead from his hand without further delay.
The little World Bead flew into the void, and as it fell, Space Principles flared, allowing the tiny sphere to rapidly expand. Just a few moments later, it became a complete Universe World.
The volume of this Universe World was just as big as the Star Boundary; however, its surface was full of large pits and there were a number of dark tunnels leading to its interior. These were obviously traces left behind by the mining of resources.
The valuable resources had all been extracted from this Universe World, and since World Principles was collapsed, it was considered as a dead Universe World, which suited Giant Spirit God’s appetite.
Now that the 3,000 Worlds had basically been hollowed out, it was not easy to find such a Universe World. However, since Yang Kai promised Ah Da and Ah Er to bring them good food, he had to keep to his word.
Fortunately, in the 3,000 Worlds, there was still Myriad Monsters Territory, which was the Great Territory adjacent to High Heaven Territory. Myriad Monsters Territory and High Heaven Territory had become the last two Pure Lands of the Human Race.
Yang Kai found this Universe World in Myriad Monsters Territory, refined it into a World Bead, and brought it to this place before restoring it to its original size using his Space Secret Techniques.
Such tasks were easily done by Yang Kai nowadays.
After seeing the delicious Universe World, the two Giant Spirit Gods immediately jumped up and down in joy and ran over to it.
The Giant Spirit Gods bodies were massive, even when compared to such a Universe World. So, they each sat on opposite ends and began reaching out to grab large chunks of it and shoving them into their mouths before crunching it with their massive teeth.
This was the first time Yang Kai watched the Giant Spirit Gods eating in such close proximity, and even though he had seen many things in his life, this was still an amazing sight to behold.
It had been very puzzling to him that the Giant Spirit Gods only eat this kind of dead Universe World. How could such a huge body with terrifying strength be nourished by this? The Universe was indeed filled with profound mysteries that were difficult to understand.
The two Giant Spirit Gods were eating with one hand and grabbing with the other, both smiling happily at Yang Kai.
When Ah Da realized that Yang Kai was staring at them, he handed over a Universe Fragment and said, “Friend, let’s all eat together!”
Yang Kai froze for a moment, then realized what he meant by ‘Friend’.
Ah Da had always called him ‘little one’ or even ‘little ant’, but since he had brought them such good food, he now became their ‘Friend’.
Since Ah Da offered so generously, Yang Kai took the Universe Fragment into his Small Universe, fearing that it would upset him if he refused.
Ah Da saw this and smiled from ear to ear…
It was a pity that there were so few Giant Spirit Gods now. If there were more than two, perhaps eight or 10, they could have easily retaken the No-Return Pass. All Yang Kai would need to do is lead a Squad of them to get the job done.
Casting such fanciful thoughts aside, Yang Kai turned his head and looked at the Territory Gate. Through the Void Turbulence, Yang Kai could still vaguely see the situation in the No-Return Pass.
After the last battle, the No-Return Pass was obviously more closely guarded, especially the area around the Territory Gate. A powerful figure stood openly, clearly telling Yang Kai that if he dared to venture across, he would be immediately beaten.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, took off his blood-stained clothes, summoned some water from his Small Universe, and washed himself. He then changed into a new set of robes.
Although he had been in a deep sleep, he was extremely sensitive to the passage of time and knew clearly that it was only one month since the last battle.
He estimated that the Black Ink Clan lost at least 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords with even more seriously wounded. It was very troublesome for such Masters to heal, so it would be a long time before they could fully recover.
However, the Humans also needed to recuperate and accumulate supplies for the next battle. Everything took time.
Therefore, although Yang Kai could not get in touch with Mi Jing Lun, according to what they had planned, the next attack on the No-Return Pass would be at least two years later.
Two years was neither long nor short. It was just enough time for Yang Kai to deal with some things.
He had an idea in mind, and it was time to act.
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback, looking at Ah Da and Ah Er. The Universe World had been completely devoured by the two Giant Spiritual Gods in just a short time. When they noticed Yang Kai looking at them, they immediately looked at him eagerly; obviously, the two had not had their fill yet.
Yang Kai immediately stated, “Wait here, I’ll go find you something to eat now. Just like before, keep a close eye on this place. If anyone dares to come out from the other side of the door, beat them to death!”
The two Giant Spiritual Gods nodded their acknowledgment.
Yang Kai had used his actions to prove that he wasn’t someone who goes back on his word. Compared to the promise he made last time, this time, Ah Da and Ah Er naturally looked forward to it with great expectations.
After confirming that the two Giant Spiritual Gods understood his intentions, Yang Kai manipulated Space Principles and rushed towards the Territory Gate connected to the Shattered Heaven.
A moment later, he arrived at the Territory Gate and entered.
The injuries Yang Kai had sustained in the battle a month ago weren’t light, but they weren’t too serious either. After a month of sleep, his physical body had basically fully recovered. The instability in his Dao Strengths wasn’t something that could be so easily resolved, but as long as he didn’t overexert his Dao Strength, it wouldn’t affect him much.
The current Human Race could be said to have mobilized all of their forces to war. Disregarding the many Great Territories that had already become empty shells, even High Heaven Territory and Myriad Monsters Territory only had a few old, weak, and disabled people left behind, as well as some rising stars who had yet to fully mature. They had been born too late, so no matter how outstanding their aptitude was, they had yet to reach the Open Heaven Realm. As such, they weren’t even qualified to join the logistics team to gather resources.
Under such circumstances, Yang Kai’s goal for returning to the 3,000 Worlds from the Shattered Heaven was naturally not High Heaven Territory or Myriad Monsters Territory.
His destination was elsewhere.
Traversing through many Great Territories at his leisure, Yang Kai finally arrived at his destination after nearly three months.
Chaotic Dead Territory!
In fact, when the upper echelons of the Human Race decided to attack the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai had wanted to make a trip to Chaotic Dead Territory first. In the past, he had brought Zhang Ruo Xi here to cultivate with Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. So many years had already gone by, even he had no idea what the results would be.
Because of her Heavens Order Bloodline, Zhang Ruo Xi was not affected by the Open Heaven Realm Method’s shackles. Even though she had initially broken through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she still had a chance of reaching the Ninth-Order all on her own. As proof, she had smoothly made it to the Eighth Order many years ago.
Of course, the amount of time that passed shouldn’t have been enough for her to reach the Ninth Order; be that as it may, what Yang Kai valued was not her cultivation, but her amazing ability to control the Small Stone Race.
Zhang Ruo Xi was able to fully control them. Those from this race had intelligence that was even inferior to the Giant Spiritual God’s. It was horribly low, so low that they only acted based on their instincts. Basically, no one could completely control them.
However, the Small Stone Race raised by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had become a special variation.
These Small Stone Race members were divided into two types, the Great Sun Small Stone Race and the Great Moon Small Stone Race. Because they had grown up absorbing the pure power of Yang and Yin, respectively, they could almost be regarded as living, mobile Yellow and Blue Crystals.
All the Divine Spirits with the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks were capable of controlling these Small Stone Race members that had been reared using this special method. At critical moments, they could even extract the Yin and Yang Energy from their bodies and fuse them into Purifying Light. Yang Kai had used this method many times to kill Masters from the Black Ink Clan.
Compared to Yang Kai and the other Divine Spirits who used the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks to control them though, Zhang Ruo Xi completely relied on the suppression of her Bloodline to do the same, and was actually able to exert a vastly superior level of control akin to moving her arms and legs. She had no need for the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks.
She was even able to have Small Stone Race members form higher-order Nine Palaces Formations. Yang Kai had witnessed her do this up until a Fourth-Order Nine Palaces Formation comprised of over 6,000 Small Stone Race Soldiers.
Even for the Human Race, forming a Nine Palaces Formation was not an easy task, especially at higher Orders. Hardly anyone could even form the Eight Trigrams Formation while no one had ever witnessed a Nine Palaces Formation of Eighth-Order Masters.
However, in previous battles, eight Eighth-Order Masters had successfully formed the Eight Trigrams Formation and used it to kill Pseudo-Royal Lords. Of course, during such battles, it was inevitable that some if not all of the Eighth-Order Masters involved would die from the backlash of using such a Battle Formation while those who managed to survive had their foundations severely damaged.
Even so, given that it had such might, all Eighth-Order Masters wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice their lives so long as they could kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord from the Black Ink Clan. Unfortunately, successfully forming this Battle Formation was not always possible, even if the Masters attempting it were willing to make such a sacrifice.
If an Eight Trigrams Formation formed by Eighth-Order Masters could kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord, then what about the Nine Palaces Formation? It was probably strong enough to kill a Royal Lord!
Unfortunately, no Eighth-Order Masters could achieve this.
By comparison, Zhang Ruo Xi’s ability was simply shocking. It could be said that even if she was only an Eighth-Order Master, the role she could play on the battlefield would not be inferior to any Ninth-Order Master!
Unfortunately, Yang Kai was unable to find any free time after returning from the edge of the Universe so he was unable to visit Chaotic Dead Territory until now.
Yang Kai was quite looking forward to Zhang Ruo Xi’s growth. If everything went smoothly, he was prepared to take her to the battlefield where she could finally show her marvelous ability. This way, it would be easier for the Human Race to retake the No-Return Pass and they would suffer lesser casualties.
On top of that, he also wanted to ask Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan for some more Yellow and Blue Crystals. The Human Race’s current supplies were severely depleted, but the pure Yin and Yang Element materials were indispensable to the war effort.
After passing through the Territory Gate, Yang Kai stepped into Chaotic Dead Territory after a very long time, but the next moment, he was slightly taken aback.
The sight before him was different from the last time he had come to Chaotic Dead Territory. This time, the very first thing he saw was two armies of innumerable Small Stone Race members locked in a heated confrontation in the void.
Looking around, Yang Kai saw that the size of these two Small Stone Race Armies was not small, each totalling at least a million members. What surprised Yang Kai wasn’t their numbers though. The Small Stone Race was found in a remote Universe World in Myriad Monsters Territory. Their living habits were quite similar to that of ants with an ant queen-like existence in each colony. As long as they had enough resources, they could constantly reproduce, so in terms of numbers, each Small Stone Race colony could easily reach an astonishing size.
Yang Kai was also rearing a large number of Small Stone Race members in his Small Universe, but he always prevented the reproduction of these Small Stone Race from getting out of control; otherwise, the entire Void World would become a Small Stone Race World in no time. At that point, there would be no place for the Human Race to stand.
Strictly speaking, the conflict between two million strong Armies was just a small-scale battle for the Small Stone Race.
What surprised Yang Kai was the fact that these two sides were fighting each other at all.
It was true that when Yang Kai handed over the Small Stone Race to Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, it was to allow them to use this method to determine who was the Elder Sibling. It could be said that the reason for the Great Sun Small Stone Race and the Great Moon Small Stone Race’s existence was to fight each other.
But that was only the initial situation.
Since the Black Ink Clan had invaded the 3,000 Worlds, the two Supreme Masters of Chaotic Dead Territory had stopped playing such silly games and instead focused on raising more Small Stone Race Soldiers to give their ‘Little Brother’ Yang Kai to assist in the war.
Yang Kai had looted Yellow Crystals, Blue Crystals, and even the Small Stone Race Armies from them several times. Although these two complained a lot about his open banditry, they had never let Yang Kai return empty-handed. Every time Yang Kai came to ask for their help, he would always reap a bountiful harvest.
The relationship between Yang Kai and the two of them was similar to that of a prodigal son who indulges in debauchery and parents who painstakingly accumulates their family’s wealth. Every time they built up a little savings, Yang Kai would come over and take it away before squandering it all.
But they were willing to do so because they also didn’t want to see the Black Ink Clan rule the Universe. Despite their astonishing strength and ability, they were unable to provide direct assistance in this war between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan where one side was destined to be completely annihilated. The Small Stone Race was the only thing they could offer in terms of combat power.
Thus, the Small Stone Races in Chaotic Dead Territory had stopped fighting each other a long time ago.
The last two times Yang Kai had come here, he had not seen any scenes of conflict, so the scene in front of him was quite shocking.
There weren’t any powerful Masters among the two Small Stone Race Armies, but the battlefield was extremely fierce. Yin and Yang were opposites to begin with, and once the Small Stone Race, which naturally fought amongst themselves, was bestowed with the Yin and Yang Elements, this kind of opposition became particularly prominent.
On the battlefield, the two branches of the Small Stone Race clashed with each other, fighting without any semblance of order. One by one, Small Stone Race members were blown to smithereens. Although no blood was spilled and all the battles were fought on instinct, the intensity of the war was not inferior to any Yang Kai had witnessed before.
Yang Kai quietly observed for a moment before restraining his impulse to intervene.
Relying on the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks bestowed by Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, Yang Kai could easily separate these two Small Stone Race Armies, but because he didn’t know what Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s intentions were, he decided to let things be for now. If these two Supreme Beings of the Chaotic Dead Territory had some kind of special purpose for this battle, Yang Kai’s interference might disrupt their plans.
Bypassing these two warring Armies, Yang Kai flew deeper into Chaotic Dead Territory.
After an hour, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn.
Along the way, he saw many battlefields of varying size, each of which had a large number of Small Stone Race Soldiers locked in combat. The first battlefield he encountered wasn’t very large, and there weren’t many powerful members, but on the largest battlefield, he actually witnessed close to 10 million Small Stone Race Soldiers fighting with each other, with many colossal members that were equivalent to the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
This made Yang Kai immediately realize that something had gone wrong.
The entire Chaotic Dead Territory seemed to have been drawn into the battle between two Small Stone Races. Every once in a while, Yang Kai would run into a battle either in progress or already over.
[Something is obviously wrong. Even when Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were keen on using the Small Stone Race to determine who was the Elder Sibling, they had never expanded the scale of the battle to this extent.]
This kind of scale could no longer be called a game, but a true war! The number participating in this conflict was no less than the combined total of the Human Race and Black Ink Clan!
What’s more, it had only been about 1,000 years since he last came here, so how could there be so many of them in the Chaotic Dead Territory?
Of course, theoretically speaking, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Small Stone Race to reach this population in 1,000 years with their outstanding reproductive ability as long as there were no restrictions and there were ample resources.
Except, this was Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s territory. They did not have any need to let the Small Stone Race reproduce to this number. Most of these Small Stone Race members were subpar. Their physique was extremely weak, making them even weaker than the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder whose only role was to send themselves to their deaths to spread Black Ink Strength.
In terms of a contest, it was better to nurture more Small Stone Race Masters rather than spend energy to produce many insignificant Small Stone Race Soldiers.
The scene here gave Yang Kai a sense of chaos, as if a massive number of Small Stone Race members had lost control, turning Chaotic Dead Territory’s name into a reality…
When this thought appeared, Yang Kai couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. Logically speaking, the Small Stone Race shouldn’t have gone out of control with Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan here, but everything he had seen indicated otherwise.
As he continued heading deeper into Chaotic Dead Territory, he saw more and more Small Stone Race members fighting each other.
At one point, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and stared ahead with a look of surprise.
Having reached his current cultivation, there weren’t many things that could surprise him. Even if he were to face the Black Ink Giant Spirit God right now, he would still remain perfectly calm, but the sight before him gave him a strange feeling…
He felt as if something had erupted in the depths of the void.
Three breaths later, a dazzling spot of light appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision. This point of light was undoubtedly far away, but because it was so bright, Yang Kai could see it clearly even from where he stood.
When it first appeared, this speck of light was only the size of a needle tip, but it spread out at an indescribable speed.
At the same time, extremely powerful energy fluctuations came with it.
Yang Kai could faintly hear a clear bird cry like that of a Phoenix…
The sounds of birds’ cries became clearer and clearer, and multiplied every moment. Soon, the dazzling light filled Yang Kai’s vision.
When the light dissipated, what Yang Kai saw and heard left him dumbfounded.
Much to his surprise, countless strange existences of varying sizes had appeared in the void, resembling Phoenix, but a little different from those from the Phoenix Clan.
Yang Kai immediately recognized these strange existences.
He had seen these things the first time he came to Chaotic Dead Territory with Ah Da.
They weren’t living creatures, but rather masses of pure Yin and Yang Energies, the manifestation of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s power.
The orange-yellow creatures were the manifestation of energy leaking from Burning Light, while the blue-coloured ones were the Serene Glimmer’s power.
Yin and Yang were inherently opposites. When Yang Kai first came to the Chaotic Dead Territory, these unique existences of different colours were fighting against each other just like the Small Stone Race. The confrontation of these two pure opposing energies gave birth to large amounts of Yellow and Blue Crystals, which allowed Yang Kai to reap great benefits.
According to Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, they could not properly control their own strength once it was unleashed. So, from the day they were born, their powers had been constantly clashing with each other, and this was what Yang Kai was seeing right now.
It was also because of this that the two Supreme Masters of the Chaotic Dead Territory were unable to leave this place and help the Human Race. Once they left the Chaotic Dead Territory and entered another Great Territory, that Great Territory would become a part of the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Back then, Yang Kai had thought that if one day the Human Race really couldn’t hold on any longer, he would ask Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan to descend the mountain and wreak havoc. No matter how much these two destroyed, it would still be better than allowing the Black Ink Clan to corrupt everything.
Of course, the situation had not yet reached such a critical level.
As existences whose strength wasn’t inferior to that of a Giant Spirit God, it was quite strange that these two couldn’t control their own strength.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai visited the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and witnessed its complete history that this mystery was finally solved.
It turned out the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were incomplete existences. They had been separated from the Primordial Light, so although they had great strength, they were unable to perfectly control it as they were lacking certain pieces of their foundation.
Even the Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan who Yang Kai interacted with were not their true forms, just avatars composed of their energy. From another point of view, they could be considered as manifestations of energy that they could control, so when Yang Kai came into contact with them, there was no danger.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s Heavens Order Bloodline was also incomplete. After the Primordial Light separated Yin and Yang from itself, it arrived at the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land where it dispersed itself and gave rise to many Divine Spirits. The final pure essence of the Primordial Light was what eventually became the Heavens Order Bloodline.
This was also the reason why the Heavens Order Bloodline was able to restrain all Divine Spirits and even allow Zhang Ruo Xi to easily control the Small Stone Race.
Yang Kai had noticed this point, which was why he had brought Zhang Ruo Xi to the Chaotic Dead Territory to meet Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan to cultivate.
However, the clash between the Yin and Yang energies of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer had reappeared for some unknown reason now.
If nothing unexpected happened, these manifestations that looked like Phoenixes were destined to battle each other to the death before transforming into Yellow and Blue Crystals…
However, the existence of the Small Stone Race interfered with this end result.
Yang Kai clearly saw that on a nearby battlefield, two Small Stone Race Armies happened to be engaged in a fierce battle, but the moment the Yin and Yang energies manifested, they all abandoned their respective opponents and pounced towards the Yin and Yang creatures. The Small Stone Race had been raised by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan using their own strength, so the Yin and Yang Energies naturally had a fatal attraction to them.
Under normal circumstances, an ordinary Small Stone Race Clansmen was very small, only reaching an adult Human’s thigh in height, but they seemed to grow bigger and bigger as their strength increased. Be that as it may, they were still no bigger than ordinary Humans before Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Land began feeding them with their pure Yin and Yang Energies.
In the blink of an eye, the countless manifestations of Yin and Yang Energies were surrounded by the Small Stone Race, and even more Small Stone Race members continued rushing over from afar to devour them.
This scene resembled a swarm of ants covering a sweet and delicious meat bun…
This was just the scenes Yang Kai could see, but considering how massive the pulse of light from before was, similar scenes must be happening all over the Chaotic Dead Territory, out of Yang Kai’s sight.
Although the manifestations of Yin and Yang Energies were essentially pieces of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer and took the form of various Monster Beasts and creatures, they were not alive. As such, even though they were being devoured by countless Small Stone Race members, they didn’t utter a single wail or even struggled to break free, because the Small Stone Race members that were devouring them were just like them in terms of Yin and Yang attributes.
The Great Sun Small Stone Race devoured the Yang Energy creatures, while the Great Moon Small Stone Race devoured those made of Yin Energy…
Yang Kai clearly saw a Small Stone Race member in a certain location, who was originally equivalent to a peak Seventh-Order Master, suddenly started radiating a yellow halo after devouring a large amount of Yang Energy. Immediately after, its body, which was already larger than the other Small Stone Race members, began growing rapidly as its aura reached something equivalent to an Eighth-Order Master!
All the Small Stone Race members who were ingesting Yin and Yang Energies saw varying degrees of improvement.
Yang Kai finally understood how this Chaotic Dead Territory had so many Small Stone Race members now.
To the Small Stone Race, the energy dispersing from Burning Light and Serene Glimmer was a great blessing. With such a massive amount of energy to use as food, the Small Stone Race’s reproduction was naturally smooth, and after many years of accumulation, it wasn’t surprising for them to have reached such a massive number.
The source of all this seemed to be deep in the distant void.
Yang Kai turned his head to look in the direction where the explosion of light originated from. If he wasn’t mistaken, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were there, because their energy was dispersing from that direction.
[What happened in the Chaotic Dead Territory over the past 1,000 years? What are Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan up to? What about Ruo Xi?]
Suppressing the many doubts in his heart, Yang Kai took a step forward and manipulated Space Principles, dashing off towards the distant void to investigate.
With a clear goal in mind, Yang Kai sped up and arrived at his destination after an incense stick worth of time.
When he saw what was happening from afar, a furrow appeared on Yang Kai’s brow. To his confusion, a giant oval-shaped object that looked like a condensed mist was occupying a vast amount of space. At first glance, it gave the impression of an egg…
Through the thick fog, Yang Kai vaguely saw a familiar figure. It was none other than Zhang Ruo Xi, whom he had sent to this place many years ago.
At this moment, Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to be sleeping in this ‘egg’, her small figure curled up into a ball. The fog made it impossible for Yang Kai to see her expression, but judging by her sleeping posture, it seemed like she was resting peacefully.
[What is this?] Yang Kai frowned.
Zhang Ruo Xi was here, but what about Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan?
Looking around carefully, Yang Kai’s heart suddenly jumped.
The mist that had condensed into the shape of an egg was obviously filled with extremely rich and terrifying Yin and Yang Energies. Also, two other blurry figures could be vaguely seen drifting through the mist. The Yin and Yang Energies that were basically poles apart actually seemed to be merging together in this strange place.
Yang Kai’s brow slightly rose as he faintly understood what was going on, but this only made him happier rather than shocked. If he was right about what was happening, then the benefits Zhang Ruo Xi would obtain this time would not be small.
The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were incomplete existence, while Zhang Ruo Xi’s Heavens Order Bloodline was also incomplete, but her bloodline was the primary component of the Primordial Light which, in theory, should allow the opposing pure Yin and Yang Energies to achieve a balance.
Thinking of this, the strange scene in front of him could be explained.
Just as Yang Kai was about to get closer to investigate, a sudden change occurred. A figure suddenly rushed out from the fog and charged straight at Yang Kai.
Because he was worried about Big Brother Huang, Big Sister Lan, and Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai’s complete attention was on the strange egg-shaped object after arriving here, so he had failed to notice anything else out of the ordinary.
Moreover, he really hadn’t expected to be ambushed in this place. More importantly, the ambusher’s aura was exactly the same as the mist, making it the perfect camouflage.
It wasn’t until the other party was charging at him that Yang Kai finally noticed.
The ambusher was extremely fast and was already before him by the time he blinked. When Yang Kai finally caught sight of the figure, he couldn’t help but look surprised.
The one rushing at him was none other than a Small Stone Race member, who was slightly larger than an ordinary Human. At first glance, it gave the impression of someone wearing a set of stone armor.
[This is?]
Along the way, Yang Kai had seen hundreds of millions of Small Stone Race members, but none of them had paid him any attention. However, after coming here, this one suddenly attacked him. Yang Kai had no idea how he had offended it.
The other party’s attack was quite simple; after all, this was a race with low sentience. All it did was charge over and throw a punch at Yang Kai once it arrived in front of him.
Yang Kai casually raised his hand to block.
The strength of the Small Stone Race was directly related to their size. The bigger they were, the stronger their strength. The Small Stone Race members that were as strong as Eighth-Order Master were all 1,000 metres tall and could only be considered giants.
Under normal circumstances, such a Small Stone Race member that was just slightly larger than the Human could not be any stronger than the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai could easily block an attack from such a being with his current cultivation.
However, Yang Kai realized how horribly wrong he was the next moment. Much to his astonishment, this punch actually made him stagger back and the palm he used to block it was actually tingling slightly. If Yang Kai hadn’t noticed that something was wrong at the moment of contact and hurriedly increased his strength, this single punch would have sent him flying.
Before he could figure out what was going on, the Small Stone Race member threw another punch at him at incredible speed.
“What the Hell?” Yang Kai was truly shocked and swiftly blocked the attack before fighting back.
The shock in Yang Kai’s heart was indescribable.
This strange Small Stone Race member before him was completely different from those he knew. Just from the strength and speed of its punches, this Small Stone Race member was not inferior to an ordinary Ninth-Order Master!
[Is this guy really from the Small Stone Race?]
Although Yang Kai didn’t know why this Small Stone Race member in front of him had undergone such a strange mutation, he was certain it was absolutely not an ordinary one.
All this time, the strongest Small Stone Race members cultivated by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were only equivalent to Eighth-Order Masters. In the past, Yang Kai had thought that if Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan could cultivate Small Stone Race members equivalent to Ninth-Order Masters, it would be a great help to the Human Race.
However, this was just a fantasy. It was already Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s limit to cultivate Small Stone Race Soldiers to the level of an Eighth-Order Master. Wishing to cultivate one that was equal to a Ninth-Order Master was simply a fool’s dream.
In the past, Yang Kai had asked them about this matter, and the answer he received was that all of the Small Stone Race members were nurtured by either pure Yang or Yin Energy. The Great Sun Small Stone Race was created by Big Brother Huang, while the Great Moon Small Stone Race was created by Big Sister Lan.
As Yang Kai was intimately aware now, solitary Yin or Yang cannot give birth to true life. These two Small Stone Race Armies that had been cultivated using only one type of Energy had an innate flaw, so it was impossible for them to grow to the level of a Ninth-Order Master, no matter how much energy they absorbed.
In order to solve this problem, their energies needed to be converged and condensed in a kind of Yin Yang Harmony. Only then would there be a slight possibility to go further.
After having not come to the Chaotic Dead Territory in so many years, Yang Kai had not only seen hundreds of millions of Small Stone Race members rampaging out of control, but a Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Master also attacked him. Truly, life was unpredictable.
Be that as it may, the appearance of this Small Stone Race Master in front of him undoubtedly proved that the Small Stone Race could in fact produce existences comparable to Ninth-Order Masters!
[How did this happen?]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think of the strange mist he had seen as a vague guess popped up in his mind.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s Heavens Order Bloodline was derived from the core essence of the Primordial Light which was the harmonizing factor for the pure Yin and Yang Energies of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. Yin and Yang were intertwining inside the mist, fulfilling the conditions required for the birth of a Ninth-Order Small Stone Race.
This discovery greatly excited Yang Kai. The Small Stone Race had given birth to something equivalent to a Ninth-Order Master, which would definitely be of great help to the Human Race! It was the right choice to make a trip to Chaotic Dead Territory.
The mutant Small Stone Race Master continued its onslaught against Yang Kai owing to its limited intelligence, while Yang Kai couldn’t retaliate against it, putting him in a bit of an awkward situation.
“Fortunately, that is all it is,” Yang Kai softly muttered. Because the Small Stone Race’s intelligence was low, it only knew how to punch instinctively. So, even though it had strength and speed comparable to a Ninth-Order Master, its combat capabilities were much inferior; otherwise, it would be quite troublesome to deal with it.
Just as this thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, the Small Stone Race Master who had been chasing him all this time suddenly stopped, and did something that greatly stunned him.
It raised its two hands and spread its arms, its palms facing each other as if it was holding a giant, invisible ball.
The next moment, the colour of its eyes suddenly changed, one becoming yellow, the other blue. Their colours weren’t constant either and were instead rapidly changing. At any given moment, the colour of its eyes flickered back and forth.
Seeing this change, Yang Kai’s heart jumped as he instinctively felt something wrong. By the looks of it, this strange Small Stone Race Master had another unknown ability!
Just as expected, following the actions of this Small Stone Race Master, extremely rich Yin and Yang Energies emerged in the space between in its palms. The two forces rapidly circled around each other before merging together like a spinning top, rapidly expanding and transforming into the size of a washbasin in the blink of an eye. As the two energies rotated, the yellow and blue colours also began to blend and change.
“Hmm…” Not far away, Yang Kai stopped and observed, sensing the fluctuations from the ball of energy formed by the fusion of Yin and Yang, quickly deducing the power of this move.
This kind of attack was definitely not inferior to a full power strike from a Ninth-Order Master.
From the moment the Small Stone Race Master halted and began using this mysterious technique, less than a breath of time had passed. Once the Yin Yang Ball was fully formed, the Small Strone Race Master hurled it straight towards Yang Kai.
The recoil from this move even pushed the Small Stone Race Master a few steps back.
Yang Kai raised his brow. This power… was even greater than he had expected.
Nonetheless, the way it used this Secret Technique was far too crude. Although this attack was exceptionally strong, it couldn’t hit him. Yang Kai simply side-stepped and easily dodged the incoming projectile.
Be that as it may, the Small Stone Race Master clearly didn’t intend to stop. After stabilizing its footing, it repeated its actions.
As such, the Small Stone Race Master fired several Yin Yang Balls one after another while Yang Kai continued dodging them casually.
[Is that the only attack it knows?] Yang Kai muttered in his heart. After waiting for a while and confirming that the Small Stone Race Master had no new tricks, he decided to end this.
He didn’t want to kill this Small Stone Race Master. No matter how it was born, it should be closely related to Zhang Ruo Xi, Big Brother Huang, and Big Sister Lan. Furthermore, this Small Stone Race Master would be of great help to the Human Race. It would be a pity to kill a helper as strong as a Ninth-Order Master.
Yang Kai wanted to subdue it.
In order to command a race with such low sentience like the Small Stone Race, the fastest and most convenient way was to activate the Great Sun and Moon Marks.
Immediately, Yang Kai stretched his hands towards it, directing the power of the Great Sun and Moon Marks towards the Small Stone Race Master.
Unfortunately, the infallible control method actually had no effect this time. The Small Stone Race Master who was attacking Yang Kai with Yin Yang Balls was dazed for a moment but then resumed attacking immediately after…
Yang Kai couldn’t help frowning.
The Great Sun and Moon Marks had always been a fool-proof way to command the Small Stone Race. In front of these two marks, even the Eighth-Order Small Stone Race members had always been extremely obedient; this method seemed to have lost all effectiveness with this Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Master.
This was the first time such a thing had happened.
But after giving it a thought, Yang Kai vaguely understood what was going on.
The former Small Stone Race Soldiers had all been cultivated by either Big Brother Huang or Big Sister Lan, so their Marks naturally had a suppressive effect.
However, this Ninth-Order one not only had Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s energies, but also Zhang Ruo Xi’s ability to harmonize them. It had already become a brand-new kind of power, so the Great Sun and Moon Marks’ effects were almost negligible.
Although he had come to such a conclusion, Yang Kai was not willing to just give up and tried to activate the power of his Marks several more times, but to no avail.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to abandon this plan.
[Damn it!]
It wasn’t easy for a Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Master to appear, yet it refused to listen to his orders. Yang Kai wanted to bring it to the battlefield to use as a surprise trump card against the Black Ink Clan. Apart from anything else, if such a Small Stone Race Master didn’t care about its life or death, it wouldn’t be a problem for it to battle a Royal Lord for a short time. Of course, because its attacks were simple and its intelligence was low, it wouldn’t end well for it if it were to fight for too long.
While many thoughts were flashing across Yang Kai’s mind, the Small Stone Race powerhouse seemed to have used up too much of its energy as the yellow and blue colour in its eyes gradually became dimmer after sending out so many Yin Yang Balls.
Immediately, it turned around and flew towards the direction it had come from.
This situation was very much like going back to find food after a fight, not caring if Yang Kai would do anything to it…
Yang Kai couldn’t help but worry about the intelligence of this being. Although it had extreme strength, if it was let loose on the battlefield without any method to control it, it would likely cause just as much disturbance to the Human side as the Black Ink Clan’s.
“Oh well,” Yang Kai relaxed. There was only one such Small Stone Race Master, so even if he couldn’t subdue it, he wasn’t too distressed either.
But this joy only lasted for three breaths before Yang Kai looked in the direction of the returning Small Stone Race powerhouse as two more identical Small Stone Race Masters emerged from the mist!
In the void, half a day later, Yang Kai was using Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to conceal his aura and figure, staring at the egg-shaped mist from afar with a frustrated look on his face.
Originally, he did not regret the fact that he could not subdue the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Master believing that there was just one such anomaly. He could do nothing about it, but since there was only one, he had no choice but to accept it.
However, Yang Kai later discovered that there was more than one of them!
After half a day of probing and dragging things out, Yang Kai was certain that there were no less than five such Masters! As for how many of them there were exactly, he couldn’t say for sure, because every time these Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters emerged from the mist and attacked him, they would return to the mist once they had exhausted themselves too much. And after returning, they would completely disappear like water merging into the sea.
This was also the reason why Yang Kai hadn’t seen the others before, as their existence was too difficult to detect.
At the very least, there were five of them, perhaps even more. Yang Kai stared at the mist with naked greed and frustration, so much so that both drool and tears almost trickled down his face…
If he could successfully subdue this force, it would be of enormous help to the Human Race in conquering the No-Return Pass; but right now, all he could do was stare from afar. He basically didn’t have the strength or means to subdue these Masters.
The Great Sun and Moon Marks were unable to control these Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters. Left with no alternative, Yang Kai tried to force one of them into his Small Universe to suppress it…
Unfortunately, it was impossible to communicate with them as their level of intelligence was too low. Even when Yang Kai managed to take one in and suppress it, it kept resisting, draining Yang Kai’s energy and strength. If he brought them to the battlefield in their current state, it might even cause some damage to the Human Race.
Helpless, Yang Kai could only release the one he suppressed.
Even when he was unable to subdue these creatures though, Yang Kai was unwilling to just leave like this, feeling extremely depressed.
According to his estimations, since they were created because Zhang Ruo Xi had harmonized both Yin and Yang Energies, only Zhang Ruo Xi could command them.
Furthermore, judging by their behaviour, they seemed to be protecting Zhang Ruo Xi, because as long as Yang Kai didn’t approach the mist, he was completely safe. However, once he got too close, they would immediately attack. This made it obvious they were guarding this place.
Yang Kai didn’t know what Zhang Ruo Xi, Big Brother Huang, and Big Sister Lan had done over the past 1,000 years, but by the looks of it, they seemed to be in the middle of something incredible. The birth of these Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters was simply unimaginable before.
After quietly observing for a long time, Yang Kai had no choice but to quash his greed. Some things in this world couldn’t be forced.
What was certain now was that Zhang Ruo Xi herself was safe, and she was using her Heavens Order Bloodline to harmonize with Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s Yin and Yang Energies. Although he didn’t know how long this process would last, once she succeeded, she might be able to step into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
At that time, the power she would control would definitely surpass all Ninth-Order Masters.
[What was that energy turmoil, though?]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall the scene he had witnessed some time ago. The Yang and Yin Energies seemed to have gone out of control and exploded out into the Chaotic Dead Territory, causing a large amount of Yin and Yang Manifestations to appear, which were then subsequently devoured by the Small Stone Race.
Judging by the large population and the body sizes of the Small Stone Race in the Chaotic Dead Territory, this was not the first time this loss of control had occurred; it must have happened many times before.
At the same time, because Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were in a state where their energies were still harmonizing, the Small Stone Race Soldiers in the Chaotic Dead Territory no longer had any restrictions and had reverted back to their original nature, instinctually devouring resources, breeding new clansmen, then fighting to the death. This was the reason why Yang Kai saw so many Small Stone Race members fighting in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
[If the Yin and Yang Energies exploded with such frequency, perhaps I should observe it for a while. I don’t think it will take too long…]
Having come to a decision, Yang Kai decided to spend a year observing the situation here in order to obtain more information.
Time ticked by bit by bit while Yang Kai remained hidden all this while, observing the situation around Zhang Ruo Xi.
Just as he had expected, the frequency at which the energies went out of control was indeed very high. He didn’t even need to wait for an entire year. In just three months, the originally stable fog suddenly started fluctuating wildly. Right then, Zhang Ruo Xi, who seemed to be peacefully sleeping in the middle of the fog, unconsciously let out a groan. Judging by her voice, she seemed to be enduring incredible pain.
At the same time, the Yin and Yang Energies that were constantly flowing and fusing in the mist also became unstable.
In the blink of an eye, a dazzling light began to spread outward with the fog egg as the center
A moment later, just like what Yang Kai had seen three months ago, the entire Chaotic Dead Territory was filled with the manifestations of Yin and Yang Energy, causing countless Small Stone Race members to flock towards them.
After personally witnessing this scene, Yang Kai finally understood the cause behind it.
The Yin and Yang Energies had rampaged out of control simply because Zhang Ruo Xi was too weak…
Of course, her current cultivation in the Eighth Order could in no way be considered ‘weak’ in general terms, but compared to Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, she was still a slightly bigger ant at best.
Even though she possessed the Heavens Order Bloodline, it was still difficult for her to fully control the power of beings that were born at the creation of the Universe. So, when she tried to harmonize the primordial Yin and Yang Energies, some situations would occur that were difficult to control.
Once such a situation occurred, she would lose control of the Yin and Yang Energies, which would then disperse into the surroundings, resulting in the massive increase of the Small Stone Race in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Fortunately, the Heavens Order Bloodline was truly amazing, especially when it came to harmonizing Yang and Yin. Every time the energies went out of control, they would be stabilized once more in short order.
After observing the loss of control of the energies from a close distance, Yang Kai was finally able to determine the exact number of Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters.
When the energies went out of control, the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters who were hidden in the fog also became visible, at which point Yang Kai counted eight of them!
How many Ninth-Order Masters did the Human Race have attacking the No-Return Pass? Including Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao who had recently broken through in the last 20 years, there were only 10 of them in total, but there were actually eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters!
If Yang Kai could somehow drag these eight Small Stone Race Masters to the battlefield, who knows how many lives they could save!?
Wiping the corner of his mouth, Yang Kai ruthlessly squashed his greedy thoughts again before turning around and flying towards the depths of the void.
He had come here intending to bring Zhang Ruo Xi out so that she could play some role on the battlefield, but by the looks of it, this plan would not work. At the very least, it would be impossible for her to emerge until she had successfully harmonized the Yang and Yin Energies.
Until then, Yang Kai could not take these Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters to the battlefield either, he could only look at them from afar. Since that was the case, Yang Kai decided to take some regular Small Stone Race Soldiers, especially the Eighth-Order ones. This was the main reason he had come here.
His speed was extremely fast and in the blink of an eye after activating his Space Principles, Yang Kai arrived at a nearby battlefield.
At this moment, as the Yin and Yang Energies had erupted not too long ago and a group of Small Stone Race Soldiers happened to have surrounded a manifestation of Yang Energy and were constantly devouring it. Yang Kai teleported over, opened his Small Universe, and activated the Great Sun and Moon Marks, shouting, “Stand aside!”
He didn’t care if the Small Stone Race understood or not, he just wanted to vent his frustrations.
The Great Sun and Moon Marks might have no effect on the Ninth-Order ones, but it was always successful in commanding these ordinary Small Stone Race Soldiers.
With a single command, the Small Stone Race members stepped aside, revealing the Yang Energy Manifestation they had surrounded. The manifestation originally bore a resemblance with Big Brother Huang’s true form, albeit much smaller in size, but after being eaten by the Small Stone Race members, it now looked like a Phoenix Clan member with broken wings.
Yang Kai didn’t mind and directly took it into his Small Universe and suppressed it.
Immediately after, he rushed to the next location.
After so many years of constant war, the Human Race’s demand for Yellow and Blue Crystals had become extremely high. Yang Kai had originally wanted to ask Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan for more Yellow and Blue Crystals, but now that he couldn’t, he could only use this method to collect some.
As such, he had to act quickly, otherwise the omnipresent Small Stone Race would soon devour all of the dissipated Yin and Yang Energies.
For a time, Yang Kai’s figure shuttled back and forth through the void, borrowing the power of the Great Sun and Moon Marks to force all of the Small Stone Race to retreat and obediently hand over their food to him.
Even if Yang Kai was fast though, he had no choice but to stop after an incense stick worth of time, because apart from the Yin and Yang Energies he had taken into his Small Universe, the rest of the dispersed energies had been devoured clean by the Small Stone Race.
Many Small Stone Race members had become stronger, even breaking through their own limits.
Standing still, Yang Kai examined his harvest. Inside his Small Universe, the Yang and Yin Energies suppressed by him had already transformed into pieces of Yellow and Blue Crystals. Some were as small as a fist while others were as large as a house. His harvest was not small, but it was definitely not much.
The main reason was that Yang Kai was a bit slow as he had to carefully observe Zhang Ruo Xi’s situation first, which gave the Small Stone Race ample time to devour most of the dispersed Yin and Yang Energies.
Yang Kai naturally would not be satisfied with such a small harvest so he immediately began traversing through the void.
At the same time, he opened a portal to his Small Universe and kept it open all the while. In any case, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about his own strength leaking with the World Tree clone protecting his Small Universe. This would have been quite a risky move for any other Open Heaven Realm Master as every bit of energy leaking out of the portal was a result of arduous and time-consuming cultivation. The loss of every bit of energy would make one a bit weaker.
Yang Kai also left the Great Sun and Moon Marks on the backs of his hands constantly active.
Everywhere he went, he would collect all the suitable Small Stone Race Soldiers he could find into his Small Universe, just like how the autumn wind would sweep away the fallen leaves.
The selection criteria was simple, all those comparable to Human Race Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were taken. All the Small Stone Race members who didn’t even have such strength would be useless, even if Yang Kai collected them. If he were to let them out on the battlefield, he would just be sending them to their deaths, so he might as well let them continue to grow stronger here instead.
In just a short month, Yang Kai had taken in more than a couple hundred million Small Stone Race Soldiers into his Small Universe. Such a terrifying number put even Yang Kai’s Small Universe under a great deal of pressure. Although he could still take in more, after carefully weighing the pros and cons, he decided to temporarily put aside this unrestrained method of collecting Small Stone Race Soldiers and instead focus on taking in the elites.
As such, he continued to wander through the Chaotic Dead Territory’s various battlefields for the next two months, specifically looking for the Eighth-Order ones.
He might not be able to subdue Zhang Ruo Xi’s Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters, but with the help of the Great Sun and Moon Marks, it wasn’t a problem to subdue some Eighth-Order ones. Right now, the Eighth-Order ones in the Chaotic Dead Territory were in quite a large number, and with the constant dispersion of the Yang and Yin Energy, this number would only continue to increase.
As such, Yang Kai’s actions didn’t have much of an impact on the population of the Small Stone Race. All he needed to do was grasp the balance between the two sides; while he was subduing a certain number of Great Sun Small Stone Race, he also needed to subdue an equal number of Great Moon Small Stone Race members. This way, he wouldn’t break the balance in the Chaotic Dead Territory, which would naturally prevent a situation where one side completely suppressed the other and would eventually wipe it out.
Three months after the last energy burst, a dazzling light once again appeared in Zhang Ruo Xi’s direction, followed by the dispersal of Yin and Yang Energies in all directions, filling the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Yang Kai was well prepared this time. He immediately began competing with the Small Stone Race Armies for the manifestations of Yang and Yin Energies. As such, his harvest was much greater than last time.
When the energy went out of control, he would collect the manifestations, and after the energy stabilized, he would search for the Eighth-Order Small Stone Race members.
Only after more than a year did Yang Kai finally leave the Chaotic Dead Territory.
The Small Stone Race members he had subdued were enough, and he had also collected a large amount of Yellow and Blue Crystals, enough to sustain the Human Race for 1,000 years. Although there was still some time left, Yang Kai didn’t dare to stay any longer.
According to his and Mi Jing Lun’s plan, after the Human Race’s first attack on the No-Return Pass, they would launch their second attack two years later regardless of the previous results; however, sometimes plans couldn’t keep up with sudden changes in the status quo and accidents might occur, causing the second battle to be brought forward ahead of schedule. As such, he had to return to the Barren Territory as soon as possible.
The return trip was uneventful, and Yang Kai returned to the Barren Territory after three months.
Yang Kai had taken three months to reach the Chaotic Dead Territory as well, because he wasn’t in a hurry, and he was injured as well. He was using the journey to slowly recover from his wounds, so he hadn’t used his full strength.
Yang Kai didn’t stop for even a moment on his way back, but the reason why he had spent the same amount of time was because his top speed had fallen.
He had taken in too many Small Stone Race into his Small Universe, which made it difficult for him to circulate his strength. To put it simply, the Small Universe’s burden had affected his strength, lowering his speed.
The moment Yang Kai returned to the Barren Territory, he immediately looked in the direction of the Territory Gate. He could vaguely see the magnificent No-Return Pass, but there seemed to be no sign of a battle. Yang Kai immediately breathed a sigh of relief after confirming this.
However, just to be safe, he still entered the Territory Gate and poked his head out to take a closer look at the No-Return Pass.
As far as the eye could see, the entire No-Return Pass was in an extremely tense state, with soldiers flinching up at the slightest sound. The dense Black Ink Strength was like a thick layer of dark clouds that covered the sky.
Compared to the last battle, the current No-Return Pass had obviously undergone some changes in its defensive arrangements. With the help of the damaged Great Passes, the Black Ink Clan’s perimeter had shrunk, and a large number of artifacts had been placed on these damaged Great Passes. The entire No-Return Pass was filled with a sense of danger.
By the looks of it, the last battle had clearly made the Black Ink Clan aware of their own disadvantages. Although occupying the No-Return Pass gave them the defenders advantage, correspondingly, it made them a fixed target. The Human Race’s strategy of using Universe Worlds to attack them was a perfect example of how their fixed position could be taken advantage of.
As such, even though the Black Ink Clan’s forces were still strong, they had still shrunk their defensive perimeter, greatly increasing their defensive strength.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for the Human Race to obtain similar results after the Black Ink Clan had made such changes.
In the last battle, the Black Ink Clan was caught off guard when the Universe Worlds came flying at them. Hundreds of Universe Worlds had various Spirit Arrays arranged on them, so the damage from this assault was immense. Once the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line was broken, the Human Race Army wrought havoc by flooding in through these breaches.
With the current deployment of the Black Ink Clan, even if the Human Race used their previous tactics of launching Universe Worlds, they wouldn’t be able to easily breach the defensive line.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but click his tongue. Although he knew that taking back the No-Return Pass would not be an easy task, he found that it was even more difficult to deal with than he had expected after seeing that the Black Ink Clan had gathered all of their forces.
Just as he was thinking of continuing to observe, more than a dozen fearsome auras suddenly appeared in his vicinity as numerous Secret Techniques came flying towards him from all directions.
Yang Kai hastily withdrew his head.
The commotion here quickly attracted Mo Na Ye’s attention and he instantly rushed out, arriving near the Territory Gate. He took a glance around before coldly asking, “What is it?”
One of the Pseudo-Royal Lords who was stationed here for a long time replied, “Yang Kai’s head just popped out.”
Yang Kai was currently in the Barren Territory with the two Giant Spirit Gods, so how could Mo Na Ye not be on guard against him? Therefore, he had arranged more than a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords to monitor the Territory Gate after the last great battle, in case Yang Kai suddenly attacked.
According to his understanding of Yang Kai, he knew that this bastard wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
When Yang Kai had not recently appeared, much to his surprise, Mo Na Ye guessed that Yang Kai was probably healing himself.
“His head popped out?” Hearing the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s explanation, Mo Na Ye furrowed his brow.
“It’s like this…” the Pseudo-Royal Lord explained as he made a gesture like a turtle stretching its head.
Mo Na Ye’s face twitched as he watched the Pseudo-Royal Lord imitate Yang Kai… [Well, this could certainly be described as his head popping out.]
The Pseudo-Royal Lord continued, “I guess he wanted to investigate the situation here and had no intention of actually coming over.”
“I also don’t think he would dare to,” Mo Na Ye coldly snorted before exhorting, “Be careful, if Yang Kai dares… to pop out his head again, knock him back!”
Mo Na Ye didn’t say anything about killing Yang Kai, because that was impossible. Last time, Yang Kai had still managed to escape in that kind of situation, so how could this menace give the Black Ink Clan another chance to kill him?
“Yes!” The Pseudo-Royal Lords nodded.
Mo Na Ye clenched his fists and lightly coughed before turning around and returning to his Black Ink Nest.
He had also suffered some minor injuries in the last battle. His wounds weren’t serious, at least not to the point where he needed to enter a Black Ink Nest to recover, but he knew in his heart that as long as the battle continued, his injuries would continue to accumulate. Sooner or later, they would develop to the point where he needed to enter a deep slumber to heal, and once that happened, the Black Ink Clan would not be far from defeat.
The fact that the Black Ink Clan needed to enter Black Ink Nests to recover from serious injuries had always been the greatest flaw of their entire Race! The Human Race, who long ago figured this out, never let such opportunities slip by.
After so many years of war, the Human Race had used this flaw to stir up trouble more than once. When the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, they had a clear and absolute advantage on the 12 frontline battlefields, but they had never been able to defeat the Human Race Army. The main reason was because the Humans fought back doggedly, putting their lives on the line to trade injuries with the enemy, forcing many Black Ink Clan Masters back to their Black Ink Nests to slumber.
When the Humans were injured, they could quickly recover with the help of Secret Techniques or Pills, but what about the Black Ink Clan? Once their injuries accumulated to a certain degree, they would either be killed or forced to return to the No-Return Pass to recuperate. As such, their advantage in numbers was greatly diminished.
Hundreds of years ago, even though the Eighth-Order Masters knew that they were no match for the Pseudo-Royal Lords, they would still go all out to injure their opponents even at the risk of death. Thanks to the sacrifice of many Eighth-Order Masters, at least a quarter of all Pseudo-Royal Lords were constantly stuck in the No-Return Pass recuperating.
Inside a certain Black Ink Nest, a look of sadness appeared on Mo Na Ye’s face.
Originally, the Black Ink Clan had the upper hand, but now they had fallen to such a state. In the entire Black Ink Clan, perhaps no other Black Ink Clansman could clearly see the turning point of this battle besides him. Even Mo Yu might have no idea.
In fact, back when the Black Ink Clan was forced by Yang Kai to withdraw all their claws and fangs and retreat to the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye had already anticipated this day.
Prior to this, the Black Ink Clan held the initiative in terms of overall strength, so all of Mo Na Ye’s plans and arrangements were extremely reliable. It could be said that as long as there were no unexpected accidents, the Black Ink Clan had a 70% chance of winning the war.
Unfortunately for the Black Ink Clan, after the appearance of the Universe Furnace, Yang Kai, who had disappeared for some 600 years, suddenly returned and disrupted everything.
Under his domineering intimidation, Mo Na Ye had no choice but to recall all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords and Territory Lords who had been fighting on the front lines. The abandoned Black Ink Clan Armies were naturally wiped out by the Humans, causing the Black Ink Clan to suffer further heavy losses.
Even that was still fine though, but the key was that the Black Ink Clan had no place to go other than retreating to the No-Return Pass and guarding it.
As such, the Human Race was able to gather all of its forces and no longer need to split up like before. All they needed to do was focus their attacks on the No-Return Pass while not having to worry about any other fronts.
The true turning point of the war between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan was when Yang Kai, who had disappeared for hundreds of years, suddenly reappeared!
After his appearance, the Human Race and Black Ink Clan’s defensive and offensive positions had switched.
Without Yang Kai’s coercion, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t have been reduced to such a miserable situation. If there was no Yang Kai, the Black Ink Clan would have dozens more Pseudo-Royal Lords today. If there was no Yang Kai, the Innate Territory Lords who had snuck out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would have all been able to safely arrive at the No-Return Pass. At that time, the Black Ink Clan’s strength would have definitely soared, and the Human Race would not have been their opponent.
Unfortunately, all that was only ‘if’ Yang Kai didn’t exist. Over the years, Yang Kai had slowly shaved pieces of flesh bit by bit from the body of a fat cow that was the Black Ink Clan like a skilled butcher. Even now, the Black Ink Clan still looked powerful, but in reality, they were not far from their doom.
As shrewd and intelligent as Mo Na Ye was, how could he not see that it was impossible for the Black Ink Clan to win this battle? Sooner or later, the Human Race would overwhelm the Black Ink Clan Army and capture the No-Return Pass.
The only fate awaiting the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass was to be completely wiped out.
Even if he knew this though, what was he supposed to do? It was impossible for him to escape; furthermore, the Human Race would have to pay a big price to capture the No-Return Pass.
The Humans still had a bigger target after taking down the No-Return Pass. If he could cripple the Human Race Army using the power of the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass, even if the Humans won this battle, they would still lose the war.
As long as the Black Ink Clan could unify all under the Heavens and allow Mo to rule supreme, it did not matter if all the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass were sacrificed.
The Human Race had already revealed all of their cards, but the strength the Black Ink Clan had shown until now was still just the tip of the iceberg. This war that concerned the survival of the two Races would ultimately end in the defeat of the Human Race.
Mo Na Ye firmly believed this!
At the same time, the Space-Time River stretched across the void in the Barren Territory. Wind and clouds were surging on the surface of the river as Dao Strengths undulated.
Inside the long river, Yang Kai was pushing the Time Dao Strength to its utmost limit, deriving its endless mysteries.
He had borrowed the strength of the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World for the last 20 years to cultivate, which allowed his strength to soar, but he still had room for improvement. According to his own classification of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he was currently only in the mid-stage.
Now, there was no longer a suitable Universe World to rely on to cultivate. If he wanted to simply rely on the accumulation of time to increase his strength, even with Yang Kai’s cultivation speed and his Small Universe’s innate advantages, 2,000 years would likely be the minimum he needed to reach the peak of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
If he could reach the peak, he wouldn’t be afraid of anyone even if he was up against a Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
But under the current circumstances, what he lacked the most was time.
According to the Supreme Headquarters’ plan, they needed to conquer the No-Return Pass within 20 years before they continued their crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, quelling the Black Ink Clan disaster once and for all. With Yang Kai’s current foundation, even if he cultivated this entire time, he probably wouldn’t make any noticeable progress.
Fortunately, time wasn’t something immutable, especially in front of someone like Yang Kai who was proficient in the Grand Daos of Time and Space.
The time flow of his Small Universe was 10 times faster than the outside world, so a year in the outside world was 10 years in his Small Universe.
Long ago, Yang Kai chanced upon several Temporal Rivers inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon which allowed him to cultivate for the equivalent of 4,000 years in just a few hundred years in the outside world, breaking through to the Eighth Order in one fell swoop. His attainments in many of his Grand Daos had also improved during that time.
With all these kinds of personal experiences, it naturally gave birth to some ideas in Yang Kai’s head. But of course, just having ideas was useless, he needed to have the ability to turn them into reality to receive any benefits.
Fortunately, with Yang Kai’s attainments in the Dao of Time, he was already equipped with this ability!
He had once built three Sealed Worlds in High Heaven Palace that were related to the three primary Grand Daos he cultivated, respectively Space, Time, and Spear Dao Sealed Worlds. Not to mention, the Space and Spear Dao Sealed Worlds, the Time Dao Sealed World had a similar effect to his Small Universe. Cultivators who entered it to gain experience would experience a faster flow of time compared to the outside world, but the ratio wasn’t as exaggerated. It was only about one to four.
Even so, the soldiers still flocked to this place, as only one year passed on the outside while one cultivated for four years in the Time Dao Sealed World. It was equivalent to increasing the efficiency of their cultivation by four times.
Therefore, among these three Sealed Worlds, the Time Dao Sealed World was the most popular because even if one wasn’t proficient in the Dao of Time, they could still use this Sealed World to cultivate, while a few who were proficient in the Dao of Time could comprehend the mysteries of the Dao of Time and improve the mastery of their own Grand Dao.
Originally, the three Sealed Worlds Yang Kai had left behind were for the disciples of the Void Dao Temple to cultivate their Grand Daos, but there were no restrictions on entry. Once too many soldiers wanted to enter the Time Dao Sealed World though, which severely affected the disciples who had truly cultivated the Dao of Time, some rules were put in place. Head Manager Hua had no choice but to report this matter to the Supreme Headquarters; after which, the Supreme Headquarters issued an order that one needed a certain amount of Military Merits to enter the Time Dao Sealed World…
Even so, that did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the soldiers.
If it weren’t for the fact that Yang Kai was always on the move and it was hard to get a hold on him, Mi Jing Lun would have asked him to build more Time Dao Sealed Worlds.
It could be said that Yang Kai had been able to create a Sealed World inside of which the flow of time different from the outside world a long time ago, and now that he had reached the Ninth Order, with his mastery over the Dao of Time had reached an even higher level, he was naturally more proficient in such matters.
In fact, when Yang Kai had escaped from the Universe Furnace and was on his way back from the edge of the Universe, he had already started working on this. Yang Kai had not just been hurrying along during his 600-year journey, he had also realized that time was not on his side. No matter how quickly his strength increased, it was unable to keep up with the progress of the war.
If he wanted to completely solve this problem, he had to find a way to gain more time!
After 600 years of painstaking research and many improvements, he had developed a certain method to do exactly that.
At this moment, the Dao Strengths in the Space-Time River stretched across the void were astir under Yang Kai’s control. Soon, Yang Kai had stripped away thousands of Dao Strengths, leaving behind only the last Dao Strength of Time.
This was not difficult for the current Yang Kai. Although his mastery of the Dao of Time had yet to break through to the highest Ninth Level, he had reached the very peak of the Eighth Level.
With this, the Space-Time River transformed into a Temporal River!
It was exactly the same as the Temporal Rivers he had seen in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon all those years ago, but its effects were even more amazing.
Using his full strength, Yang Kai was able to create a flow of time that was 30 times faster than that of the outside world. In other words, while one year passed in the outside world, 30 would go by inside the Temporal River.
Back when he was cultivating in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai would have to search for new Temporal Rivers after exhausting the Time Dao Essence in his previous Temporal River. But now that the Temporal River was created using his own Dao Strength, it would be much more convenient and faster than before. As long as Yang Kai was willing, he could use this Temporal River and enter a state of cultivation at any moment.
Of course, cultivating like this and continuously using his Time Dao Strength was quite taxing on him, but compared to his gains, this was a minor concern.
With the problem of time resolved, Yang Kai now had another problem, which was resources.
This kind of cultivation required an enormous amount of resources, and Yang Kai didn’t have many on hand. He had plenty of Yellow and Blue Crystals, but he lacked Five Elements materials.
As such, compared to his previous worry about the Human Race declaring war early, Yang Kai was now more than happy to see the Human Race go to war sooner.
While he was cultivating in the Temporal River, Ah Da and Ah Er were eating a dead Universe World. This Universe World had been given to them by Yang Kai after he returned from Myriad Monsters Territory.
Giant Spirit Gods fell asleep after they were full, so Yang Kai did not dare to feed them too much at once. As such, although Yang Kai still had a lot of World Beads on hand, he didn’t plan on taking them all out at once.
In the long Temporal River, a large number of materials were refined by Yang Kai as time passed by, building up the foundation of his Small Universe and allowing him to slowly expand his heritage.
After an unknown period, Yang Kai suddenly felt a shockwave and immediately ended his cultivation, exiting the Temporal River.
The shockwave was an agreement between him and the two Giant Spirit Gods. He had asked them to inform him right away if something happened at the No-Return Pass; after all, he was deep in meditative cultivation inside a distorted Space-Time, so his ability to sense outside movements was quite restricted.
At this moment, he jumped out of the river and shot a glance towards the No-Return Pass. As expected, he noticed that the situation there wasn’t quite right. A large number of Black Ink Clansmen had been mobilized to form a defensive line, as if they were preparing for a war.
“The war has finally resumed!” Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief. The supplies he had on hand had almost been exhausted, and if the Human Race did not start fighting soon, he would ultimately have to end his cultivation anyway.
At this moment, seeing the No-Return Pass’ Black Ink Clan’s response, Yang Kai knew that the Human Race Army was on the move.
However, because they were separated by a Territory Gate, he couldn’t clearly see the exact situation of the No-Return Pass, let alone what was happening further away with the Human Army.
However, he was both bold and talented. In a flash, Yang Kai arrived at the Territory Gate using Instantaneous Movement and, just like last time, popped his head out and looked into the distance.
Although he was knocked back by the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were standing guard nearby the next moment, he was still able to catch a glimpse of the Human Race Army approaching from the distant void.
Yang Kai immediately rubbed his palms together. In the battle two years ago, the Human Race had gained the upper hand and killed countless enemies. After two years, the Human Race would be able to obtain a significant advantage in the second attack as well.
Of course, the most important thing was that he was no longer the same person he was two years ago. He had only cultivated for a short time and his strength had not changed much, but…
He was no longer fighting alone, he now had many helpers!
[This battle will definitely shock the Black Ink Clan!]
Contrary to Yang Kai’s itch for action, Mo Na Ye had an extremely solemn look on his face.
The Human Race Army was approaching, and there was also Yang Kai and the two Giant Spirit Gods eyeing them from the Barren Territory.
The two Giant Spirit Gods could basically be ignored for the moment as neither side would easily deploy their strongest forces before the final confrontation began. Both sides had a tacit understanding about this.
However, Yang Kai was different. Mo Na Ye was certain that this bastard wouldn’t be willing to sit still and would definitely kill his way out of the Barren Territory and stir up trouble.
[How annoying! We need to restrain him! Once this guy steps onto the battlefield, all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan would be in danger…]
Thinking so, Mo Na Ye called out, “Di Ya Luo.”
Standing beside him, the new Royal Lord shot a glance at him, “What instructions does Sir Mo Na Ye have?”
“I need you to block Yang Kai, don’t let him come to the No-Return Pass!” Mo Na Ye concisely stated.
Di Ya Luo’s expression slightly changed as he hesitated, “If it was just me, I’m afraid…”
“The Pseudo-Royal Lords guarding the Territory Gate will cooperate with you,” Mo Na Ye interrupted, “Are you confident?”
Di Ya Luo was silent for a moment before quickly replying, “I will do my best!”
From this answer, it was clear that Di Ya Luo didn’t have much confidence. Mo Na Ye was well aware of this as well; in fact, even Mo Na Ye did not have confidence even if he personally took action. Unfortunately, since the situation had come to this, what more could he say?
Actually, ever since the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array had lost its effect on Yang Kai, the Black Ink Clan no longer had the ability to deal with him at all. This was also the reason why Mo Na Ye knew that the Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass would definitely be defeated. A powerful Ninth-Order Master, who could appear and disappear like a ghost and couldn’t be killed or even contained, brought too much pressure to the Black Ink Clan.
Sighing, he could only say, “Do your best.”
Assisted by a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords, even if Di Ya Luo could not stop Yang Kai from entering the No-Return Pass, it shouldn’t be a problem to keep him busy. As long as they could restrain him somewhat, the other Pseudo-Royal Lords on the battlefield would be able to use their full strength and not have to worry about sneak attacks.
This was also an acceptable outcome.
After instructing Di Ya Luo, Mo Na Ye turned his head towards the depths of the void and coldly snorted, “This move again!”
Similar to what had happened two years ago, the Human Race Army was attacking from left and right, while in the centre, massive Universe Worlds could be seen flying over from a distance.
The Human Race’s strategy of using Universe Worlds to attack was too dirty and despicable, but it was an undeniable fact that although this strategy was simple, it was extremely effective.
In the last battle, the Human Race had used this tactic to tear apart the Black Ink Clan’s defensive perimeter and open multiple gaps in their lines. After tasting the benefits, the Human Race was obviously going to use the same tactic again.
The Black Ink Clan had taken precautions this time however, contracting their defensive line quite a bit compared to last time. As a result, the defensive forces in all directions had become more solid and compact, making it impossible for the Humans to easily break through again.
The Human Race obviously understood this point as well. Over the past two years, a number of Human scouts had been constantly appearing at the periphery of the No-Return Pass, spying on the No-Return Pass. As such, the Black Ink Clan’s deployment and arrangements were no secret to the Humans. Since the Human Race was employing the Universe World attack strategy once again, they must have something to rely on.
“Hm?” As the first Universe World approached, Mo Na Ye quickly discovered that something was wrong.
This was because he only saw one Universe World shooting towards them! It wasn’t like last time when many came flying over together, overwhelming the Black Ink Clan forces in the area where they would strike.
But what could one Universe World do? Although seeing a Universe World come shooting at them was extremely oppressive, a single Pseudo-Royal Lord could easily destroy it with a single blow!
After taking a closer look though, Mo Na Ye suddenly realized that there was indeed more than one Universe World!
In other words, he could only see one Universe World, but there were definitely more Universe Worlds hidden behind the first one. If all the Universe Worlds were lined up, shooting towards the No-Return Pass one after another, it would be possible to create the illusion of there being just one.
[It’s a single-point attack!]
Mo Na Ye immediately understood the Human Race’s strategy. This time, they were clearly aiming at just one spot in the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line.
The Black Ink Clan’s defences were undoubtedly more condensed than last time, but if the Humans focused all their attacks in just one place, even the strongest of defensive lines would be broken.
Mo Na Ye’s heart was gripped with a chill as he secretly cursed the slyness of the Human Race. He quickly re-deployed his troops and powerhouse from both sides of the defensive line to the centre, preparing to face the incoming Universe Worlds.
The battle was about to begin. The atmosphere was extremely tense. The flow of time seemed to have significantly slowed down.
While countless Black Ink Clansmen were waiting anxiously, the Universe Worlds flying over from the depths of the void finally arrived.
Mo Na Ye’s arrangements had the desired effect. Thanks to deploying a large number of Masters from the Black Ink Clan to the location where the Universe Worlds were going to strike, the first Universe World was blown to smithereens before it could even get close.
Just as Mo Na Ye had expected, a second Universe World was revealed right after the first was destroyed.
The second Universe World was also destroyed by the endless Secret Techniques, followed by the third…
Then… nothing!
Mo Na Ye was dumbfounded as he stared at the empty void littered with Universe Fragments, unable to understand how there were just three Universe Worlds. Why weren’t there any more Universe Worlds shooting over now?
The next moment, his expression drastically changed as his black blood turned cold and goosebumps rose all over his body.
He suddenly turned his head towards the direction of the Human Race Army on the left, just in time to see it smoothly change its formation as it sailed forward. The vast number of Warships parted to the sides, revealing the void behind them which had previously been concealed by the massive fleet.
Much to Mo Na Ye’s horror, numerous Universe Worlds were rapidly shooting over from that direction. He could already see at least a dozen of them, but there were obviously more, most of them hidden from his sight. It was hard to tell exactly how many Universe Worlds there were.
Mo Na Ye then turned to look at the Human Race Army on the right, only to see a situation that was identical to the one on the left.
He had fallen into a trap! Mo Na Ye instantly understood what had happened.
The Human Race had deliberately arranged a few Universe Worlds in a straight line to mislead him into deploying more troops to reinforce the centre of their defence line.
However, once he did this, he would fall into the Human Race’s trap.
The three Universe Worlds in the centre were just a distraction, while the real killing blow was hidden behind the Human Race’s left and right Armies.
At this moment, the Human Race’s two Armies had already closed to firing range of the No-Return Pass, and the Universe Worlds’ assault was about to arrive. Even if Mo Na Ye understood the Human Race’s schemes at this moment, there was nothing he could do to stop them.
All he could do now was issue orders at the fastest speed possible and send back the forces he had deployed from the left and right sides. Immediately, numerous powerhouses shuttled back and forth across the No-Return Pass, seemingly in complete chaos.
Of course, the oncoming Universe Worlds didn’t wait for the Black Ink Clan to get back into position. Massive shockwaves swept through the left and right side of the No-Return Pass as the Artifacts hummed and countless Secret Techniques burst out from the No-Return Pass, blowing many Universe Worlds to pieces.
If the Black Ink Clan had the same arrangements as two years ago, this kind of attack would have been enough to completely tear apart the defence perimeter on both their flanks. Once that happened, the Human Race Army would have driven straight through the breach and caught them off guard. As long as they could gain an absolute advantage on any of the fronts, the Human Race would then be able to continuously expand their advantage.
The last battle had gone exactly like this.
However, the new deployment of the Black Ink Clan’s defences had a certain effect. Even though Mo Na Ye had made some mistakes in his initial response this time, at least he had some experience in dealing with the Universe World attacks, so by the time all the Universe Worlds were destroyed, the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line was still holding.
The Black Ink Clan did not need much time to stabilize their defensive line back again, a cup of tea’s worth of time at most. After that, they would still be impregnable.
Nonetheless, how could the Human Race give the Black Ink Clan such an opportunity? Time was a critical factor that affected victory and defeat in war; and clearly, the Human Race had calculated the timing of their every move from the very start. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the left and right Armies to make way for the Universe Worlds at just the right moment!
While the Black Ink Clan was still trying to reorganize their defence line, the Human Race’s left and right Armies had already arrived.
In a flash, a fierce battle broke out!
On the Human Race side, Divisions were used as a unit, gathering large fleets of Warships that shuttled through the void as one, bombarding huge swaths of the No-Return Pass.
Lives fading away could be felt from all over the battlefield.
The Masters of both sides charged across the battlefield, killing each other with fierce determination.
Xiang Shan still went looking for Mo Yu to continue their unfinished battle.
Ou Yang Lie also clamoured for Mo Na Ye to come out and die, but he didn’t obtain any results.
This time, Mo Na Ye didn’t participate in the battle at all, instead just standing at the centre of the No-Return Pass, observing the entirety of the battlefield. The Black Ink Clan still had a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but in such a grand battlefield, having one more Royal Lord wouldn’t change anything, so it didn’t matter if he actively fought or not.
By the looks of it, the Black Ink Clan was at a disadvantage because they had suffered more casualties than the Human Race, but it wasn’t a big problem. With the current strength of the Black Ink Clan, they still had the ability to defend themselves.
Mo Na Ye also believed that the Human Race didn’t have any intention of taking down the No-Return Pass in this battle. Their strategic intentions were clear at a glance; they would continue to grind down the Black Ink Clan’s forces until they were confident they could wipe them out.
However, Mo Na Ye still felt a little uneasy.
He knew where this uneasiness came from…
Yang Kai!
The battle at the No-Return Pass had already started, so Yang Kai in the Barren Territory would certainly not be willing to be left out. Although Mo Na Ye had arranged for Di Ya Luo and a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords to restrain Yang Kai, no one could say for sure how effective they would be.
Once Di Ya Luo and the others were unable to stop Yang Kai from entering the battlefield, the overall strength of the many Pseudo-Royal Lords would instantly drop by at least 30% because each of them would have to reserve that much strength and focus to guard against Yang Kai’s sneak attacks.
Under such dire circumstances, that would be a huge blow to the Black Ink Clan.
As such, Mo Na Ye was prepared to personally stop Yang Kai, which was one of the reasons why he had not participated in the battle.
While the flames of war had enveloped the entire No-Return Pass, Yang Kai was also palming his fists in the Barren Territory.
Through the Barren Territory’s Territory Gate, Yang Kai could vaguely see the various strategies employed by the Human Race and knew that this was definitely Mi Jing Lun’s handiwork.
Because even he came to the same conclusion as Mo Na Ye when he saw just a single Universe World shooting towards the No-Return Pass, that it wasn’t just a single Universe World, but a line of them aiming to break through the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line.
But who could have ever known that the Universe Worlds’ surprise attack from the centre was just a decoy and the real killing blow was hidden behind the two Armies.
This method of deception was truly masterful.
War, in the eyes of some people, was nothing more than a barbaric slaughter, but in the eyes of others, it was an intricate form of art.
Yang Kai sighed with relief in his heart. The Human Race had Mi Jing Lun, allowing them to reduce the number of losses they suffered in many previous battles.
Thinking so, Yang Kai stepped towards the Territory Gate. It was time for him to act!
A dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords with Di Ya Luo in the lead stood near the No-Return Pass’ Territory Gate leading to the Barren Territory.
When they saw Yang Kai’s blurry figure through the Territory Gate, they knew that this guy was not willing to be left out and was about to come through, looking for trouble.
This was already within their expectations. The next moment, all the Masters from the Black Ink Clan started gathering their strength, preparing to attack!
A ripple appeared in the Territory Gate as a head suddenly emerged from the opposite side, revealing the face much hated by all the Black Ink Clansmen.
“Attack!” Di Ya Luo shouted before taking the lead and launching Secret Techniques towards the Territory Gate the next moment, the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords following suit right after.
Yang Kai had obviously anticipated this scene, so he simply stretched out his head before immediately withdrawing it.
If it was someone else, they really wouldn’t be able to do such a thing. An ordinary cultivator, even if they were a Ninth-Order Master, the moment he or she stepped into a Territory Gate, would immediately pass through it and arrive on the opposite side.
Only those who were proficient in the Dao of Space could voluntarily interrupt this process, allowing them to advance or retreat at will.
As such, when the group of Masters from the Black Ink Clan had their attacks reach the Territory Gate, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen. One after another, the attacks fell into the Territory Gate and travelled to the Barren Territory. However, the attacks had become weak after moving through the folded Space of the Territory Gate and Yang Kai was easily able to block them with a wave of his hand.
Immediately after, he stuck his head out of the Territory Gate and smiled at the nearby Di Ya Luo, “So fierce!”
The response he received was the same as before, more merciless attacks. Naturally, Yang Kai just quickly withdrew.
Hence, such scenes repeated seven or eight times in a row in the next 10 breaths, making Di Ya Luo and the others feel both ridiculous and helpless, enraging them.
The veins on Di Ya Luo’s forehead were about to burst. Although he knew that the chances of failure were high when he accepted the mission to prevent Yang Kai from stepping into the No-Return Pass, as long as Yang Kai could withstand one round of attacks, it would not be that hard for him to force his way out of the Territory Gate with his strength, and the Black Ink Clan would not be able to stop him.
Worse, Yang Kai had the qualifications to do so. He was a Divine Dragon with thick skin and strong flesh, so an attack that was strong enough to severely injure or even kill an ordinary Ninth-Order Master would basically be unable to mortally wound him. At most, he would suffer some minor injuries.
As long as Yang Kai broke into the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to restrain him with their current means and strength.
Di Ya Luo had to at least inflict enough injuries on Yang Kai before he could break into the No-Return Pass! If he could do that, he would barely be able to give an explanation to Mo Na Ye.
As the defending party, it should not have been difficult to accomplish this; however, he never imagined that Yang Kai could actually come up with such a shameless plan…
Every time he revealed his head, the Masters from the Black Ink Clan would attack him with all their might, because if they didn’t do so, no one could guarantee that he wouldn’t really leap out of the Territory Gate.
Unfortunately, once they attacked, Yang Kai would just retreat to the Barren Territory and easily neutralize their attacks.
Di Ya Luo was disgusted by Yang Kai’s tactics. The Black Ink Clan should have been the ones with the initiative in this kind of confrontation, but after Yang Kai started doing this, the Black Ink Clan had basically turned into his puppets. If Yang Kai wanted them to attack, they would attack, if he wanted them to stop, they would stop…
[Damn it! Even so, I can’t stop him!] Di Ya Luo lamented in his heart.
Although he and the other Pseudo-Royal Lords could use this method to temporarily block Yang Kai, they couldn’t use it indefinitely as they were exhausting their energy every time they launched an attack. In fact, they had used up a great deal of their strength in just a few rounds of attacks. Although it was a brief confrontation, it felt as if they had been engaging other Human Race Masters for several days; they were both physically and mentally exhausted.
Facing the killing star, Yang Kai, if they didn’t have enough strength to protect themselves, they might be caught off guard once he saw an opening.
With this thought in mind, Di Ya Luo raised his hand slightly and made a gesture, whereupon the dozen or so Pseudo-Royal Lords immediately moved towards him.
Soon, Yang Kai’s head emerged from the Territory Gate again. There was no attack this time, so he wasn’t in a hurry to withdraw and gazed at the nearby Di Ya Luo, grinning, “Not attacking again?”
Di Ya Luo remained silent, staring dead straight at Yang Kai and secretly circulating his strength.
“Since you’re not planning on attacking, I’m coming, okay?” Yang Kai said as he took a step out of the Territory Gate.
“I’m really coming over!” Yang Kai stated again with a teasing look on his face, as if he was playing some kind of interesting game.
Di Ya Luo still didn’t take any action while the Pseudo-Royal Lords too remained silent.
“Good,” Yang Kai didn’t waste any more time and walked out of the Territory Gate before taking a long, deep breath. Clearly, he was in the void and there was nothing he could smell, but he still wore an intoxicated look on his face, as if he had arrived at a wonderful place that he could only dream about.
“Attack!” Di Ya Luo really couldn’t bear it any longer. Knowing that it was the best chance to strike, he took the lead and charged straight towards Yang Kai with the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords in tow.
The next moment, powerful Secret Techniques rained down on Yang Kai one after another, instantly engulfing his figure and tearing it to shreds.
Be that as it may, no joy could be found on Di Ya Luo’s face, because he could tell at a glance that it was just an afterimage. His powerful Divine Sense swept out like a tide as he kept emitting his aura, locking onto Yang Kai’s erratic movements. While at it, he also led the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords to chase after their target.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords’ auras had also locked onto Yang Kai’s figure and were constantly shelling the nearby space in order to prevent him from suddenly using his Space Secret Techniques to escape.
Everything that was happening here did not escape from Mo Na Ye’s eyes, but after observing for a while and confirming that Di Ya Luo had Yang Kai pinned down, he finally relaxed a little. In truth, he had no choice but to let Di Ya Luo be in charge of dealing with Yang Kai. If possible, he would rather personally deal with Yang Kai, but the Black Ink Clan Army needed someone to coordinate it, so it was really out of his hands.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Mo Na Ye would not make a move, as it would just make him waste his strength.
Although he had been a little worried about this matter, by the looks of it, Di Ya Luo was doing a pretty good job. Although there was nothing they could do to stop Yang Kai from stepping into the No-Return Pass, a momentary hiccup was nothing. As long as they could successfully restrain Yang Kai, tasking Di Ya Luo with this would be meaningful.
After the last battle, Mo Na Ye had a rough estimate of Yang Kai’s true strength. He knew that a newly promoted Royal Lord like Di Ya Luo was definitely not his opponent, but with a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords supporting him, it was impossible for Yang Kai to escape from their blockade. In fact, if Yang Kai wasn’t careful enough, he might even get seriously injured.
After watching for a while longer, Yang Kai’s situation became more and more difficult. He was unable to use his Instantaneous Movement, and as the No-Return Pass was Black Ink Clan’s home ground, he didn’t just need to deal with Di Ya Luo and the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords.
There were also many other Pseudo-Royal Lords stationed near the High-Rank Black Ink Nests, charged with blocking the fallout from the battle to protect the Black Ink Nests. Although they wouldn’t participate in the pursuit, if Yang Kai passed by them, these Pseudo-Royal Lords wouldn’t mind attacking him once or twice. Yang Kai, who was getting attacked from every direction, had no choice but to flee like a rat.
He was in such a tight spot that he had already summoned his Space-Time River and had it circling around him like a Dragon. Many of the attacks landed on the river, causing it to rock and tremble.
When this scene entered Di Ya Luo’s eyes, he was a little bewildered.
Logically speaking, Yang Kai shouldn’t be so weak. He was even mentally prepared for a bitter battle, but after Yang Kai was surrounded by so many Masters, all Yang Kai could do was take the beating; he rarely had the strength to fight back.
[Have his injuries not yet healed?]
Considering the severe wounds Yang Kai had suffered at the last moment in the battle two years ago, it was understandable if his injuries hadn’t healed.
In fact, Yang Kai’s poor performance was not because of his injuries. After two years of recuperation, whether it was the damage to his physical body or the instability in his Dao Strengths, he had already completely recovered.
There were multiple reasons why this was happening. First, Yang Kai needed to conceal his true strength. Second, the number of Small Stone Race Soldiers he had taken into his Small Universe in the Chaotic Dead Territory was simply too great, with them numbering more than 100 million. Even with his Small Universe’s foundation, this many Small Stone Race Soldiers had become a burden.
In other words, he was dealing with all these Masters while carrying this burden. This made it hard for him to smoothly circulate his World Force, which prevented him from displaying his full strength.
Lastly, he was also making some arrangements, diverting some of his attention to deliver a great gift to the Black Ink Clan!
And at this moment, his preparations were almost complete.
The next moment, Di Ya Luo was shocked, because Yang Kai, who had been fleeing all this time, suddenly switched his strategy. The Space-Time River that had been hovering around him suddenly swept out and covered a vast area of the void.
Everyone within the range of the Space-Time River, including Yang Kai, Di Ya Luo, and the dozen or so Pseudo-Royal Lords, became isolated.
At the same time, Yang Kai changed directions and charged straight towards the Black Ink Clan Masters.
“Be careful!” A Pseudo-Royal Lord shouted.
As the distance between them rapidly shortened, Yang Kai stretched out his hands towards the Black Ink Clan Masters instead of taking out his Azure Dragon Spear. The next moment, the Marks on the back of his hands started glowing.
Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Di Ya Luo’s heart, faintly feeling that something extremely bad was about to happen. Although he had no idea what to expect, Yang Kai’s abnormal actions were definitely part of some sinister plot.
Without wasting any more time mulling over it, he simply shouted, “Attack!”
He immediately charged at Yang Kai, leading the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords in a brutal, all-out assault.
“You bastards have had your fun attacking me for so long; now, it’s my turn!” Yang Kai roared as suddenly, the Space-Time River which had enveloped a vast stretch of void suddenly disappeared without a trace.
The next moment, a shocking scene appeared in front of all the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass. After the Space-Time River disappeared, an enormous number of Stone Man-like creatures appeared where the waters had originally been!
The Small Stone Race were all born with sharp and distinct edges. They appeared simple and stupid, as if they could not harm even a fly. Nonetheless, the moment they appeared, all the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass who saw this felt their scalps go numb.
After fighting the Human Race for so many years, how could the Black Ink Clan not recognize these strange creatures? The Human Race had used these creatures to fight against the Black Ink Clan on many battlefields, and had often achieved good results.
When these strange creatures appeared, one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords immediately shouted, “Small Stone Race!”
His voice was trembling because he had never seen so many Small Stone Race Soldiers in one place.
The size of the Space-Time River was extremely large, and using its cover, Yang Kai had summoned 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers.
Although Yang Kai had actually summoned an even larger number of Small Stone Race in the past, the strength of this Small Stone Race group was far beyond any he had ever brought out before.
During his journey to the Chaotic Dead Territory, Yang Kai had carefully selected each Small Stone Race Soldier, with even the weakest of them being equivalent to a Third-Order Master.
When 2 million such Small Stone Race Soldiers suddenly appeared, the momentum they released was so great that even a Royal Lord like Di Ya Luo was horrified.
Worse yet, with the two glows on the back of Yang Kai’s hands, Di Ya Luo immediately understood what was about to happen. His pupils instantly shrank as he screamed, “Retreat!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he was the first to break through the encirclement and flee.
However, how could he get away?
The two million Small Stone Race Soldiers were deployed evenly by the Space-Time River, tightly blockading this part of the void. Furthermore, Yang Kai went a step further and froze the local space using his Space Principles.
In a flash, every Black Ink Clan powerhouse felt a great resistance around them, hindering their movements. Of course, this kind of resistance was not enough to immobilize them for long. If they had just three breaths of time, they would be able to escape from the Small Stone Race Army’s encirclement.
However, while three breaths was normally just a blink of the eye to such Masters, in this instance, three breaths was an eternity which separated life and death, making it impossible to cross.
“Light will eventually expel darkness!” Yang Kai declared in a low voice, clenching his fists. As he did so, intense yellow and blue glows suddenly emerged from the bodies of the 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers, filling the void in the blink of an eye.
The yellow and blue lights converged and fused together, blooming into a dazzling white light. The pure white glow was not eye-catching at first, but in an instant, it started rapidly expanding like a Great Sun which had exploded.
Time seemed to freeze inside the No-Return Pass, but a moment later, shrill cries broke the despairing silence.
Shrouded in the white light, every Black Ink Clansman, whether it was Di Ya Luo, the Pseudo-Royal Lords, or even the lowly Black Ink Serfs, were howling in pain. Even the distant Black Ink Clansmen who were bathed in this white light were shrieking in horror.
Purifying Light had always been the greatest nemesis of Black Ink Strength, and the Black Ink Clan’s power was basically entirely derived from Black Ink Strength. When the Black Ink Clansmen were exposed to the Purifying Light, the pain they felt was no different from an ordinary Humans thrown into a boiling pot of oil. This kind of torture was simply unbearable.
While the pure white light was blooming, Yang Kai didn’t remain idle. His figure shuttled through the battlefield like he was walking in his backyard, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, and each time he flickered, a powerful aura would disappear.
After 10 breaths, the pure white light finally faded away.
At this moment, the originally chaotic battlefield had been cleared away. In the void, Yang Kai stood alone, holding a hideous head in his hand. The cut on the head was uneven. It didn’t appear to have been made by a sharp weapon, but rather looked like it had been torn apart with his bare hands. Jet-black blood was still gushing out from the neck.
More importantly, the head was very much alive. It was grimacing in pain and a trace of confusion could be seen in its eyes, as if it was still a little dazed about its current state. Regardless, this trace of life was destined to disappear soon.
On the battlefield, several other mutilated corpses were lifelessly floating about, all of them belonging to powerful Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The surviving Pseudo-Royal Lords looked completely terrified, their eyes filled with horror. The reason they were able to survive was not because they were stronger than their dead comrades, but because they were luckier. Yang Kai simply didn’t have time to kill them.
Originally, the entire No-Return Pass was filled with a massive amount of Black Ink Strength, giving the impression as if it was shrouded in one enormous Black Ink Cloud.
But at this moment, in this environment in which every nook and corner was filled with Black Ink Strength, there was now a spherical zone where the Black Ink Strength was completely purified.
On this battlefield, although Yang Kai was alone, he was like an Army of thousands, putting enormous pressure on the entire Black Ink Clan.
Standing right across him was Di Ya Luo, his face filled with fear. Mo Na Ye, who was supposed to be commanding the Black Ink Clan Army, was also standing beside him, staring at Yang Kai with a solemn expression.
“Are you alright?” While Mo Na Ye was asking this, his eyes remained completely fixed on Yang Kai.
As soon as Yang Kai activated the Great Sun and Moon Marks on the backs of his hands, Mo Na Ye realized what was about to happen and immediately rushed over to help. Fortunately, he had reacted fast enough; otherwise, it would not have ended well for Di Ya Luo.
After the Purifying Light burst, Yang Kai casually took the lives of several Pseudo-Royal Lords before directly attacking Di Ya Luo.
Originally, he had planned to use this opportunity to eliminate a Royal Lord. Under the cover of the Purifying Light, Yang Kai was confident that he could accomplish it without anyone’s notice; however, Mo Na Ye had come to interfere at the critical moment.
This forced Yang Kai to fall back for the time being.
It was still understandable to kill Di Ya Luo by borrowing the intense Purifying Light, but if he were to eliminate even Mo Na Ye, who had come to rescue the former, it would surely raise flags, which would cause the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods to become vigilant.
As such, he could only kill two more Pseudo-Royal Lords to vent his anger.
Nonetheless, the current situation was still acceptable. Di Ya Luo had been enveloped by the Purifying Light, which had affected his strength. Furthermore, he was a newly promoted Royal Lord, so his foundation was probably unstable now. Unless the Black Ink Clan used some kind of sacrificial Secret Technique to restore his strength, he wouldn’t be much more useful than a Pseudo-Royal Lord on the battlefield in the future.
Half of the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords who had besieged Yang Kai had died, while the remaining half had their foundations severely damaged, causing their strength to plummet.
Trading 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers for the life of half a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords was an acceptable price.
After staring at Mo Na Ye for a moment, Yang Kai coldly snorted before tossing the severed head away and taking a step forward, heading towards the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai’s speed wasn’t fast, but Mo Na Ye didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping him. He did not even issue an order to stop him.
He couldn’t determine how many Small Stone Race Soldiers Yang Kai had left, and until he had did, it would be unwise to continue provoking him.
But the main reason was that the Black Ink Clan no longer had the ability to restrain Yang Kai. Originally, they could still rely on Di Ya Luo, but now that the latter was injured, confronting Yang Kai would be tantamount to suicide.
From the start, Mo Na Ye didn’t want to have any kind of confrontation with Yang Kai; so, since he wanted to leave, all he could do was let him go.
Thus, while the two Armies were engaged in a fierce battle, Yang Kai leisurely made his way from the back of the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line to the battlefield without any hindrance.
Immediately after, a scene appeared that sent all the Black Ink Clan Soldiers into despair.
A portal to Yang Kai’s Small Universe suddenly opened up as an endless Small Stone Race Army rushed out.
This time, Yang Kai didn’t use the Great Sun and Moon Marks to control their movements at all.
Under the stimulation of Black Ink Strength, the Small Stone Race Soldiers immediately charged towards the Black Ink Clan Army the moment they came out of Yang Kai’s Small Universe, without any fear of death.
Attacked by the Small Stone Race Army, the Black Ink Clan’s defence line, which was originally quite sturdy, immediately saw countless casualties.
Not long after, Yang Kai strolled along the defensive line, which resulted in Small Stone Race Armies appearing on every front.
They didn’t cooperate with the Human Race, each and every Small Stone Race Soldier simply acting like a killing tool without any sentience, attacking anyone or anything with Black Ink Strength.
Inside the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye watched the entire debacle from a distance, gloom and despair gripping his heart.
Under the current circumstances, it was just a matter of time until the Human Race conquered the No-Return Pass. Only death and destruction was waiting for the Black Ink Clansmen here.
Be that as it may, Mo Na Ye had never been one to sit back and just wait for death. Even if he couldn’t defend the No-Return Pass, he had to try his best to weaken the Human Race Army so that they wouldn’t have the strength to continue their crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Mo Na Ye originally had some confidence that he could achieve this goal, but after witnessing such a huge Small Stone Race Army appear on the battlefield, this confidence was completely shattered.
These Small Stone Race Soldiers basically blanketed the entire battlefield, and they could not be stopped. Their population size was several times greater than the Humans, so using them as cover, the Humans would definitely suffer fewer casualties.
Under these circumstances, it would be extremely hard for the Black Ink Clan to destroy or even critically damage the Human Race Army.
Mo Na Ye couldn’t figure out where Yang Kai had obtained so many Small Stone Race Soldiers!
In fact, Mo Na Ye had done some research on these strange beings known as the Small Stone Race; so, he knew about their characteristics. The only thing he didn’t understand was their origins. From some Black Ink Disciples, he came to learn that the Small Stone Race was a special race brought out by Yang Kai.
But where did Yang Kai get them from? Everything in the Universe had a source.
After suffering countless casualties over the thousands of years of war, the Small Stone Race had gradually faded from the Black Ink Clan’s sight; so, Mo Na Ye had never expected Yang Kai to bring so many Small Stone Race Soldiers to the battlefield before today, catching them off guard.
[It’s Yang Kai again! Every single turning point in the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan is connected to him!]
Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but feel a little regretful. Had he known that Yang Kai had such a card up his sleeve, he would have insisted on keeping him here even if he had to sacrifice more Pseudo-Royal Lords.
But when he gave it another thought, Mo Na Ye realized that nothing was going to change even if he somehow pinned Yang Kai down here. Sacrificing 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers, Yang Kai had managed to kill a few Pseudo-Royal Lords and injure Di Ya Luo. Even if they managed to pin him down, the Black Ink Clan would have to mentally prepare themselves for even heavier losses.
What Mo Na Ye couldn’t figure out was why Yang Kai didn’t use this method in the battle two years ago and instead chose to use it today. It was simply unreasonable. It would be even more unreasonable to say that Yang Kai had used some kind of method unknown to the Black Ink Clan in the past two years to produce so many Small Stone Race members.
Although he really wanted to find out the reason, Mo Na Ye didn’t have the time to do so.
As over 100 million Small Stone Race Soldiers joined the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan’s originally stable line of defence began to collapse. A large number of the Black Ink Clan Soldiers fighting at the forefront fell, affecting the lives of even the Masters behind them.
Mo Na Ye could only focus on the battle in front of him, issuing a stream of orders one after another, trying to kill as many enemies as possible while resisting the attacks of the Human Race and Small Stone Race.
At the same time, he also didn’t forget to pay attention to Yang Kai’s movements. After Yang Kai had made his way to the battlefield, his presence had restrained all the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been fighting outside.
The Human Race’s tactic to deal with these Pseudo-Royal Lords was basically to confront them using Battle Formations formed by Eighth-Order Masters. Although the Human Race had many Eighth-Order Masters, the Black Ink Clan had many Pseudo-Royal Lords. Moreover, when three Pseudo-Royal Lords assumed a simple Three Fortunes Formation, they were easily able to restrain the several Battle Formations formed by five Eighth-Order Masters.
Although the Human Race could still use more Eighth-Order Masters, using any more of them would just make it even harder for them to effectively coordinate with each other. It would defeat the purpose and put them in jeopardy.
As such, most of the battles between the top combatants of the two Races were evenly matched. Only a small number of Pseudo-Royal Lords could disrupt the balance, while it took far more Eighth-Order Masters to compensate.
However, when Yang Kai disappeared after rushing out of the No-Return Pass and releasing a massive number of Small Stone Race Soldiers, the situation abruptly changed.
All the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had stepped on the battlefield immediately fell into a disadvantageous position as they were now highly distracted, stretching their Divine Senses to the limit to monitor their surroundings, guarding against any sneak attacks.
It wasn’t until a Pseudo-Royal Lord saw Yang Kai’s figure appear at Pure Yang Pass that they all collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Kai hadn’t launched a sneak attack and had instead gone to Pure Yang Pass, which was undoubtedly good news for the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield.
Be that as it may, they couldn’t figure out why Yang Kai had gone to Pure Yang Pass at this time.
Just like the last battle, Pure Yang Pass, the only Great Pass occupied by the Human Race, was located away from the battlefield, acting as a coordination centre to control the overall situation.
Mi Jing Lun was standing on the city wall with a feather fan in his hand, like a weak scholar, quietly observing the battlefield and issuing precise orders.
In a flash, Yang Kai appeared beside him.
Mi Jing Lun shot a glance at him and asked, “Did you go to the Chaotic Dead Territory?”
The Small Stone Race in the hands of the Humans had almost been completely exhausted after all these years of war. Since Yang Kai could suddenly summon an army of 100 million Small Stone Race Soldiers to participate in the siege of the No-Return Pass, it was obvious that he had been to Chaotic Dead Territory.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Isn’t this too wasteful?” Mi Jing Lun asked, feeling a bit distressed.
Since Yang Kai bestowed a large number of Small Stone Race members to the various Armies of the Human Race, these strange creatures had made great contributions in many battles. In many small-scale battles, the Human Race had been able to win with their smaller numbers because of the Small Stone Race’s fearlessness.
Years of war had depleted the Small Stone Race, and deprived the Human Race of this huge support. Mi Jing Lun’s heart ached when he witnessed Yang Kai throw so many of the Small Stone Race members into the battlefield in one go.
It had to be known that all these Small Stone Race Soldiers that were deployed on the battlefield could never be recovered, because they would fight until their bodies were crushed to pieces.
Only when a Humans used a beast-taming technique or an artifact refining technique to refine them would they be able to command these creatures with low intelligence.
If the Human Race was like a huge family, then Yang Kai would definitely be the prodigal black sheep. His extravagance made Mi Jing Lun, who was in charge of the daily budget, feel a great deal of pain.
Yang Kai grinned at him, “Don’t worry, I’ve collected a lot this time.”
“A lot?” Mi Jing Lun raised his brow.
“A lot!” Yang Kai repeatedly nodded. Even if he had released 100 million Small Stone Race Soldiers, he still had about three times as many left in his Small Universe.
Mi Jing Lun was relieved after hearing this.
“Senior Brother, please open a portal to your Small Universe,” Yang Kai requested.
Mi Jing Lun naturally knew what he wanted to do and immediately opened the portal. The next moment, Yang Kai also opened a portal to his Small Universe. The two portals quickly overlapped, as if they were about to merge into one.
Soon after, an enormous number of Small Stone Race Soldiers were transferred into Mi Jing Lun’s Small Universe.
Slowly, Mi Jing Lun’s expression changed.
Although he had some inkling from Yang Kai’s answer that he had indeed brought back a lot of Small Stone Race members, he had never expected this number to be so exaggerated.
A moment later, Mi Jing Lun raised his hand and stated, “Enough. I can’t take it anymore.”
After all, his Small Universe’s foundation was not as strong as Yang Kai’s. He had almost reached its limit after accepting 100 million or so Small Stone Race Soldiers. At this moment, the circulation of his World Force was strained so much that if he were to fight the Black Ink Clan in this state, even a Territory Lord could take his life.
“How many more?” Mi Jing Lun asked.
“About twice as many as I gave you.”
Mi Jing Lun was rendered speechless, wondering if Yang Kai had completely raided the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s treasury this time. Otherwise, how could he have obtained so many Small Stone Race members?
Helpless, he could only send out a command, “Call Ou Yang Lie and Wei Jun Yang back.”
A messenger immediately sent out the message.
Somewhere on the battlefield, Ou Yang Lie happened to be facing three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a Three Fortunes Formation. He was fighting to his heart’s content, but after receiving the message, he was shocked and quickly withdrew from the battle, rushing towards Pure Yang Pass. Although the Pseudo-Royal Lords wanted to stop him, how could they? They might gain an upper hand while fighting Ou Yang Lie together, but if the latter wanted to escape, they were completely powerless to stop him.
Somewhere else on the battlefield, Wei Jun Yang did the same.
The two had no idea what had happened, but since Mi Jing Lun had called them back during such a battle, it was obviously no small matter.
The two arrived at Pure Yang Pass one after the other. When Mi Jing Lun briefly explained everything, they finally understood why they were recalled.
The Small Stone Race Soldiers couldn’t just be let out in the open. The only option they had was to temporarily suppress them inside a Ninth-Order Master’s Small Universe. After this battle was over, they would then be refined and used by the Human Race’s soldiers.
Ou Yang Lie and Wei Jun Yang didn’t delay things any further. Just like Mi Jing Lun, each opened a portal to their Small Universes before Yang Kai transferred the Small Stone Race to them.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Yang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking refreshed. His Small Universe had been under pressure ever since he left the Chaotic Dead Territory, which finally disappeared until now.
Of course, he had also kept a few Small Stone Race Masters for his own use, but he could easily afford to keep them without affecting himself.
On the other hand, Mi Jing Lun and the other two looked strained, as if they had eaten too much. Even their auras were unstably fluctuating.
Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but complain, “Please inform me in advance next time something like this happens.”
He was halfway through his fight with the Pseudo-Royal Lords and was unhappy to be recalled just for something like this. Worse, after this, he could not participate in the following battle.
Yang Kai grinned, “Just bear with it.”
While they were speaking, a figure flew out from the depths of Pure Yang Pass and landed in front of everyone, handing a large number of Space Rings to Mi Jing Lun, “Supreme Commander Mi, all the supplies are in here.”
Mi Jing Lun gestured casually to Yang Kai, “Give them to him.”
The man then handed the Space Rings to Yang Kai, who took them and swept them with his Divine Sense before nodding his acknowledgement, “Quite efficient.”
The Human Race’s supplies had almost been depleted after the last battle, so obviously, these resources had been mined over the past two years.
The Humans had scattered nearly 3 million soldiers throughout the Black Ink Battlefield to mine resources, and with the Universe Temples as transfer points, their efficiency was naturally quite high.
Of course, using the Universe World assault tactic in this battle had also consumed a lot of resources; otherwise, there would have been more.
There were two reasons Yang Kai came to Mi Jing Lun from the No-Return Pass. Firstly, he wanted to hand over the Small Stone Race Army, and secondly, he wanted to ask Mi Jing Lun for some supplies, as well as hand over the Yellow and Blue Crystals he had looted from the Chaotic Dead Territory.
After silently calculating for a moment, Yang Kai stated, “The next battle should still be fought after two years, yes?”
The supplies in his hands were enough for him to last two years. If the Human Race launched a war after his supplies had depleted, he would be able to ask for them once again. This way, his cultivation would not be delayed and he could quickly reach the peak of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
In the next war, the Human Race would have the assistance of a large number of Small Stone Race Soldiers, so the situation would definitely be different.
“Indeed!” Mi Jing Lun nodded his agreement. The Human Race would also need some time to recuperate after such a large battle. On top of that, mining supplies would also require time. An interval of two years was the absolute minimum.
“How are the Void Guard doing?” Yang Kai asked again.
According to the previous arrangements, the Void Guard led by Li Wu Yi would be setting up Space Arrays leading to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in advance in preparation for the future crusade. They were ordered to send a report every time they set up a new Space Array, so that the Supreme Headquarters had a good grasp of their situation.
The void was a dangerous place, especially the vast Late Ancient Era Battlefield, which was fraught with many unknown dangers. So, it was necessary to send reports back in a timely manner.
“Everything is going smoothly,” Mi Jing Lun replied, “They have already laid out eight Space Arrays.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement. It had only been two years since Li Wu Yi and the others had set out while the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was extremely far from here. Even if they went all out, it would take Li Wu Yi and the others several years to reach the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. On top of that, they also had to stop and arrange Space Arrays while circumventing unknown dangers along the way. It would take them a while to complete this task.
Yang Kai reckoned that they had only covered about 30% of the total distance at most.
“I’ll go and fight, everyone take care!” Yang Kai didn’t say anything else. He simply cupped his fists towards Mi Jing Lun and the others before taking a step forward and disappearing from their sight.
On the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan’s situation became even more dire as the Small Stone Race Army continued their assault, tearing apart many of their defensive lines. Meanwhile, the Human Race Army took advantage of this opportunity to hit the Black Ink Clan, forcing them to retreat.
On the top combatants’ battlefield, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were still holding their ground; however, when Yang Kai used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to suddenly appear behind one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords, and pulled him and two other Pseudo-Royal Lords who were in Battle Formation with him into the Space-Time River, the rest of the Pseudo-Royal Lords lost their will to fight.
Mo Na Ye timely adjusted his strategy, issuing one order after another. The Pseudo-Royal Lords and the Black Ink Clan Army began to shrink their lines once again, concentrating their forces to resist the combined assault of the Small Stone Race and the Human Race Armies.
Putting aside how effective this strategy was, at the very least it shrank the battlefield, which would definitely restrict the movements of the Human Race Army further.
Fortunately, the Human Race had no way of effectively coordinating with the Small Stone Race Army. Before this, the Human Race just had to follow behind, filling the gaps that were created; however, once the Black Ink Clan’s perimeter shrank, if the Human Race Army were to advance recklessly, it was highly likely they would be disrupted by the Small Stone Race Army.
This instantly exposed the disadvantages of the Small Stone Race who acted completely on instinct, but this was within the Human Race’s calculations. Compared to the benefits brought by the Small Stone Race Army, the disadvantages could be endured.
While the Small Stone Race Army had achieved brilliant results, their casualties were also quite horrifying.
They had no intelligence and acted purely on instinct; furthermore, as they were born by absorbing Yin and Yang Energies, they had a very keen perception of the Black Ink Strength. Yang Kai had already discovered this characteristic when he acquired the first batch of the Small Stone Race Soldiers from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
On the battlefield, as long as the Small Stone Race sensed the existence of Black Ink Strength, they would immediately swarm towards it like cats smelling the scent of a fish and fight to death.
Advancing like this would inevitably result in a large number of casualties among the Small Stone Race.
By the time Yang Kai made his way to Pure Yang Pass from the No-Return Pass, the Small Stone Race Army had lost about 10% of their forces. By the time Yang Kai returned to the battlefield, that number had grown to 30%.
If this continued, the 100 million Small Stone Race Soldiers wouldn’t last for more than half a day.
Had these Small Stone Race members been refined and controlled by the Humans, this kind of situation would have never occurred. Unfortunately, Yang Kai had brought too many of them from the Chaotic Dead Territory this time, so many that even if each person was given 10, they wouldn’t be able to use all of them up. Rather than leaving many Small Stone Race Soldiers idle, it was better to deploy a massive batch to the battlefield to catch the Black Ink Clan off guard.
Although the Small Stone Race Army suffered heavy casualties, the results they produced were excellent. The Black Ink Clan would have never imagined that such a variable would appear in the second attack of the Human Race on the No-Return Pass. Caught unprepared, all of their previous arrangements and contingencies had failed to achieve the desired effect.
Without any strategy, the Small Stone Race Army that only knew how to charge forward and kill the enemy couldn’t last long. Mi Jing Lun had naturally noticed this long ago, so when he felt that the time was right, he ordered his troops to retreat.
The Human Race Army withdrew in an orderly manner, and during this entire process, the Black Ink Clan could only helplessly watch. They were unable to give chase like last time because there were still many Small Stone Race Soldiers that had yet to be killed. If they didn’t kill all of them, there was no way they could leave the No-Return Pass.
As such, when the Human Race Army withdrew this time, they didn’t even need to cover their retreat.
While the Human Race Army was retreating from the battlefield, Yang Kai headed into the No-Return Pass. Under the watchful eyes of a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords, he casually strode into the Territory Gate and returned to the Barren Territory.
When Mo Na Ye witnessed this, his already unpleasant mood became much worse.
Previously, Yang Kai had summoned 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers and used them to condense a massive burst of Purifying Light, allowing him to kill several Pseudo-Royal Lords and even injure Di Ya Luo. Immediately after, Yang Kai released 100 million Small Stone Race Soldiers directly onto the battlefield. Now, no one could guarantee that he did not have more Small Stone Race Soldiers on him; or rather, he definitely had many more. Combined with his fearsome personal strength, who would dare stand in his way?
Even Mo Na Ye didn’t dare to face him head-on anymore. The fact that Yang Kai did not do much on his way back to the Barren Territory already made Mo Na Ye give thanks to the Supreme One.
It wasn’t until the Human Race Army had disappeared from their sight and Yang Kai had returned to the Barren Territory that the Black Ink Clan’s forces finally retaliated in anger, completely surrounding the Small Stone Race Army that only knew how to charge forward, then wiping them out. Of course, they still paid a price in order to achieve this.
At this point, the Human Race’s second attack on the No-Return Pass had come to an end. For the Black Ink Clan, the result of this battle was even worse than the previous one.
Last time, the Human Race had used the Universe World bombardment tactic to catch the Black Ink Clan off guard, causing them to suffer heavy losses.
Although the effects of the Universe World bombardment had been reduced during this second attack, the Small Stone Race Army brought by Yang Kai had become the hidden dagger that caused the Black Ink Clan to suffer even greater losses than before.
At the end of the last battle, the Black Ink Clan still managed to chase after the retreating Human Race Army, barely managing to save some face, but this time they were not even able to do that.
Shrouded in a rich Black Ink Strength, the No-Return Pass was filled with gloom as fear and despair ran rampant.
What made the Black Ink Clan feel even more desperate and worried was that the Human Race would surely commence a third and fourth attack soon. Judging by the results of the last two wars, sooner or later, the Black Ink Clan would definitely lose the No-Return Pass. At that time, the fate of the entire Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass would be doubtful.
Thousands of years ago, when the Black Ink Clan Army broke out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, conquered the No-Return Pass, assaulted the Barren Territory, and invaded the 3,000 Worlds with an unstoppable momentum. Every Black Ink Clansman was in high spirits back then. All of them felt that the 3,000 Worlds was as good as defeated and they were not far away from achieving the grand plan of unifying all beneath the Heavens.
Unfortunately, thousands of years later, the Black Ink Clan was now trapped in the No-Return Pass while all momentum was not on the Human Race’s side.
After the battle, many Pseudo-Royal Lords sought out Mo Na Ye, asking him what they should do in the future. Some of the Pseudo-Royal Lords also tried to persuade Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu to lead the surviving Black Ink Clansmen into the depths of the void; after all, it was not a good idea to just passively take a beating. If they were to retreat from the No-Return Pass and escape into the void, they might have a chance to survive.
Without exception, all the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had proposed this idea were harshly reprimanded by Mo Na Ye. After several examples were made, the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had doubts didn’t dare raise any objections.
In truth, they also knew that if they left the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan would be in an even worse situation, they were just desperate to do something, anything to survive.
…..
In the Barren Territory, the Space-Time River had evolved into a pure Temporal River with a 30-fold difference in the flow rate. Inside the river, Yang Kai was refining the various materials he had obtained from Mi Jing Lun at a terrifying speed, steadily strengthening his Small Universe’s foundation.
The final battle was approaching, so he didn’t have much time to cultivate. Naturally, he was eager to improve his strength.
On the other side, after the battle, the Human Soldiers were all recuperating and refining the Small Stone Race Soldiers that had been distributed to them at the temporary camp of the Human Race. The few Divine Spirits who controlled the Great Sun and Moon Marks had also been given tens of thousands of Small Stone Race Soldiers each because they were able to control them to a certain extent using the Great Sun and Moon Marks and didn’t need to spend any time or effort on refining them in advance.
It could even be said that each of these Divine Spirits would be able to form an Army on their own with these Small Stone Race Soldiers. In the next battle, they would definitely play an extraordinary role on the battlefield.
…..
At the same time, outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the huge Suppressing Black Ink Fortress sat in the void, facing the opening in the Grand Restriction.
During the Human Race’s first crusade, this opening had been made by Cang, who had been guarding this place for millions of years. He had opened this gap mainly to alleviate the increasing pressure inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction; however, Mo was also waiting for this opportunity to escape, and its subsequent plans caused the entire situation to nearly spiral out of control. In the end, Cang was forced to rely on the hidden card left behind by Mu which put Mo into a deep sleep, finally sealing the gap in the Grand Restriction with his remaining strength.
However, in that battle, the Human Race suffered a great loss due to their lack of intelligence on the inside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The Human Race were dealt heavy casualties under the pincer attack of two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, and had no choice but to retreat.
It was also after that battle that Cang, who had been guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction all alone for hundreds of thousands of years, had fallen.
It was difficult to imagine how this Martial Ancestor had spent hundreds of thousands of years in solitude. Perhaps, to him, death was a form of release.
But as a result, the descendants had to take on the burdens and expectations of their ancestors. Later, Yang Kai brought Wu Kuang to this place and had him assume control of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Yang Kai then arranged for the Suppressing Black Ink Army and Suppressing Black Ink Fortress to be stationed here. After making all the necessary preparations, Wu Kuang once again opened a gap in the Grand Restriction. As before, this was to relieve the pressure inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, because the Black Ink Clan and Black Ink Strength was constantly increasing. Wu Kuang was ultimately weaker than Cang, so he was unable to forcefully suppress it and could only use this method to relieve some of the burden.
Unfortunately, there was no way to completely close the opening this time. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was set up in an era long ago, and had been opened a few times now, which had ultimately caused some irreparable damage to it. It was further worsened by Wu Kuang’s lack of ability to control it.
Fortunately, the Suppressing Black Ink Army was stationed outside the opening. Ever since the Suppressing Black Ink Army arrived here, they had fought countless battles against the Black Ink Clansmen that rushed out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Although the situation had nearly spiralled out of control several times, Wu Kuang and the Suppressing Black Ink Army had worked together to resolve these crises.
As Wu Kuang’s cultivation increased day by day, so did his control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
In terms of cultivation speed, perhaps no one in this world could compare to Wu Kuang.
When Yang Kai sent him to this place, he had only been a Seventh-Order Master, but now, his cultivation may be higher than Yang Kai’s.
Thanks to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law complemented by the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, and the inexhaustible Black Ink Strength, Wu Kuang’s cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds ever since he had arrived here. His cultivation had quickly risen from the Seventh Order to the Ninth Order, and was still continuously rising.
Of course, the biggest benefit of the increase of his control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was that the Suppressing Black Ink Army had to face fewer battles.
The opening in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction could no longer be closed, but Wu Kuang was still able to shrink it somewhat. This way, the Black Ink Clan would face even greater restrictions if they tried to rush through the opening. Previously, there might have been some Royal Lords who could force their way out, but now that Wu Kuang’s strength had increased, and his control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had also become better, the Royal Lords could not force their way through anymore.
Without the support of Royal Lords, the rest of the Black Ink Clansmen rushing out of the opening were just easy targets before the mighty Suppressing Black Ink Army, no matter how many there were.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army did not have that many soldiers, only a few thousand, but their overall strength was pretty amazing. It could be said that they were the elite of the elites of the Human Race.
Back when Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun had chosen the soldiers for the Suppressing Black Ink Army, the minimum requirement was the Sixth Order. In other words, if one had not reached the Sixth Order, they would be unqualified to join the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
Furthermore, the Sixth Order wasn’t the limit of the Suppressing Black Ink Army soldiers, they still had room to grow. After so many years, most of the original Sixth-Order Masters of the Suppressing Black Ink Army had advanced to the Seventh-Order.
In the entire Suppressing Black Ink Army, there were only a few whose cultivation remained at the Sixth Order. Besides, some of these Sixth-Order soldiers had reached the peak of the Sixth-Order and could break through at any moment.
In other words, the current Suppressing Black Ink Army, with the exception of a few Sixth-Order Masters, were basically all High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
When the Suppressing Black Ink Army was first founded, there were only 400 Eighth-Order Masters, but now, there were nearly 1,000 of them! The extra ones were all those who had broken through their limits over the years. The Suppressing Black Ink Army had no shortage of battles, so it was not that difficult for these proud sons and daughters of Heaven to break through their shackles and advance to the next Order amidst the bloody battles.
In addition, the Suppressing Black Ink Army also had over 100 powerful Divine Spirits.
To top it all off, Divine Dragon Fu Guang and Yang Xue, who had also broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the Universe Furnace World, were assuming command.
Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, and Xu Yi were also expected to break through their limits and advance to the Ninth Order soon!
The three of them were Yang Kai’s Legacy Disciples. Each of them had respectively inherited one of Yang Kai’s primary Grand Daos, so everyone had high hopes for them.
In terms of age and seniority, they weren’t much different from Shi Da Zhuang, who had already broken through to the Ninth Order. Perhaps the Third Disciple, Xu Yi’s period of cultivation was shorter as he had started cultivating a little late. Be that as it may, a little bit of delay in the long years of cultivation was not a big deal.
Shi Da Zhuang had already advanced to the Ninth Order, and Tang Tao amongst the rising stars had also achieved the same, so naturally, Zhao Ye Bai and the two others would soon be reaching the Ninth Order as well.
After thousands of years of accumulation, the Human Race would definitely be able to give birth to more Ninth-Order Masters in the near future.
With such a lineup, the Suppressing Black Ink Army could be said to be the most elite group among the Human Race’s forces. They might not have that many members, but they had ample capital to guard the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
However, since the battle 700 years ago, when the Universe Furnace appeared, there had been no movements from the other side of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
For the past 700 years, the Suppressing Black Ink Army soldiers had been doing nothing but cultivating in turns. Fortunately, when the Suppressing Black Ink Army first arrived here, they had brought a lot of supplies with them. Although most of their supplies had depleted over the years, they still had a bit left to use.
On the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, the silver-haired Fu Guang looked towards the opening in the darkness and sent a message via his Divine Sense, “Wu Kuang, how is the situation?”
It wasn’t that he had discovered anything unusual, it was just a routine inquiry done once a month. Judging by this, it was obvious that Fu Guang was an extremely cautious person.
As usual, Wu Kuang’s lazy voice echoed in Fu Guang’s mind, “Some small fish are spying on the opening, but they probably don’t dare to rush out.”
He had already closed the opening to its utmost limit, so if a Royal Lord tried to force his way through, there was a high chance he would die along the way. Even if he didn’t die, he would definitely be severely injured.
In light of this, no Royal Lord was stupid enough to attempt to force their way out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
And without a Royal Lord to keep Fu Guang in check, how could the Black Ink Clansmen inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction dare to challenge the Suppressing Black Ink Army? Although they had been sealed inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, they were not completely ignorant of the outside world. After having fought with the Suppressing Black Ink Army for so many years, they were well aware of their enemy’s strength.
“Stay alert!” Fu Guang exhorted as usual.
Wu Kuang replied, “I know, you all just… Huh?”
Halfway through his words, he suddenly let out a startled cry.
Fu Guang’s expression became serious as he shouted, “What’s wrong?”
However, he didn’t receive any response from Wu Kuang even after waiting for a while. This had never happened before. Fu Guang’s heart immediately jumped to his throat as a great sense of crisis suddenly enveloped him, prompting him to quickly check upon the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
The entire Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was like an enormous beast lying in the void, covering a truly vast area. It was basically impossible to see its end at one glance.
This dark area was completely imbued with Black Ink Strength. If it wasn’t for the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was very difficult to imagine just how far this endless darkness would have spread.
Fu Guang could not see any change to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but his sense of unease grew stronger and stronger.
He knew that something must have happened; otherwise, it was impossible for Wu Kuang to not give any response.
Without hesitation, he shouted, “Prepare for battle!”
The next moment, the entire Suppressing Black Ink Army, whether they were cultivating or on guard duty, began to move. Spirit Arrays lit up one after another and the soldiers took position before the artifacts. In just 10 breaths, the thousands of Suppressing Black Ink Army Soldiers were ready for battle.
A storm was brewing!
Yang Xue flashed over to Fu Guang’s side and asked with a solemn look on her face, “Senior, what happened?”
Fu Guang slowly shook his head in response, “I don’t know!”
Yang Xue’s expression only became even more solemn upon hearing that. Since even Fu Guang had no idea what was going on, it was clear that the situation was already beyond their control.
“Where is Senior Wu Kuang?” She asked again.
“He is not responding.”
Yang Xue knew that things weren’t looking good. Wu Kuang was in charge of overseeing the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but he was not responding. Could it be that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had stopped functioning? If so, it would be a disaster for the Human Race.
Just as she was thinking of heading to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to investigate, Wu Kuang’s voice came from the other side, sounding anxious and horrified.
“It’s awake! Be careful!”
These sentences instantly made Fu Guang and Yang Xue’s scalps go numb. They both knew what Wu Kuang was referring to.
Mo, a Supreme Master from the Primordial Era, was the Source of the Black Ink Clan. It was the darkness born alongside the Primordial Light. It was basically immortal and indestructible.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army had always been on guard against it.
In the past, Cang had forced Mo into a deep slumber at the last moment using the trump card left behind by Mu, but no one knew how long this method would last. The only thing they could foresee was that this method would become ineffective sooner or later. Once that day came, Mo would completely awaken.
A Supreme Master of the Primordial Era like Mo, who was likely to be in the Creation Realm, was not someone the mere Suppressing Black Ink Army could stop. Even if the Human Race gathered all its strength, they might not be able to stop it.
Once Mo woke up, no one could guarantee that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would continue to suppress it.
By the looks of it, Mo’s awakening had a great impact on the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction; otherwise, they would not have lost contact with Wu Kuang for a short time. He must have been struggling with Mo for control of the Grand Restriction.
In addition, the moment Wu Kuang issued the warning, the boundless darkness that had remained dormant in the void for 700 years suddenly started expanding, as if it had a life of its own.
It looked as if a black balloon was being fiercely inflated.
“Retreat!” Fu Guang shouted as horror filled his eyes.
At the same time, he and Yang Xue joined forces to power the Core of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, intending to drive this enormous artifact backwards.
Unfortunately, the darkness was expanding at a horrible rate, and was already at the border of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress before it could even start moving.
A mighty Dragon Pressure broke out from Fu Guang as he promptly activated a Dragon Clan Innate Divine Ability. Time Principles started wildly surging around him, turning into Dragon patterns that swam through the void as if they wanted to freeze time.
Yang Xue took action at the same time. She too cultivated the Dao of Time, so when she cooperated with Fu Guang, they complemented each other perfectly.
Be that as it may, it was to no avail. They could only manage to block the darkness from advancing for a moment before the entire Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was swallowed by it. Everyone in the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, including Fu Guang and Yang Xue, felt their vision go dark, and soon after lost their sense of direction.
Looking from a distance, the darkness was still expanding, very fast, but then, complex patterns appeared on the edges of the darkness, glimmering and expanding before quickly forming a seal.
Naturally, this was the power of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, a mechanism jointly set up by 10 Martial Ancestors of the Early Ancient Era. It was through this mechanism that they had been able to suppress Mo for countless years.
The pattern started to shrink back, but it was unable to completely suppress the surging darkness. Gradually, a stalemate was formed between them.
After an unknown period, the stalemate gradually stabilized, and so did the darkness that was seething like the ocean after a tsunami; it became completely calm.
In comparison, the area enveloped in the boundless darkness was undoubtedly bigger than before, but under the seal of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the boundless darkness was unable to expand further.
When everything was settled, Wu Kuang’s angry and distraught voice suddenly reverberated across the void, “You dare try to trick me! I’ll kill you sooner or later!”
From Wu Kuang’s perspective, he had indeed been tricked. He had been controlling the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction for so many years that, with his rise in cultivation, his control of the Grand Restriction also increased. Although he still wasn’t as strong as Cang’s, it was already pretty good.
He was also constantly monitoring Mo’s condition.
Up until today, he was certain that Mo was still asleep.
By the looks of it though, he had been tricked by Mo. Apparently, Mo’s condition had changed at some point, but it had been accumulating its strength. Today, it suddenly attacked, catching Wu Kuang off guard.
And at that point, he discovered Mo’s condition.
When he realized that he had been tricked, he thought that Mo had woken up, so he warned Fu Guang.
But all the current signs clearly indicated that Mo had not woken up, at least not completely.
If Mo was in a deep slumber in the past, then at this moment, it was in a half-awake state. Just now, when it tried to seize control of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction from Wu Kuang, it was only an instinctive reaction.
It was only an instinctive reaction while it was just half-awake, but it had nearly caused Wu Kuang to lose control of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. From this, it could be seen that if Mo really woke up, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would no longer be able to contain it.
Once the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was broken, the boundless darkness would start spreading without restraint. At that time, the vast Black Ink Battlefield would be flooded by the boundless darkness, perhaps even the 3,000 Worlds would be engulfed as well.
Although the boundless darkness was no longer showing any signs of abnormality after being sealed by the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, after today’s incident, no one knew when something similar would happen again.
This incident undoubtedly indicated that Mo was not far from completely awakening.
Inside the Grand Restriction, Wu Kuang’s heart was gripped with fear and worry. He had to inform Yang Kai as soon as possible about this so that the Human Race could take precautions; otherwise, it would be too late by the time Mo was awake.
However, he was powerless to do so.
The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was extremely far away from the 3,000 Worlds, so there were no effective means to communicate with each other. In the past, Yang Kai used to come here using some kind of mysterious method, but after the previous incident where a flaw had appeared in the Grand Restriction, there had been no news from him. It had already been nearly 1,000 years since then…
From what Yang Xue had told him, Wu Kuang knew that Yang Kai had broken through his shackles in the Universe Furnace and successfully reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Be that as it may, that was of no help to the current situation.
Before Wu Kuang could come up with a solution, figures were already charging out the opening in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
The auras radiating from these figures were extremely powerful. Surprisingly, all of them were Innate Territory Lords!
Seeing this, Wu Kuang’s heart sank.
In the past, Wu Kuang had worked in concert with the Suppressing Black Ink Army to block the Black Ink Clan from escaping the Grand Restriction. Even Royal Lords found it hard to force their way out of the opening. For the past 700 years, the Black Ink Clan had not dared to not make any rash movements with only a few small fries constantly monitoring the opening.
But now that the Suppressing Black Ink Army had been swallowed by the boundless darkness, the threat on the outside of the opening had disappeared. Even if Wu Kuang could still maintain his control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he couldn’t stop the Black Ink Clan from rushing out.
Not to mention, because of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, he was unable to put his entire focus on controlling the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. He had to divert some of his attention to look after the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
Having been swallowed into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction by the darkness, it was tantamount to falling into the Black Ink Clan’s lair. Even if the Suppressing Black Ink Army had countless elites, without Wu Kuang’s protection, only death was waiting for them. With his protection, they could at least survive for a little while.
The only silver lining was that Wu Kuang’s strength had greatly increased over the past few millennia and he was close to the peak of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Thanks to this, his control over the opening was stronger than ever. He was still able to prevent Royal Lords from making it through the opening, so the strongest Black Ink Clansmen who could make it out were just the Innate Territory Lords.
As time passed, more and more Black Ink Clansmen of varying strength rushed out of the opening, their faces filled with excitement and joy, like they were prisoners who had finally gained freedom after countless years of imprisonment.
A portion of the Black Ink Clansmen remained near the opening, while the rest quickly flew deeper into the void under the leadership of the Innate Territory Lords.
When Wu Kuang witnessed this, his gloomy mood suddenly lifted.
He had been having a headache over how to send a warning to the Human Race, but he had been unable to come up with a viable plan. But apparently, he didn’t need to deliver any news.
The Black Ink Clansmen who had left this place must have gone to support their allies who were fighting the Humans. Such a huge amount of reinforcements joining the battlefield would definitely draw the Human Race’s attention, especially the appearance of so many Innate Territory Lords. And as long as the Human Race’s reaction wasn’t too slow, they should be able to quickly identify the root of the problem. At that time, the Human Race would definitely know that something had happened to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
This was the case when the Innate Territory Lords snuck out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction last time. At that time, Wu Kuang’s control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was not nearly as firm and he did not even have an inkling about it before Yang Kai came to inform him about it.
Thus, when he saw a group of Black Ink Clansmen heading deeper into the void, Wu Kuang knew that in at most 20 or 30 years, the Human Race would know that something had happened to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. At that time, not to mention others, Yang Kai would definitely come here to investigate.
Nonetheless, Wu Kuang couldn’t help but feel worried. Whether the Human Race came to know about the mishappening of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction sooner or later, it was not going to help him in his current situation in the slightest. Right now, there were two important tasks ahead of him. Firstly, he had to do his best to ensure the safety of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, allowing them to hold on for as long as possible.
Secondly… protecting himself!
The Black Ink Clansmen who stayed behind did not remain idle. These Black Ink Clansmen took out unhatched Black Ink Nests one after another, before Innate Territory Lord took position in front of every Black Ink Nest. Afterwards, these Innate Territory Lords put their hands over the unhatched Black Ink Nests and started infusing their strength into them, allowing them to rapidly grow bigger.
Not counting the years he had spent guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Wu Kuang hadn’t had many dealings with the Black Ink Clan. The first time he had fought with the Black Ink Clan was after the Human Race retreated to the Barren Territory. As a Human, he had participated in the war against the Black Ink Clan. It was during that battle that he had made a name for himself relying on the treacherous and powerful Heaven Devouring Battle Law, drawing the attention of many Ninth-Order Old Ancestors.
Later, when the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, the Human Race had completely shrunk their defensive line, defending just a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields. Wu Kuang for the most part had acted alone as a Hunter, roaming the 3,000 Worlds to kill Black Ink Clansmen, getting into numerous fierce battles along the way.
He might not have much contact with situations like the one before him, but he knew that if the Black Ink Clan wanted to hatch Black Ink Nests this way, they would need to consume a lot of resources.
Except, what resources could the Black Ink Clan find outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction? This vast void didn’t even have ambient Starlight Energy, it was truly a Spiritless Land.
If the Black Ink Clan wanted to extract resources, they would have to venture in the direction of the Black Ink Battlefield, which would take a year or two at best…
But apparently, the Black Ink Clan’s incubation of Black Ink Nests did not require them to consume resources at all; it could also be done using the energy of the Innate Territory Lords themselves. Innate Territory Lords were directly born from Mo and contained a trace of Mo’s Source Strength. On the other hand, the Black Ink Nests similarly manifested from Mo’s Source Strength. It could even be said that both Innate Territory lords and Black Ink Nests shared the same Source. So, devouring the Innate Territory Lords’ energy could also hatch the Black Ink Nests.
After a short time, the aura of every Innate Territory Lord standing in front of the Black Ink Nests became weak to the point that they were trembling. All of their energy had been absorbed by the Black Ink Nests.
Every single one of these powerful Innate Territory Lords died on the spot after all of their energy had been absorbed. Immediately after, a second round of Innate Territory Lords stepped in…
[This is not good…] Wu Kuang thought to himself. How could he not understand the intentions of these Black Ink Clansmen who had remained behind?
Over the years, he had learned a lot about the Black Ink Clan from the soldiers of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, including how the Black Ink Clan created Pseudo-Royal Lords…
Wu Kuang wasn’t afraid of mere Innate Territory Lords, regardless of how many of them there were. Although the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was a Sealing Array, it also had some defensive and counter attacking capabilities. If not, when Cang was stationed here all those years ago, the Black Ink Clan from the Black Ink Battlefield would have already retreated to attack the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction first.
In that era, the Human Race and Black Ink Clan were fighting each other in over 100 Theatres. Each side had over 100 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Royal Lords respectively.
The Black Ink Clan’s overall strength during that time was extremely fearsome, but the reason they chose to fight with the Human Race, instead of withdrawing and attacking the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was because doing so was futile. They would only be wasting their time and energy if they tried.
During the era when Cang was overseeing the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Black Ink Clan would have had to gather several hundred Royal Lords if they wanted to breach the Grand Restriction from the outside.
During that time, the Black Ink Clan clearly didn’t have such capital as they were always entangled with the Human Race. The two races had been irreconcilable enemies since ancient times and could not coexist, but it was not just about mutual blood hatred. Each race was a deadly threat to the other. Only by completely destroying the Human Race would the Black Ink Clan have a stable space to develop and produce more Royal Lords, which in turn would provide them the capital to threaten the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. As for the Humans, the Black Ink Clan literally fed upon them and the worlds they were born from, so there could be no compromise.
When Wu Kuang took over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction after Cang’s demise, the overall strength of the Black Ink Clan had drastically fallen. They simply did not have any capital to attack the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Until now!
No matter how many Innate Territory Lords attacked the Grand Restrictions, Wu Kuang would not care. Although the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been in disrepair for many years, this was the essence of the 10 Martial Ancestors’ wisdom and strength, it was not so easy to breach.
But if these Innate Territory Lords became Pseudo-Royal Lords…
That would be another matter. The Black Ink Clan did not need too many Pseudo-Royal Lords either, just 500 Pseudo-Royal Lords working together would be able to pose a threat to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Once the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was breached from the outside, the situation would become extremely dire.
So, when he witnessed the actions of these Black Ink Clansmen, Wu Kuang knew that things had taken a turn for the worst.
Nonetheless, he was in an absolutely passive position at the moment. Even if he could see through the intentions of the Black Ink Clan, it was difficult for him to do anything about it. All he could do was wait and watch.
As time passed, and one Innate Territory Lord after another sacrificed themselves, the Black Ink Nests grew bigger and bigger at an astonishing speed. Just as Wu Kuang had expected, these Black Ink Nests were all High-Rank Black Ink Nests!
In just a few days, almost 300 fully matured High-Rank Black Ink Nest stood tall outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
During this time, Black Ink Clansmen kept pouring out from the opening in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in a steady stream. Although the number of Black Ink Clansmen coming out each time wasn’t great, adding them all up made for a terrifying number.
These newly emerged Black Ink Clansmen also split into groups like before. Most of them flew towards the depths of the void, heading towards the 3,000 Worlds, while the rest stayed behind to prepare to attack the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Wu Kuang let out a sigh of relief after confirming the number of High-Rank Black Ink Nests.
This number was still within the limits of what he could bear, but he did not underestimate the situation; after all, he still had to divert a portion of his attention to watch over the Suppressing Black Ink Army, which would make it difficult for him to respond to the attacks from outside of the Grand Restriction.
In the face of adversity, having good news like this was not too bad.
As a large number of Black Ink Clansmen had rushed out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, things had become less dangerous for the Suppressing Black Ink Army. Now, as long as he was paying close attention to the movements of the Royal Lords, Wu Kuang could basically ensure the safety of the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
Meanwhile, outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, after the High-Rank Black Ink Nests had been erected, the Innate Territory Lords who had rushed out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction began entering them one after another, willingly walking to their deaths with a smile.
After having been fighting with each other for so many years, both the Human Race and Black Ink Clan knew very well about each other, apart from a few confidential pieces of information that only a few authoritative figures knew about.
For instance, the Black Ink Clan was able to create a Pseudo-Royal Lord borrowing the strength of Innate Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. This was no secret to the Human Race and Yang Kai had even personally investigated this matter.
Be that as it may, even Yang Kai was unable to figure out how the Black Ink Clan used Innate Territory Lords and High-Rank Black Ink Nests to create Pseudo-Royal Lords specifically. All he knew was that the birth of a Pseudo-Royal Lord was accompanied by the demise of many Innate Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
It was only today that this secret was being played out right under Wu Kuang’s nose.
While he was watching on, the Innate Territory Lords entered the High-Rank Black Ink Nests one after another, their auras continuously undulating before disappearing. The High-Rank Black Ink Nests standing tall in the void were like starving beasts that kept devouring all the Innate Territory Lords who walked inside.
As Innate Territory Lords kept pouring in, a tremendous amount of energy accumulated inside each High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
At some point, when a certain number of Innate Territory Lords had walked into one of the Black Ink Nests, the aura of the last Innate Territory Lord suddenly soared, while the accumulated power in the Black Ink Nest rapidly disappeared.
After a while, the Black Ink Nest collapsed and disappeared without a trace. Whereas, the final Innate Territory Lord had now become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, their aura soaring to a whole new level.
One Pseudo-Royal Lord after another was born…
Wu Kuang silently calculated for a moment. In order to create a Pseudo-Royal Lord, at least 12 Innate Territory Lords had to be sacrificed, with at most 16 being required. This number wasn’t fixed, but it was always within this range. Furthermore, every time a Pseudo-Royal Lord was born, a High-Rank Black Ink Nest would be consumed.
Within days, almost 300 Pseudo-Royal Lords had been created. These Pseudo-Royal Lords didn’t stop for a moment and immediately flew straight towards the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, as if they had made a prior agreement.
Wu Kuang sighed in his heart. He knew that his good days had come to an end…
A few days ago, after the Human Race’s second attack on the No-Return Pass, the upper echelons of the Black Ink Clan were gathered in the Main Conference Hall of the No-Return Pass.
The three Royal Lords were standing in the forefront, while the Pseudo-Royal Lords were lined up below. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy and gloomy.
Over the past few years, the Human Race had attacked the Black Ink Clan twice, and each time, the Black Ink Clan had suffered great losses. The first time was one thing as the Human Race had caught the Black Ink Clan off guard by attacking with Universe Worlds. It was a completely new tactic the Black Ink Clan had never seen before, so they could not respond immediately to it.
However, the Black Ink Clan had already made preparations to deal with this Universe World attack before the second battle. They had even shrunk their defensive line, yet they were still unable to reverse the situation.
A Small Stone Race Army of over 100 million had brought great benefits to the Human Race, becoming one of the keystones for their victory.
Since Yang Kai was able to release over 100 million Small Stone Race Soldiers at once, it was evident that he still had more with him.
From the start, the Human Race Army was aggressively attacking, determined to retake the No-Return Pass. Now, with the help of the Small Stone Race, they were like tigers with wings.
After the last battle, even the stupidest Black Ink Clansmen knew that the war was already lost. The No-Return Pass would eventually fall, and the Black Ink Clan here was doomed to extermination…
Over the past few thousand years, the Black Ink Clan had held the initiative and absolute advantage in the war against the Human Race; however, things had taken a sharp turn in the last few decades. The Black Ink Clan found it really hard to accept this change in the status quo.
Among the three Royal Lords, only Mo Na Ye appeared to be in a decent condition, while Mo Yu and Di Ya Luo’s auras were slightly unstable, occasionally coughing to show their injuries.
In these two battles, Mo Yu and Xiang Shan had fought with each other one-on-one twice. The latter was a newly promoted Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and his strength and foundation might be worse than a veteran Royal Lord like the former, but he fought with his life on the line every time. Even if Mo Yu was slightly stronger, he still took serious damage from the near-suicidal Human Master.
The Human Race understood that the Black Ink Clan’s biggest weakness was healing. So, when Human Race Masters fought against those Masters from the Black Ink Clan, they frequently did so by trading injuries.
The goal of this strategy was completely cut and dry. If a Human was injured, they could use pills or Secret Techniques to recover, but if a Black Ink Clansmen was injured, they had to slumber inside a Black Ink Nest to properly heal…
However, in the face of such a shameless strategy, there was nothing the Black Ink Clan could do. They could only try to be more cautious in battle and not allow the Human Race to succeed.
As the popular adage goes, one can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days. In a battle, there would always come a moment in a battle when one had no choice but to take risks, no matter how careful they were. This was pretty much the case with Xiang Shan in the last two battles, which had inflicted serious injuries on Mo Yu. Of course, Xiang Shan did not have it easy either. Had he not run quickly enough at the last moment, Mo Yu had the confidence that he could kill him on the spot!
The veteran Royal Lord, Mo Yu, could barely be considered to have beaten the newly promoted Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so his injuries were worth the price. In contrast, Di Ya Luo was rather miserable. His injuries were caused by the burst of intense Purifying Light Yang Kai had created when he summoned 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers under the cover of his Space-Time River. At the time, six Pseudo-Royal Lords perished, and if not for Mo Na Ye’s timely rescue, the total number of Royal Lords would now be two.
Two of the three Royal Lords were seriously injured. Their condition could be described in just one word, miserable.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were in an even more miserable state. At a glance, Mo Na Ye found many familiar faces missing. Compared to the grand assembly over 20 years ago, there were 50 fewer Pseudo-Royal Lords!
In just two battles, 50 Pseudo-Royal Lords had perished. This was an unprecedented loss! No matter how many Pseudo-Royal Lords the Black Ink Clan had, they would not be able to withstand such a rate of attrition.
The Human Race did not need to engage the Black Ink Clan many more times in such high-intensity battles. Perhaps the Black Ink Clan would no longer be able to hold on after three more such fights. When the disparity in top Masters reached a certain extent, it would be impossible for the Black Ink Clan to hold their ground on the battlefield.
The air inside the hall was extremely heavy. The shame and pressure of the battle was weighing down on all the Black Ink Clansmen like a mountain.
“Sir!” Mo Na Ye turned to Mo Yu and asked for his permission to speak.
Mo Yu was sitting upright on his thrones of bones, his face a little pale. Hearing Mo Na Ye’s request, he simply raised his hand a little and weakly gave his permission, “Go on.”
“Yes!” Mo Na Ye respectfully accepted. Although he was already a Royal Lord and had the qualifications to sit on the same level as Mo Yu, he had always maintained a certain degree of deference and respect towards Mo Yu. And why not? After all, Mo Yu had given him enough trust for so many years. When Mo Na Ye was still just a Pseudo-Royal Lord, Mo Yu had allowed him to take complete charge of the Black Ink Clan’s affairs. Although this was partly because Mo Yu was not good at managing things, Mo Na Ye was still quite grateful.
A true King didn’t need to do things personally, but rather knew how to use others to accomplish his goals.
After responding to Mo Yu, Mo Na Ye stood up and swept his gaze over the many Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The faces of the Pseudo-Royal Lords instantly went cold as they realized that Mo Na Ye had made an important decision and was about to announce it. The Royal Lords had probably reached a consensus on this decision, and all they needed to do was obey.
As expected, Mo Na Ye calmly and softly relayed his decision a moment later, that sent all the Pseudo-Royal Lords flying into an uproar.
“The next battle will be the decisive one!”
Having relayed this, Mo Na Ye just shut up and let the Pseudo-Royal Lords argue, his heart filled with grief.
He had not expected the situation to develop to this point.
Originally, he had planned that even if the current Black Ink Clan was not an opponent of the Human Race, they would still try their best to damage the enemy as much as possible. So long as they could achieve this, even if the Human Race managed to take back the No-Return Pass, they wouldn’t be able to threaten the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Even if the entire Black Ink Clan Army at the No-Return Pass was sacrificed, if that guaranteed the Supreme One’s dominion, so what?
Gathering all of their forces and defending the No-Return Pass was the best way to deal with the current situation; in addition, the Black Ink Clan had a certain geographical advantage at the No-Return Pass. As long as they acted appropriately, it shouldn’t have been difficult to accomplish this.
Unfortunately, the intensity and development of the battle had gone beyond imagination.
First, there was the Human Race’s strategy to bombard them using Universe Worlds, which turned the Black Ink Clan Army guarding the pass into a punching bag, and then, there was Yang Kai using the massive Small Stone Race Army to offset the disadvantage of the Human Race’s forces being far outnumbered by the Black Ink Clan’s.
With all these unexpected external factors affecting the battle, the only result awaiting the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass was continuously being worn down by the Humans while the Humans wouldn’t suffer much loss.
After at least three and at most five more battles like the one before, it would be impossible for the Black Ink Clan to defend the No-Return Pass.
Rather than being slowly bled to death by the Human Race like this, it would be better to go all out and perhaps even have a chance to severely damage the Human Race Army. Mo Na Ye was not hoping for too much, but as long as they could increase the number of Human casualties by 50% compared to their previous fights, then the price paid by the Black Ink Clan would be worth it.
“Are you done arguing?” After a long silence, Mo Na Ye suddenly shouted, glaring at the Pseudo-Royal Lords, “If you have any doubts, just ask. What are you all arguing about?”
The noisy hall immediately fell silent.
After a long time, one of the Pseudo-Royal Lords asked, “Sir, may I ask if the Supreme One’s Soul Clones will participate in the next battle?”
Mo Na Ye glanced at the Pseudo-Royal Lord and indifferently replied, “Of course they will.”
The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s expression became serious as he saw the determination of the higher-ups.
In both battles, the Supreme One’s Soul Clones had been guarding the No-Return Pass. Although they did provide long-range support, they never left their positions because they had to deter the two Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory. So, their support was extremely limited.
But if these two were to participate in this fight, it would become a true decisive battle.
It was foreseeable that when the two Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory saw the Supreme One’s Soul Clones’ movements, they would respond in kind. Once they rushed over from the Barren Territory, the entire No-Return Pass would become a battlefield. At that time, the High-Rank Black Ink Nests placed here would be completely destroyed.
Without the High-Rank Black Ink Nests, the Black Ink Clan would be like a river without a source; a tree without roots. This was what it meant to go all out; it was the final battle!
This battle was both a crisis and an opportunity to the Black Ink Clan.
No matter the outcome, there was only one ultimate fate waiting for the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass, and that was to be exterminated by the Human Race!
There was only one thing they could aim for: to weaken the Humans as much as possible. If they succeeded, the Human Race would lose the ability to launch a crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Even if they failed, they would still weaken the Human Race, so whether they wanted to or not, the Black Ink Clan had no choice but to go all out.
In light of the current situation, the Black Ink Clan still had a good chance of severely wounding the Human Race Army.
In the last two battles, the Supreme One’s two Soul Clones had remained motionless. If the Human Race launched another attack, they might not have considered the possibility of these two also participating in the battle. At that time, as long as the two Soul Clones made a move at the right time, the Human Race Army would suffer a huge blow.
Of course, the two Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory would arrive shortly after, but that was now an inevitability, so it did not matter. Furthermore, it wasn’t that Mo Na Ye had no plans to deal with these two Giant Spirit Gods.
He was confident that with enough Pseudo-Royal Lords, they could hold off those two Giant Spirit Gods for a brief moment, which would give Supreme One’s Soul Clones enough time to bring unimaginable losses to the Human Race Army.
In the Main Hall, only one Pseudo-Royal Lord asked a question, and after obtaining the answer, the Pseudo-Royal Lords no longer spoke.
Since the Supreme One’s Soul Clones were preparing for war, the next battle would definitely be the last for the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass!
Mo Na Ye continued, “Judging by the timetable of the last two battles initiated by the Human Race, the next one will probably happen two years from now. The decisive battle is imminent, but both Sir Mo Yu and Di Ya Luo are injured, putting them at a disadvantage. In order to ensure that the final battle will proceed smoothly, the two of them must quickly recover.”
Saying so, he swept his eyes over the Pseudo-Royal Lords below, “So, I need your help. Who is willing to sacrifice everything for the Supreme One?”
Whether it was Mo Yu or Di Ya Luo, both had suffered heavy injuries. If they wanted to fully recover, they would have to slumber inside Black Ink Nests for several decades to a century. Of course, the Human Race would not give them so much time, so they had to resort to other methods to quickly restore these two Royal Lords.
Back in the Universe Furnace, when Mo Na Ye fought with Yang Kai, he was cornered in a hopeless situation, but just as Yang Kai was about to kill him, Meng Que sacrificed himself using the Source Fusion Technique, integrating his strength into Mo Na Ye, which ultimately helped the latter recover and escape.
This was a Secret Technique that only the Pseudo-Royal Lords and Innate Territory Lords could use. As Pseudo-Royal Lords were born with the help of the Source Fusion Technique, they could use the Source Fusion Technique to infuse their strength into other Black Ink Clansmen to help them recover.
Under normal circumstances, the Black Ink Clan would never choose to sacrifice Pseudo-Royal Lords, but desperate times called for desperate measures. They had no choice but to do so.
A Royal Lord in perfect condition would naturally be able to play a greater role in the upcoming battle than a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
After Mo Na Ye presented this question, all the Pseudo-Royal Lords remained muted…
This was also within his expectations; after all, not every Pseudo-Royal Lord had the same courage and resolve as Meng Que. Furthermore, the reason Meng Que helped Mo Na Ye at that time was because he knew he was already doomed to die, so he wanted to make his death meaningful.
This time, when Mo Na Ye asked if they were willing to die for the two Royal Lords, even the Black Ink Clansmen, who were known for their extreme loyalty to the Supreme One, had to think twice about it.
Although he had already expected this, Mo Na Ye was still displeased when it actually transpired before him. Thus, he coldly snorted before rebuking, “It seems that you still have to weigh things in your loyalty to the Supreme One. Since that’s the case, I will be the one to decide!”
Apparently, he was prepared for this and casually picked out two severely wounded Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The two Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been pointed out were naturally depressed. Nonetheless, they didn’t offer any resistance and immediately accepted their orders. They knew that they were picked because even if they participated in the next battle, they wouldn’t be able to play much of a role due to their severe injuries.
After picking two Pseudo-Royal Lords, Mo Na Ye seemed to be a little dispirited as he stated, waving everyone away, “Go and prepare yourselves. Everything will be decided in the next battle.”
All the Pseudo-Royal Lords bowed and were about to withdraw when suddenly, a profound wave of energy suddenly spread from somewhere in the No-Return Pass, quickly enveloping the entire hall. The next moment, a scene involuntarily emerged in the Royal Lords and even the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ minds.
They saw a massive shadow slumbering in the void, along with a massive number of Black Ink Clansmen swarming out of the gap in the giant shadow…
The Black Ink Clansmen who had rushed out of the gap split into two teams. One team flew off into the depths of the void while the other stayed behind to hatch High-Rank Black Ink Nests. Furthermore, the majority of the figures shuttling back and forth were Innate Territory Lords…
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were about to withdraw were all dumbfounded, and the same went for the three Royal Lords. The expressions of each of the Black Ink Clansmen began to fluctuate.
Soon, they realized what they were seeing.
This was the scene of the situation outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!
The huge shadow lying in the void was Mo sealed by the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and that gap was the breach in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
The reason they were able to see this scene in their minds was all because of the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were the Supreme One’s Soul Clones, so even though they were far away from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was impossible to sever the connection between them and their true body. As such, whatever transpired at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Supreme One’s Soul Clones were able to quickly sense it and then relay the scene to the minds of all the Black Ink Clansmen.
Witnessing their fellow clansmen bustling about outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the faces of the three Royal Lords and all the Pseudo-Royal Lords in the Main Hall gradually looked excited and joyful.
A moment later, the Supreme One’s Soul Clones’ voice rang in their ears, “Our true body is about to awaken!”
As this voice rang out, the image in their minds gradually faded away and disappeared.
Inside the Main Hall, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were still in bowing position. Mo Yu, who was originally sitting on the bone throne with a dispirited look on his face, sat up straight. Di Ya Luo, on the other hand, was filled with unrestrained joy.
Mo Na Ye remained in a daze for a long time before bursting into laughter. His laughter was filled with joy at being able to escape from a hopeless situation.
Originally, he had planned to launch a decisive battle against the Human Race the next time they attacked. He had planned to sacrifice everyone and everything at the No-Return Pass to cripple the Human Race Army, but now it seemed that there was no need to be so anxious.
Moreover, judging by the current situation, the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass still had a slim chance of survival in the face of the Human Race’s aggression.
So long as the No-Return Pass could hold out for a decade or two, their allies from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would arrive to support them. When that time came, they might be able to pincer the Human Race Army and turn the tide, ultimately emerging as the winners of the battle!
Of course, even if they were defeated, it didn’t matter. The Supreme One’s Soul Clones had already said that the main body was about to awaken. Once the Supreme One was truly awake, no matter how strong and well-equipped the Human Race Army was, it would be useless. This Universe would eventually be ruled by the Black Ink Clan, and Black Ink would rule eternal!
“Sir!” Mo Na Ye turned around and looked towards Mo Yu.
Mo Yu’s face lit up as he nodded lightly, “I guess we need to change our strategy!”
After obtaining the news from the Supreme One’s Soul Clones, the original plan had to be altered drastically. It could be said that it was the best news they had heard in many years since the Black Ink Clan had withdrawn their forces from the 3,000 Worlds.
Among all the Black Ink Clansmen present, only the two Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been picked out by Mo Na Ye did not show any joy, because no matter how the situation had changed, it did not alter anything for them. Since they had been selected, they had to sacrifice themselves to heal the two Royal Lords so that they could still fight in the next battle. It had to be said that this was truly a tragedy for them.
Time ticked away, and soon two years had elapsed. As expected, the Human Race Army launched their third attack. Similar to the last two attacks, they started the battle with a bombardment of Universe Worlds which cleared the way and asserted pressure on the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line. The Humans then used this opportunity to press forward.
However, compared to the last two times, the effect of the Universe Worlds’ bombardment was negligible this time.
The first time, they had caught the Black Ink Clan off guard, and the second time, Mi Jing Lun’s tactics had proven superior, but how could the Black Ink Clan not be prepared against this strategy after having suffered two serious losses? As such, no matter what kind of tricks the Human Race used this time, the Black Ink Clan had an appropriate response to counter it.
As the Universe World bombardment tactic was not very effective this time, it all came down to a battle between the two Armies to decide the situation.
Fortunately, every Human Race Soldier had refined some Small Stone Race Soldiers over the past two years. Some had refined only two or three, while some had refined as many as several dozen. As for the Divine Spirits with the Great Sun and Moon Marks, each had several tens of thousands of Small Stone Race Soldiers under their command.
Under these circumstances, not only would the Black Ink Clan have to face the Human Race Army, but also the Small Stone Race Army which was several times bigger than the Human Race Army. The current Small Stone Race Soldiers also did not haplessly charge straight towards the enemy’s ranks like they did last time. All of them had been refined by the Human Race Soldiers and controlled properly like artifacts that the Humans could move like their own limbs.
As such, the pressure on the Black Ink Clan Army was enormous.
Yang Kai was also awakened by Ah Er from his cultivation and rushed into the Territory Gate to participate in the battle.
This time, the Black Ink Clan didn’t deliberately try to stop him, only Di Ya Luo was stationed at the vicinity of the Territory Gate with a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords. They were responsible for restraining his movements and preventing him from destroying the nearby High-Rank Black Ink Nests.
At a glance, Yang Kai could tell that the Black Ink Clan’s defensive line had shrunk further. Compared to the first battle, the current defensive line of the Black Ink Clan could be said to have contracted by 50%. Since the defensive line had shrunk so much, the sturdiness of each position had greatly increased.
Although the Human Race was assisted by the Small Stone Race Army, it was not going to be that easy to reproduce the same glorious results as the last two battles.
On the battlefield of the top Masters, Mo Yu’s opponent had changed to Wei Jun Yang.
The injuries Xiang Shan had suffered in the last two battles weren’t light either, so he was unable to completely recover after just two years and had no choice but to let Wei Jun Yang take his place.
What surprised Yang Kai was that Mo Yu had almost recovered completely. It was quite strange as Mo Yu was grievously injured last time, and it was impossible for him to heal so quickly with Black Ink Clan’s recovery speed.
Di Ya Luo’s situation was the same.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall his battle with Mo Na Ye in the Universe Furnace and form some speculations in his mind.
Throughout the entire battlefield, the Black Ink Clan had assumed a full defensive stance. Regardless of how aggressive the Humans were, they just focused on defending themselves, unlike the previous two times where they would attack whenever they found an opportunity.
Yang Kai found it a little strange.
It was true that the Black Ink Clan was able to reduce their own losses by completely abandoning offence and focusing on defence, but the Black Ink Clan wasn’t stupid. This would only prolong their death throes, and would also greatly reduce the risk the Human Race Army had to bear. In a huge battle like this, being completely on the defensive would definitely significantly reduce Black Ink Clan’s losses, but the Human Race would suffer even fewer casualties as a result.
This strategy was far worse than the last two battles, where they would still counterattack while defending, which would force the Humans to be cautious in their actions; after all, the Human Race didn’t want to suffer too much damage, which would be detrimental to their future crusade plans.
[How could someone as astute as Mo Na Ye use such a stupid tactic?] Yang Kai was puzzled.
Be that as it may, he did not have time to mull too much over it as Di Ya Luo was already charging towards him leading a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords. Even though Yang Kai had made the Black Ink Clansmen besieging him suffer great loss by sacrificing 2 million Small Stone Race Soldiers in the last battle and had killed several Pseudo-Royal Lords on the spot, it was not a tactic that could not be defended against. The Black Ink Clan was just caught unprepared last time as none of them had expected Yang Kai to summon so many Small Stone Race members at once. After having been caught off guard last time, they naturally wouldn’t let Yang Kai succeed once again that easily.
Yang Kai was entangled with these Black Ink Clansmen for a while, only displaying his strength as an ordinary Ninth-Order Master. Nonetheless, he still failed to find a good opportunity to break through. Helpless, he could only kill his way to the No-Return Pass and then rush towards Pure Yang Pass.
Just like before, the Black Ink Clan had received some prior instructions, which was why when Yang Kai attempted to kill his way to the No-Return Pass, it was smooth and easy. He basically did not face any obstruction from the Black Ink Clan. In fact, when he approached, they even took the initiative to open up a path so as to avoid provoking him into attacking.
This left Yang Kai completely speechless.
When he successfully arrived at Pure Yang Pass, Mi Jing Lun, who was waiting for him, handed Yang Kai the Space Ring he had prepared in advance and couldn’t help but ask, “Did you really finish all the supplies you took last time? That was quite a lot.”
Although the amount he had given to Yang Kai last time wasn’t excessive, it wasn’t small either; after all, it should have been enough for even a Ninth-Order Master to refine for 100 years.
That amount of resources was enough for a Human Division to fight a local battle.
“My consumption is relatively fast compared to the norm!” Yang Kai casually replied. As he checked the contents of the Space Ring, he found the amount of resources was twice what he received last time. Feeling satisfied, he carefully put it away.
Mi Jing Lun was also baffled by his reply.
It was enough for an ordinary Ninth-Order Master to cultivate for 100 years, yet Yang Kai had used them all up in two years. Under the current circumstances, it was naturally impossible for Yang Kai to waste even a little.
In other words, there was a high chance that Yang Kai had really refined everything he was given.
Mi Jing Lung was very curious about how Yang Kai cultivated, but he still didn’t ask; after all, matters about cultivation were always considered private. Yang Kai’s crazy consumption of resources was also not a bad thing for the Human Race as it meant he was rapidly increasing his strength.
“The Black Ink Clan seems to have changed their strategy,” Mi Jing Lun changed the subject, “What do you think?”
“Maybe they are just struggling to survive?” Yang Kai casually replied.
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, disagreeing, “With as smart as Mo Na Ye is, he can’t miss that doing so will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. The Black Ink Clan’s current response will only increase the time it takes for the Human Race to capture the No-Return Pass. Originally, we could have seized it within five battles, but now, it may take 10 or more. However, in the end, the price we will have to pay will be much smaller.”
In a battle where the Human Race wanted to capture the No-Return Pass, the amount of time and price to be paid was inversely related. The longer the time the Human Race took, the smaller the price they would have to pay. This was especially true now that the Black Ink Clan had chosen to focus on defence, greatly reducing the threat they posed to the Human Soldiers.
If the Black Ink Clan focused on the bigger picture, they absolutely shouldn’t have used such a strategy; instead, they should have attacked the Human Race with everything they had! That way, the war here might have come to a conclusion in possibly two to three battles.
Of course, even if they didn’t use such a decisive strategy, it would have been wise to respond defensively and aggressively as before.
Since Yang Kai could see this, Mi Jing Lun naturally could as well.
“Then, there’s only one possibility,” Yang Kai firmly stated.
“What possibility?” Mi Jing Lun asked.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Senior Brother, since you already have a guess, why are you asking me?”
Mi Jing Lun waved him off, “Just tell me, I want to know if we’re thinking the same thing.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement and replied, “They’re buying time!”
Mi Jing Lun’s expression became solemn as he nodded, “It seems we’re indeed thinking the same thing.”
He also felt that the Black Ink Clan was simply stalling for time. If they were simply trying to prolong their last hour, it would be rather meaningless; however, if the Black Ink Clan had other plans, it would be quite alarming.
“How’s the progress of the Void Guard?” Yang Kai asked in a solemn voice.
“They are about halfway there, with nothing unexpected.”
“Ask them to remain vigilant!”
Mi Jing Lun’s expression slightly changed, “Junior Brother, you mean that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction…”
Yang Kai added, “I hope not, but the Black Ink Clan’s current strategy is quite worrying.”
He turned his head towards the depths of the void as a hint of concern flickered across his face.
Just as he had said, the Black Ink Clan’s change in strategy made everyone think that something else was going on. If the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass was simply stalling out of fear of death, it would be meaningless, but the situation would be different if they had reinforcements coming.
Where could such reinforcements come from though?
The Black Ink Clan currently had only one source of reinforcements: The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!
But if that was the case, something must have happened to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction! What about the Suppressing Black Ink Army then?
Su Yan and his other Wives, his Little Sister Yang Xue, and his three Legacy Disciples were all in the Suppressing Black Ink Army. Even though Yang Kai knew it would be a dangerous mission when he arranged for them to travel there, he still couldn’t help but worry now.
Had Old Tree not fallen into a coma, Yang Kai could have travelled through the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary to arrive at the Universe World he had placed outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction with his help. Unfortunately, Old Tree had consumed too much energy assisting Yang Kai previously and he could no longer borrow the former’s strength.
In addition, Yang Kai still needed to remain in the Barren Territory, so that he could cooperate with Ah Da and Ah Er at the critical juncture to take down the No-Return Pass. He could not leave the No-Return Pass until the battle here had ended.
Now, all they could do was wait for news from the Void Guard. Since they were already halfway to the Grand Restriction, if something had gone wrong up ahead, they would presumably find traces of it soon.
After bidding Mi Jing Lun farewell, Yang Kai returned to the battlefield.
Seeing Yang Kai coming back, Di Ya Luo promptly led the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords out of the No-Return Pass to meet him.
The Black Ink Clan’s stance against Yang Kai was pretty clear, ‘you can come and go anywhere you want as we can’t stop you, but if you want to intervene in this battle, Di Ya Luo will lead our Masters and respond accordingly!’
Yang Kai found it very annoying. If he really went all out, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to take care of Di Ya Luo and these Pseudo-Royal Lords with his current strength, but if he did so, it would definitely draw the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s vigilance. The losses outweighed the gains.
Helpless, Yang Kai had no choice but to give up on getting entangled with Di Ya Luo. Fortunately, he still had Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability.
Before Di Ya Luo could arrive leading the Pseudo-Royal Lords, Yang Kai was already nowhere to be seen. Right that instant, all the Pseudo-Royal Lords on the battlefield felt insecure.
Di Ya Luo’s Divine Sense surged as he searched for Yang Kai’s whereabouts, but to no avail.
A moment later, a violent battle suddenly erupted in a certain corner of the No-Return Pass, followed by the aura of a Pseudo-Royal Lord vanishing.
Di Ya Luo suddenly looked in that direction and happened to see Yang Kai’s figure flashing past. What he saw next instantly made his eyes pop out.
No one had any idea when Yang Kai had snuck back into the No-Return Pass, but when all the Pseudo-Royal Lords were fighting, distracted by the opponents around them, he suddenly attacked and killed one who was stationed at the No-Return Pass, guarding the High-Rank Black Ink Nests while also destroying the surrounding Nests in the process!
In an instant, four High-Rank Black Ink Nests were reduced to dust, and the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and Low-Rank Black Ink Nests that originated from them soon began to wither.
Di Ya Luo cursed in his heart. He had already led his team over to intercept Yang Kai, so it was too late for him to return to provide aid. While it would only take a few breaths to return, Yang Kai could do unimaginable damage to the No-Return Pass in such a span of time.
However, a tide of Black Ink Strength surged towards Yang Kai’s location at that moment, whereupon Yang Kai’s disappearing figure strangely reappeared. Immediately after, a powerful aura locked on to him before reaching him and engaging him in battle.
Mo Na Ye!
Di Ya Luo and his team were specifically keeping a close watch on Yang Kai’s movements, Mo Yu and Wei Jun Yang were locked in a fierce battle, while Mo Na Ye had been overseeing the No-Return Pass, giving the latter a clear picture of the overall situation.
When Yang Kai flew over from Pure Yang Pass and disappeared, Mo Na Ye went on high alert. Although he couldn’t stop Yang Kai’s initial attack, he had managed to interrupt his Instantaneous Movement Technique at the right time moment and drag him out of the Void.
Annoyed and frustrated, Yang Kai could not help but click his tongue as he watched Di Ya Luo and the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords rush back towards him. He had no choice but to fight while retreating towards the Territory Gate.
Mo Na Ye also withdrew his hand at the appropriate moment, facing off against Yang Kai from a distance.
Soon, Di Ya Luo arrived and stood next to Mo Na Ye, his face filled with anger. Yang Kai had so easily cheated him, causing the No-Return Pass to lose a Pseudo-Royal Lord and several High-Rank Black Ink Nests. This made him look incompetent.
Two Royal Lords and a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords, such a magnificent lineup was there just to keep an eye on one person. In the entire Human Race, only Yang Kai could receive such an honour.
From the moment the Human Race Army first launched an attack on the No-Return Pass, they basically had maintained the frequency of battles at every two years.
In the first two battles, the Human Race managed to score huge wins and kill a large number of Black Ink Clansmen thanks to the Universe World bombardment strategy and the Small Stone Race Army. In each battle, they had managed to kill between 20 to 30 Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Although the Human Race had also lost many Eighth-Order Masters in the process, it was well worth it.
If the Human Race could replicate this kind of situation, they were confident in taking down the No-Return Pass within a decade.
However, how could everything go smoothly in such a large-scale war which involves millions of lives?
In the third battle, the Black Ink Clan completely changed their strategy, shrinking their defence line to its utmost limit and assuming a completely defensive posture. They were like a tortoise with its head and limbs tucked into its shell. In this kind of situation, it was difficult for the Human Race to achieve anything even with a wide range of tactics.
The situation remained the same for the fourth and fifth battles in the ensuing years.
The Human Race Army even deliberately showed openings at certain places on the battlefield, trying to lure the Black Ink Clan Army into attacking. Nonetheless, the Black Ink Clan remained as steady as a rock in the face of such temptation, completely unmoved by this seemingly easy victory.
Although the Human Race could forcefully storm the defence line, that would undoubtedly result in massive casualties.
The Human Race was left with no other choice. Since the Black Ink Clan had opted for a defensive strategy, they could only slowly wear down the enemy forces.
The only silver lining in this was that the Human Race had complete control of the situation in this kind of battle, allowing them to reduce their losses to an extremely low level.
Of course, aside from the faint uneasiness in his heart, Yang Kai was more than happy to see this kind of situation.
He would have more time to cultivate and grow stronger the longer the battle dragged on. He had his own Temporal River inside which the flow of time was 30 times faster than the outside world. He would cultivate inside the Temporal River after every battle, giving him a full 60 years to cultivate after each fight, allowing him to refine massive amounts of resources which helped constantly grow his strength.
In the tenth year of the Human Race Army’s campaign against the No-Return Pass, after the sixth battle ended, Yang Kai was refining and cultivating in his Temporal River which stretched across the void just like before. But suddenly, a tremor came from outside, waking Yang Kai up.
This was the signal he had agreed upon with Giant Spirit God Ah Er. As he was completely absorbed in cultivation inside the Temporal River, Yang Kai knew nothing about the outside world and had to be informed by Ah Er. Every time the Human Race launched an attack on the No-Return Pass, Ah Er had used this method to awaken him.
Feeling this familiar signal, Yang Kai quickly ended his cultivation and rushed out from the river.
Seeing him emerge, the nearby Ah Er pointed towards the Territory Gate. As Yang Kai turned his head and gazed through the Territory Gate, he noticed faint traces of a battle on the other side.
He had seen this scene many times already. Every time the Human Race launched an attack, he would enter the No-Return Pass from the Barren Territory and single-handedly restrain many Masters from the Black Ink Clan.
Except, a frown had appeared on his brow this time, because it was not yet time to attack!
Although he was absorbed in cultivation inside the Temporal River, he could still feel the passage of time. In the past, he had been able to cultivate for roughly 60 years before the Human Race launched another assault. However, only 10 years had passed inside the River of Time this time.
In other words, it had only been four months since the last battle. This had never happened before.
Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help but become grave as he realized that something unforeseen had occurred; otherwise, the Human Race wouldn’t have rashly changed their strategy.
In a flash, he rushed towards the Territory Gate, but he didn’t forget to turn around and warn Ah Er before disappearing, “Keep an eye on those two. If they dare to leave, you must promptly come over!”
Ah Er repeatedly nodded, agreeing in a resonant voice, “En!”
Ah Da also chimed in, but Yang Kai believed that he didn’t really understand it…
Just like the past few times, the moment Yang Kai stepped out of the Territory Gate, a dozen or so powerful auras locked on to him. With Di Ya Luo in the lead, a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords gathered around him, standing in combat readiness.
Yang Kai had to fight with these guys in every battle, but because he had always been hiding his strength, he had never been able to do anything to them. Nonetheless, he had still managed to kill a few Pseudo-Royal Lords after so many battles of wits and courage, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
Their main goal was to restrain Yang Kai to deprive him of the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on the other Pseudo-Royal Lords; furthermore, they were also afraid of Yang Kai’s method of sacrificing Small Stone Race Soldiers, so they rarely had any direct confrontation with him. Most of the time, they would only use their auras to interfere, attacking him from a distance.
However, things were different this time around. The moment Yang Kai appeared, Di Ya Luo shouted, “Attack!”
Unexpectedly, they were the first to charge at Yang Kai. Although the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords were clearly afraid of Yang Kai, they still braced themselves and followed after Di Ya Luo.
The reason for this change was because of the Human Race Army’s strange movements.
For the past 10 years, the Humans had launched a battle every two years, with no exceptions. But this time, the Human Race Army had actually launched an attack on the No-Return Pass just four months after the last battle.
Obviously, something had gone wrong.
There must be a reason for this deviation! Mo Na Ye, who commanded and deployed the Black Ink Clan Army, might not be able to figure out what the Human Race was up to, but it didn’t stop him from changing his strategy.
While keeping their original defensive strategy unchanged, he ordered Di Ya Luo and his Squad to try their best to stop Yang Kai from meeting up with the Human Race’s higher-ups.
This was quite a difficult task, and if possible, Di Ya Luo would’ve declined this mission. In the past, all they had to do was restrain Yang Kai. So long as they were careful enough, they wouldn’t be in too much danger. But this time, they would have to face him head-on if they wanted to prevent Yang Kai from meeting with the Human Race’s upper echelons.
This was not only a difficult task, but also a very dangerous one. Di Ya Luo still vividly remembered his first encounter with Yang Kai, and how he was severely injured by the latter.
Nonetheless, this mission had to be carried out by him. Mo Yu was entangled by Wei Jun Yang and was unable to escape. Mo Na Ye was responsible for coordinating the Army and couldn’t easily take action. Only he, the most inexperienced Royal Lord, could and had to face the killing star.
Fortunately, Mo Na Ye had also assured that if the situation became critical, he would come to assist him at a moment’s notice!
A battle instantly broke out, the aftershocks spreading in all directions. Fortunately, there were still Pseudo-Royal Lords guarding the No-Return Pass; otherwise, a large number of Black Ink Nests would have been destroyed.
Having fought with Yang Kai many times already, Di Ya Luo was well aware of his opponent’s strength. This killing star was far stronger than any other Ninth-Order Master, and even with so many Pseudo-Royal Lords working together, this battle was still extremely difficult.
When Yang Kai summoned the Small Stone Race Army and activated Purifying Light, Di Ya Luo and the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been on guard promptly scattered and fled.
A glaring light flashed and enveloped the entire sky, but by the time it faded away, Yang Kai’s figure had already disappeared.
Seeing this, Di Ya Luo, who was still very much on guard, let out a sigh of relief.
He and the other Pseudo-Royal Lords had already tried their best, but they still couldn’t stop Yang Kai, and it was definitely not because they were slacking on their duties.
According to their past experiences, Yang Kai should have appeared at Pure Yang Pass by now.
On the walls of Pure Yang Pass, Mi Jing Lun, who was quietly waiting, suddenly noticed something nearby and immediately sent out a Divine Sense transmission, “Don’t show yourself, just listen to me.”
Yang Kai, who had snuck in here with the help of the Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, immediately stopped in place and sent a Divine Sense message back, “I’m here.”
Confirming that Yang Kai had arrived nearby, Mi Jing Lun finally let out a sigh of relief. After a moment of deliberation, he continued, “Our previous worries have been confirmed.”
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became grave and solemn, “The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?”
Mi Jing Lun stared at the battlefield and imperceptibly nodded, “En, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!”
When the Black Ink Clan suddenly changed their strategy and completely focused on defense during the third battle, their actions had left Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun a little baffled, but it also caused them to become vigilant.
In the following conversation, the two of them both agreed that someone as smart as Mo Na Ye was well aware that the Black Ink Clan would not be able to defend the No-Return Pass, and would definitely not employ such a stupid strategy. Doing so would only delay the inevitable and would not affect the final outcome of the war. In fact, it would even allow the Human Race to win at a smaller price.
Only if the Black Ink Clan was waiting for reinforcements would such actions make sense.
In this vast Universe, if the Black Ink Clan really had reinforcements, they would definitely come from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Unfortunately, no one had any inkling on the situation at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The only thing the Human Race could do was wait for the Void Guard, who were laying Space Arrays along the way, to reach the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and investigate the situation.
According to the schedule though, the Void Guard should have yet not reached the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. At best, they should be about 75% of the way there, so it should have been impossible for them to obtain any news.
“A message came from the Void Guard. They discovered a large number of Black Ink Clansmen rushing towards the No-Return Pass from the direction of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction,” Mi Jing Lun said, “They should have all escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Furthermore, their overall strength is very high.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became serious.
There really was something wrong with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction! Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Black Ink Clansmen to escape in such large numbers.
[Did Mo wake up? What about Wu Kuang? What about the Suppressing Black Ink Army?]
Yang Kai’s emotions were suddenly in turmoil.
Yang Kai had been considering when Mo would wake up for a long time, but he couldn’t be certain of such a thing, nor had he gained anything from probing Mo Na Ye. Perhaps Mo Na Ye himself didn’t know anymore than he did.
Right now, Yang Kai could not rely on the World Tree, so even if he wanted to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to assess the situation, he couldn’t.
His previous worries had come true, and the favourable situation of the Human Race had suddenly become uncertain.
Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Yang Kai stated, “The problem with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction should have occurred five or six years ago.”
“It should be,” Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly.
During the third battle, the Black Ink Clan suddenly changed their strategy and went into full defensive mode, which Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun found quite strange; however, if the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass got word from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction that help was on the way, everything would make sense.
Since they knew about the reinforcements coming from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, they had opted for an all-out defensive strategy. As long as they could hold on until reinforcements arrived, they might be able to execute a pincer attack on the Human Race and catch them off guard, thereby turning the tables on them.
It wasn’t hard for the Black Ink Clan to get the news about the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Black Ink Nests not only had the ability to spawn Black Ink Clansmen, but this strange thing also held another advantage in transmitting information that could not be matched by any other known means.
Judging by the situation, the Black Ink Clan’s response was undoubtedly correct. As long as they continued to defend at the No-Return Pass, they would be able to hold out for more than a decade until reinforcements arrived. The only way this wouldn’t happen is if the Human Race decided to launch an all-out attack to take down the No-Return Pass at all costs before their reinforcements arrived.
“Does that mean that the Void Guard encountered the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements? Was there a clash?” Yang Kai asked.
Mi Jing Lun quickly replied, “Not for the time being. The Void Guard don’t have many people, but each of them is a Master who would be prudent in their actions. On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan Army is marching straight ahead, heading right towards their goal without trying to hide themselves. After the Void Guard discovered the situation, they immediately sent back a warning and then began monitoring the progress of the Black Ink Clan reinforcements. However, the deployment of the Space Arrays will be delayed because of this.”
This was something that couldn’t be helped. According to the original plan, the Void Guard under Li Wu Yi’s lead would set up Space Arrays all along the way to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. This way would make it much more convenient for the Human Race to attack the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction after conquering the No-Return Pass, saving them all the time which would have been wasted in transit.
But now that they had encountered the Black Ink Clan reinforcements halfway, setting up the Space Arrays had to be delayed. In fact, they even had to remove their own traces to prevent the Black Ink Clan reinforcements from discovering anything.
The moment Mi Jing Lun received the Void Guard’s message, he realized the gravity of the situation and immediately launched the seventh attack. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to contact Yang Kai.
It could be said that the reason this battle was happening was because Mi Jing Lun wanted to contact Yang Kai. As for dealing damage to the No-Return Pass, that was inconsequential today.
Yang Kai sank into contemplation.
[Something must have happened to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but no one knows exactly what. The only thing that’s apparent from the current situation is that the Suppressing Black Ink Army is in trouble; otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed Black Ink Clansmen to escape.]
[In the worst-case scenario, Mo is completely awake and has broken out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, while the Suppressing Black Ink Army… has been completely wiped out!]
Suppressing the worry and pain in his heart, Yang Kai tried his best to find a glimmer of clarity in this chaotic situation.
After a long time, he finally spoke, “It should still take the Black Ink Clan reinforcements over a decade more to arrive at the No-Return Pass, so the situation isn’t that bad.”
“But what will come, will come,” Mi Jing Lun softly replied, “We must seize the No-Return Pass before the Black Ink Clan reinforcements arrive; otherwise, once they get here and the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass make a move, we will be facing attacks on two fronts.”
If that really happened, not to mention attacking the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it would be difficult to say whether the Human Race Army would be able to make it out alive.
Be that as it may, it was extremely difficult to take down the No-Return Pass in the current situation. The entirety of the No-Return Pass had been set up like a tortoise shell by Mo Na Ye, with no gap for the Human Race to exploit. Even after so many battles, the Black Ink Clan had only suffered some superficial wounds.
Mi Jing Lun continued, “On the bright side, the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark.”
Yang Kai nodded, “This is indeed an advantage. It might not even have occurred to the Black Ink Clan reinforcements that their movements have been exposed.”
One had to admit that establishing a special organization like the Void Guard before the war and making them lay Space Arrays along the way in advance was truly a stroke of luck. If it weren’t for the fact that the Void Guard had set out in advance, and accidentally encountered the Black Ink Clan reinforcements along the way, perhaps the enemy would have arrived without the Human Race’s knowledge. That would have been a total disaster.
“Senior Brother,” Yang Kai called out, “I want to check on these reinforcements.”
“You’re going personally?” Mi Jing Lun was slightly taken aback, “I’ve already sent someone to investigate.”
Yang Kai asserted, “I can only rest assured after checking them personally. I need to verify some things. I hope… the situation hasn’t reached a critical point yet.”
Mi Jing Lun thought about it for a moment before acceding, “Okay, but if you don’t show your face for a long time, there is no guarantee that Mo Na Ye won’t notice your absence.”
“That’s fine, but Senior Brother still needs to devise a new strategy and prolong the battle until my return. Once I’m back we can end things here for the moment.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Mi Jing Lun readily agreed, “Right now, the Black Ink Clan is only focusing on defence. The initiative is in our hands, so we can decide when to end the fighting.”
“I’ll have to trouble you with this then, Senior Brother.” As Yang Kai finished speaking, he surged his strength and flew away. A moment later, he arrived at the temporary Human Race camp located three days away, where there was a Universe Temple with a Space Array.
Noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, the two Void Guards who were stationed here were both stunned, as there shouldn’t have been a reason for him to appear here at this time.
Be that as it may, they didn’t ask any questions. They just readied the Space Array under Yang Kai’s instructions, and let him teleport away.
With each teleportation, Yang Kai went deeper and deeper into the Black Ink Battlefield.
The Void Guard had left behind dozens of Universe Temples in the void over the years, and each was within the range of the previous Space Array. Each Universe Temple was further hidden by a Grand Array. So, in this vast void, if one did not specifically search for it, it would be difficult to find any traces of the Space Arrays.
Furthermore, even if one of the Universe Temples was destroyed for some unknown reason, it was not that big of a problem. The Void Guard still had spare Universe Temples with them and they could easily rush to the damaged location and re-establish the link.
Having said that, this kind of long-distance teleportation using the Universe Temples was a little taxing on ordinary cultivators. If one’s cultivation wasn’t sufficient, they would need to rest for a while after a few subsequent teleportations. In addition, the Space Arrays themselves would also need frequent maintenance for such intense usage.
Fortunately, it was not that troublesome for Yang Kai as he was proficient in the Dao of Space, so this kind of teleportation posed no pressure to him.
After dozens of teleportations, Yang Kai arrived at the leading temple less than three days later.
There were quite a few Void Guards stationed there, numbering in dozens. Originally, they were tasked with arranging more Space Arrays further up ahead, but due to some unforeseen circumstances along the way, they had all been stuck here.
Seeing Yang Kai, everyone, who had been a little anxious all this time, seemed to have found their pillar of support. All of them calmed down and bowed in unison.
“Dao Lord,” Miao Fei Ping stepped forward to take charge.
“Where’s Li Wu Yi?” Yang Kai looked around but didn’t see Li Wu Yi anywhere.
Miao Fei Ping quickly explained, “Senior Brother Li is monitoring the movements of the Black Ink Clan reinforcements with a few Junior Brothers.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “Is the other party aware of you?”
Miao Fei Ping shook his head in response, “I don’t think so. Senior Brother Li has given them a wide berth all this time. The moment he noticed the Black Ink Clan reinforcements, he immediately ordered us to conceal ourselves while retreating to this position. The Black Ink Clan probably never thought they would be discovered in such a place so their vigilance is lacking.”
Although he had obtained some information from Mi Jing Lun, after hearing it straight from Miao Fei Ping, Yang Kai was finally a little relieved. As long as the Void Guard’s whereabouts were not discovered, there was still room to manoeuvre.
“How do I find Li Wu Yi?” Yang Kai asked again.
Miao Fei Ping immediately took out a Space Beacon and stated, handing it to Yang Kai, “Senior Brother Li has the corresponding Space Beacon on him.”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and took it; however, he didn’t immediately use it to teleport. After all, he was completely unaware of the situation on Li Wu Yi’s side. If he were to rashly teleport to his position, their whereabouts might be exposed.
Yang Kai activated the Space Beacon for a brief moment before withdrawing his energy, giving Li Wu Yi a sign that someone was about to teleport over. If it was safe, Li Wu Yi would definitely respond.
After patiently waiting for a moment, the Space Beacon in Yang Kai’s hand flickered.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement and activated the Space Beacon. The next moment, Space Principles undulated before Yang Kai vanished.
In the void, several figures were using their own Space Secret Techniques to conceal their figures and auras. Under this kind of concealment, it was basically impossible for the Black Ink Clan reinforcements to detect their presence.
The leader of these figures was none other than Li Wu Yi. At this moment, he was holding a Space Beacon in his hand, a little puzzled as to why someone from the nearest Universe Temple would send such a signal.
But the next moment, he understood.
As Space Principles fluctuated, a figure suddenly appeared beside him. When Li Wu Yi saw who it was, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
He knew that after he sent the news back, Supreme Commander Mi would send someone to investigate, but he had never thought that it would be Yang Kai himself.
The Void Guard were about to bow to Yang Kai when he waved them off and instead asked Li Wu Yi, “Where are they?”
Li Wu Yi pointed in a certain direction.
Yang Kai looked in that direction and indeed noticed a billowing mass of Black Ink Clouds. He also saw an Army of Black Ink Clansmen rushing forward. From a distance, it looked like a huge sea of darkness was racing through the void.
Yang Kai was secretly shocked as there was a huge number of Black Ink Clansmen, at least 10 million of them!
This number might not be much compared to the number of Black Ink Clansmen participating in the main war; however, if all of these reinforcements were Masters rather than cannon fodder, it would be a terrifying force indeed.