“The Divine Spirits were the first to rule the Universe. They were born powerful, and had almost no natural enemies except themselves. They were Kings in those days and the vast world bowed at their feet.”
Cang began to orate and the Ninth-Order Masters listened carefully.
Although they were all top Masters who lived for many tens of thousands of years and stood at the pinnacle of the Human Race, they were considered Juniors when compared to Cang.
They knew this, so as soon as they found out about Cang, they treated him as their honourable Senior.
The Old Ancestors never knew these secrets of the Primordial Era and Early Ancient Era. No one had ever told them these while the ancient books did not have much in terms of details.
Everyone realized that today they would be learning from Cang things that they never knew before.
“The Divine Spirits were proud and undefeatable, but they had innate arrogance that they needed to prove to others. So, the Divine Spirits fought amongst themselves, and all Divine Spirits were enemies to all but their own.”
“Such a war soon swept across the 3,000 Worlds. As the battle raged on, it shattered the Heavens and Earth. Countless living beings perished while even the Divine Spirits themselves were not spared as many were killed. The battle of the Divine Spirits of the Primordial Era was almost a battle of complete extinction.”
“It was not until millions of years later when most of the Divine Spirits were exterminated and those that survived could barely sustain their Clans that the era of the Divine Spirits dominating all lives came to an end!”
“That also marked the beginning of the Early Ancient Era!”
“When the Divine Spirits fought, they created many servants and descendants. As the Divine Spirits declined, these servants and descendants, who were all essentially soldiers themselves, grew stronger. Their strength may not have been on par with the Divine Spirits, but they reproduced much faster than their predecessors, and if they grew to the very limits of their strength, they may not be worse off compared to the Divine Spirits themselves.”
“Those servants and descendants were the Monster Race! The Early Ancient Era was a period where the Monster Race ruled the Universe. All kinds of powerful Monster Beasts emerged, and in terms of pure numbers or species, they were far more numerous than the Divine Spirits.”
“While the Divine Spirits became dormant, the Monster Race were the Masters of the World. They also attacked and killed each other, along with those of other races as well.”
As Cang spoke, the grand images of the Primordial Era and Early Ancient Era gradually formed in the minds of the Old Ancestors.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were in awe as they listened while Yang Kai stood still, stopped pouring wine, and listened carefully to Cang’s narration.
No one would have thought that the Primordial Era and Early Ancient Era would be such periods where Divine Spirits and the Monster Race dominated the World.
“Senior, what about Humans? When was the Human Race born, and who created it?” An Old Ancestor asked.
The Monster Race was created by the Divine Spirits, but what about the Human Race? Everyone was curious who created the Humans.
“The Human Race…” Cang smiled and then replied, “The Human Race was not created by anyone. When the Heavens and Earth were created, the Human Race was born. The Human Race has existed throughout all the ages, even when the Divine Spirits ruled the Primordial Era and the Monster Race ruled the Early Ancient Era. During both Eras, there were traces of Human activity. At that time, the Human Race was separated into many small tribes. The Humans were born weak. The Divine Spirits were born with great power, and the Monster Beasts were born with strong bodies, so what about the Human Race? Human infants and children only knew how to cry and would perish without protection from others. The Human Race was slaughtered during those times of chaos.”
“That was until the dawning of the Late Ancient Era,” Cang said solemnly, “A great power felt that the Human Race had to grow stronger in order to survive the various hardships it had to endure, and 10 people were selected by that great power to travel the Universe and teach other Humans to cultivate and slowly become stronger. As time passed, the Humans became capable of competing with the Monster Race. Although Humans were born weak, they had an advantage compared to the Divine Spirits and the Monster Race, the ability to reproduce rapidly. This meant that their population grew at a pace that was orders of magnitude greater than others, allowing the Race as a whole to quickly become strong. The Human Race grew and grew until by the end of the Late Ancient Era, they were strong enough to rule this vast Universe. At that time, Humans flourished in every Great Territory and every World.”
“A great power…” An Old Ancestor asked seriously, “Senior mentioned about a great power. What is it?”
Cang leisurely mused, “Perhaps the Heavenly Way?”
He did not answer directly and the crowd was not sure if he did not want to say or really did not know.
The Old Ancestor who asked did not pursue the question while another asked, “The 10 who were entrusted to teach the other Humans. Senior… are you one of the 10?”
The reason why there was such a question was because Cang had lived for so long. To know what went on during the Primordial Era, Early Ancient Era, and Late Ancient Era, the only way was to have personally experienced those times.
Furthermore, when Cang spoke about the restriction, he said that the restrictions were set up by him and his nine other friends.
That was exactly 10 people!
Cang smiled faintly and said, “Sort of.”
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were in awe. They were originally sitting in the void, but now they all rose up and bowed to Cang in deep respect.
An Old Ancestor held up his jar of wine and roared, “To Martial Ancestor!”
Martial Ancestor!
If the 10 of them did not go around teaching the Human Race how to cultivate, it would be unimaginable what state the Humans would still be in today. As one of the 10 who originally taught the Human Race about the existence of the Martial Dao, Cang deserved the title of Martial Ancestor.
“To Martial Ancestor!” All the Old Ancestors proclaimed with utmost respect.
The crowd shouted in unison, tilting their heads and drinking the wine in the cups.
Cang reached out and cupped his fist humbly, “Back then, when I taught with my nine old friends, I was only abiding by the Will of the Heavens. It was the only way the Human Race could continue to survive, so I do not deserve the title of Martial Ancestor.”
Yang Kai diligently poured wine for him and chuckled, “The people in front of you are the top Masters of the Human Race. When they say that you are the Martial Ancestor, then you are our Martial Ancestor. If not for you and the other nine Martial Ancestors, the Human Race would not be here today.”
A true Martial Ancestor! Yang Kai never dreamed he would one day meet such a mythical figure, one of the founders who taught the Human Race about the great Martial Dao.
Although this was only a one-sided revelation from Cang, no one doubted it.
Who could have known so much if they had not experienced the events themselves?
“What about Mo? When did it appear?” An Old Ancestor asked.
Regardless of what happened during the Primordial Era, Early Ancient Era, and Late Ancient Era, the only thing that everyone was now more concerned with was Mo. Only when it was resolved, would this crusade of the Human Race be considered a success. It would only be then that there would be no more conflicts to resolve.
“Mo…” Cang sighed, “In the beginning of the Universe, when the First Primordial Light came into existence, darkness was also born. That darkness was Mo. Its existence is even older than that of the Divine Spirits!”
The Ninth-Order Masters gasped.
As Cang mentioned, the Divine Spirits ruled the Primordial Era and the Monster Race ruled the Early Ancient Era, making them sound like they were the first beings to exist. Who would have expected that Mo was even older than them?
“Since Black Ink Strength was so invasive, why didn’t Mo rise up to dominate everything during the Primordial Era and the Early Ancient Era, when the Divine Spirits and the Monster Race were ruling?”
If Mo rose up during that time, neither the Divine Spirits nor the Monster Race would have had a chance to rule over the Universe. No matter if it was in the Primordial Era or Early Ancient Era, it would have been the Black Ink Clan that ruled the World.
Cang shook his head and explained, “Although it existed since the beginning of the Universe, its sentience formed much later. It lay dormant during the Primordial Era and Early Ancient Era, and even during the Late Ancient Era, before the Human Race became dominant, it still remained unaware. It was not until a long time later that it became sentient and began to leave this place on its own accord.”
“This place?” The Ninth-Order Masters paid close attention to Cang’s choice of words, “Senior, does it mean that it was born here as well?”
Cang nodded and said, “This is where the Heavens and Earth began, and it is also the birthplace of Mo. It can also be considered the end point of the Universe. That is why we laid the restrictions here, deceived it here, and sealed it.”
“Deceived…” the Old Ancestors murmured to each other.
Cang said solemnly, “In fact… its sentience is not too developed, at least, before it was imprisoned. In fact, Mo’s sentience was only equivalent to that of a child. It was a little naughty, but it was not bad in nature. Unfortunately, its existence itself is evil.”
The Old Ancestors were surprised to hear his comment.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was suddenly reminded of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, whom he met in the Chaotic Dead Territory. Both of them were also extremely powerful, but their personalities were just like that of children.
The Old Ancestors may not be able to understand Cang’s comment on Mo, but since Yang Kai could associate what he said with his experience with Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, he could understand the situation better.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai suddenly wondered, [Perhaps, in this World, once their strength reaches beyond a certain level, their sentience becomes limited?]
“The Late Ancient Era ended as Mo’s sentience began to take form, slowly assuming a form that then left this place. At that time, the Human Race had already dominated the 3,000 Worlds, so you can imagine what it would be like for a child who suddenly arrived in an extremely prosperous World. Someone who grew up in deathly silence, was always alone, and had never had any companions.”
The Old Ancestors fell silent, leaving Yang Kai to respond, “It must have been very happy and wanted to be part of it.”
“En,” Cang nodded, “Mo did not intend to harm anyone, it just wanted to immerse itself and enjoy its prosperity, to get to know others and feel the bustling world around it. However, it did not know that its power was too overbearing for the mundane world. Thus, everywhere Mo went, all the people were corrupted. Everyone honoured it, saw it with reverence, and fulfilled all of its demands.”
“Everywhere that was occupied by Mo became tainted in its colour. Every Great Territory was corrupted by Mo and its power grew rapidly. Everywhere Mo went became its territory! World Force was its favourite food, and the noisy cities became its favourite places.”
“In less than a few hundred years, hundreds of Great Territories fell, all the World Force was consumed, and the lands naturally died. The people living in these dead lands became corrupted by Black Ink Strength.”
“This Old Master and my nine old friends came to investigate immediately after we became aware of the news, and learned about the strangeness of Black Ink Strength. We knew that if we could not solve this problem, the 3,000 Worlds would one day be completely consumed by Mo, and by that time, there would be no one else in this World!”
“This Old Master and my friends came with hostile intentions, but Mo did not realize it at all. Instead, it welcomed us and showed us the beauty of its territory and its achievements with great delight…”
Looking back, Mo truly behaved like a child. It had something that it was proud of but there was no one to share it with. It was a rare occasion that others could be its guest; thus, it happily tried to show off to Cang and the nine other Martial Ancestors.
The reason why Mo liked Cang and his friends was because they could resist its Black Ink Strength, unlike the others who became subservient to it and obeyed its orders after being corrupted.
For Mo, what it needed was not a servant, but a friend, whom it could share joy and happiness with.
“Initially, Mo considered us friends with completely pure intentions. It was so friendly and honest that we did not know what to do when we were faced with it. We originally thought of killing it, but when it came time to act, not one of us could bring ourselves to be ruthless against a child. Black Ink Strength was simply the power it was born with. It did not have the intention of wreaking havoc on the 3,000 Worlds, it just did not understand what harm it could do to the Human Race, and that its existence would lead to the destruction of everything.”
“In addition to our own feelings, Mo was indestructible, so there was essentially nothing that we could do to destroy it. So, our plans gradually changed. We explored its birthplace and decided to lure it here. Once it was here, we would use our strength and seal it here. We wanted to slowly find a way to understand its power, not only to see if we could find a way to preserve its life, but also to neutralize its Black Ink Strength.”
“Before we did that, we worked together to split apart the Great Territories occupied by Mo so that its Black Ink Strength would not poison the others that remained uncontaminated. At that time, many Masters gathered under Mo’s command, so when we imprisoned Mo here, it was furious and ordered its servants to attack the Human Race. That was how the war began, and the vast void behind you is where the two sides fought.”
“Initially, we could still perceive the movement of the battle, but as time passed, the battlefield gradually expanded outward, and we lost track of how the war was progressing.”
The war suddenly broke out after Cang and the other nine imprisoned Mo. The Human Race wanted to stop the encroachment of Black Ink Strength and protect their home; however, Mo was angry with Cang and the others’ betrayal and ordered its slaves to slaughter all living beings.
Thus, the Black Ink Battlefield was born in this new era. It was an era where the Human Race had experienced many new dangers, dangers that persisted to today. At that time, there was a tragic great war where the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race fought to the death across the vast Black Ink Battlefield. For both sides, retreat was not an option.
“That great war lasted for around 10,000 years. Many Human Masters were killed and injured. Naturally, the forces under Mo were ruthlessly killed as well. Just when we thought that Black Ink Strength’s hidden problems were basically pacified, Mo’s power suddenly erupted out from the restriction. It had been accumulating power for those 10,000 years, and the 10 of us were caught off guard and nearly overwhelmed by it. Although it took a lot of effort for us to reseal it, some of the servants it created escaped from this place… If I’m not mistaken, you call those servants Royal Lords.”
Yang Kai nodded as the pieces seemed to come into place.
When Yang Kai questioned the Territory Lord who was trapped in Void Crack, Ge Chen, he said that the Royal Lords came out of the Source Domain and brought with them their Black Ink Nests.
Now, it seemed that those Royal Lords were the same ones that escaped at that time.
Yang Kai was horrified.
What kind of power did Mo have to directly create so many Royal Lords?
Then, what kind of powers did Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors possess to be able to imprison Mo?
Cang said that he was only in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but how could he merely be in the Ninth-Order? Was it really as simple as him being further along the Martial Dao than the current generation’s Ninth-Order Masters?
“Mo’s intention was very simple. It could not get out from within by itself; thus, it hoped that its servant could break it out from the outside. Although the restriction created by the 10 of us was strong, it would not withstand a concentrated attack by numerous Royal Lords from the outside. Mo might really be able to escape if 500 Royal Lords bombarded the restriction at the same time.”
“Thus, we were very worried when we saw those Royal Lords escape. If those Royal Lords managed to conquer the 3,000 Worlds and take over everything, it would be enough for them to create an endless number of Black Ink Clansmen. With such numbers, it would not be difficult for them to amass 500 Royal Lords in time.”
“However, thankfully this never came to be. When not one Royal Lord returned to help Mo out of the trap, we knew that the Human Race had pushed them back. This made us very happy; however, as the years passed, it became harder to guard this place. One by one, my old friends could not endure and began to fall. In the end, this Old Master was the only one left here, waiting for you all to come.”
Cang managed to give the Old Ancestors magnificent descriptions of what happened during the Primordial Era, the Early Ancient Era, and the Late Ancient Era. He also revealed a lot of unheard-of secrets to the Old Ancestors and explained to them the origins of Mo.
At the end of the Late Ancient Era, the battle between the Black ink Clan and the Human Race was so fierce that even the Supreme Masters of the Human Race were killed. With a lack of records or distortions as generations passed, it created a gap in the Human Race’s knowledge of the World’s history, which was why even the Cave Heavens and Paradises ended up not knowing much about these ancient events.
If the Human Army had not arrived here today, they still would not understand the origins of their history.
Although they were unclear, the tradition of fighting against the Black Ink Clan had continued because the Human Race needed to survive. They had to prevent the Black Ink Clan from ever getting to the 3,000 Worlds, or it would be the end of the Human Race.
More than 100 Theatres in more than 100 Great Passes continued to resist in the Black Ink Battlefield. Countless years and generations of Humans gave their lives to ensure this steadfast protection.
The battles were grand and glorious. The Humans and the Black Ink Clan had a long history of fighting since the end of the Late Ancient Era, which continued on to this day.
The reason why the Black Ink Clan invaded was because they needed to use the resources to breed more Royal Lords so that they could return to this place to free Mo.
The Old Ancestors were silent after Cang finished speaking.
What they heard today was beyond their imagination, and they needed some time to process all the new and alarming information.
After a long time, an Old Ancestor asked, “Senior, our Crusade Force has arrived. What can be done to completely destroy Mo? We have around 2 million soldiers pledged to fight to the death. Is this enough to clear all the evil that lies within?”
Cang slowly shook his head and replied grimly, “Mo was born with the Universe itself, its existence is special. The 10 of us could only seal and weaken it, but we could never completely destroy it.”
The Old Ancestors listened with trepidation. [It could not be completely destroyed?]
If there was no way to completely destroy it, then was this not a true immortal and indestructible existence?
The Great Battle Cave Heaven Old Ancestor quickly noticed something, however and asked, “The 10 of us could only…? Did you mean that there is a way? Senior, please enlighten us. Since we came here, we will not just turn around empty-handed.”
Cang pondered a little and said, “There is a way, but this Old Master cannot guarantee whether it will work or not. This solution was discussed by all my old friends when they were still alive, but this idea had never been proven.”
The Ninth-Order Masters listened carefully.
“Previously, this Old Master said that when the World first began, the Primordial Light came into existence together with darkness, which later became Mo. Therefore, we believe that the Primordial Light and the darkness are in a symbiotic relationship. If we want to completely eliminate the darkness, perhaps we need to find the Primordial Light in this World. Perhaps, with the power of the Primordial Light, we can eliminate Black Ink Strength once and for all.”
“The Primordial Light…”
The Ninth-Order Masters’ jaws dropped, while Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
How were they supposed to find that?
When the World was created, light was born. How could they know how to find the first light in existence? How do they find the Primordial Light that existed since the dawn of time?
It was totally unimaginable.
Cang noticed what they were wondering and said, “There may be a way. Since Mo was born when the darkness achieved sentience, then when the Primordial Light achieved sentience, someone or something must have been born from it. This entity must be somewhere in the 3,000 Worlds; however, it could be a person, a Monster Beast, or even a tree or a blade of grass on the roadside. If you can find it and bring it here, then the problem with Black Ink Strength would be resolved as its power should be enough to restrain Mo.”
When he said this, all the Ninth-Order Masters suddenly turned their heads towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered the two Supreme Beings he was acquainted with.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan!
If there was any power in this Universe that could truly restrain Black Ink Strength, it was the Purifying Light, which Yang Kai could produce by using the two marks granted to him by those two and fusing the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer’s power which was contained in the Yellow and Blue Crystals.
[Were Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan once the Primordial Light?] Yang Kai was also a bit confused. [If they are the Primordial Light, how did they become two beings? Could it be that the two could fuse into one? That doesn’t sound right either. These two represented the extremes of Yin and Yang, and they have been fighting each other for countless years in the Chaotic Dead Territory. How could they ever fuse together as one?]
Whether or not it was Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, these two were avatars of destruction whose mere presence annihilated the world around them, so how could they possibly be brought here?
Seeing the reactions of the Old Ancestors, Cang asked, “Does this little friend know something about the Primordial Light?”
Yang Kai replied, “I’m not sure if those two are the incarnations of the Primordial Light, but Senior, I had received some power from them…”
After saying that, he activated the two marks, drawing power from the Yellow and Blue Crystals to merge into Purifying Light.
As the white light blossomed, Cang’s eyes glowed brightly as he concentrated on perceiving the light for a moment, only to shake his head and say, “This light is not pure enough, and far from matching the Primordial Darkness. However, it should have some relationship with the Primordial Light. Where did you get this power, little friend?”
Yang Kai told him about the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Cang softly murmured, “Burning Light, Serene Glimmer… So, it’s them!”
He obviously knew about these two as well.
The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer had existed for a very long time and were known as the two legendary ancestors of all Divine Spirits. It was because of them that there were Divine Spirits.
The Divine Spirits existed during the Primordial Era, so these two Supreme Beings must have existed even earlier than the Divine Spirits.
Since Cang was from the Late Ancient Era, how could he not have heard about them?
Cang didn’t know that the powers of those two could be combined. The Human Race of the Late Ancient Era did not have a very good opinion of the Divine Spirits and rarely wanted to come into contact with them, let alone the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer who were the supposed progenitors of the Divine Spirits. Furthermore, the Chaotic Dead Territory was a Forbidden Zone for the Human Race.
Although Cang and other nine Martial Ancestors were from that era, they had never set foot in the Chaotic Dead Territory and did not know much about Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
Even if they did come into contact, they might not be able to consider the two being able to help.
After all, it was only thousands of years after Cang and other nine Martial Ancestors got locked up here to guard Mo that they considered how they could completely defeat Mo. That was when they first thought of the Primordial Light.
Now, it seems that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan most likely had something to do with the Primordial Light.
It might really be the case that those two could really merge, but who could bring them here?
Considering that the Primordial Light might also be eliminated when Mo was destroyed, who could force those two to sacrifice themselves if they were unwilling to?
The Old Ancestors were faced with a conundrum. Although they had learned from Cang that there was a possible solution, it was still too difficult to implement.
“Senior, in that case, is our Human Race’s crusade here pointless?” An Old Ancestor asked gravely.
Without a way to completely eliminate Mo, the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan would never end. Did the 2 million soldiers of this mighty army brave through all those dangers for nothing?
Cang shook his head and solemnly said, “It’s not useless. To tell you the truth, you came just at the right time.”
“Senior, please elaborate…”
Cang sighed and said, “Back then, when we laid the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction here, it was because it was Mo’s birthplace. As the years passed, Mo’s servants turned this huge void into a Spiritless Land. So, we simply had no way to replenish our own strength. Even my old friends passed away one by one, until this Old Master was the only one left.”
“If you came even 1,000 years later, this Old Master would have followed in the footsteps of my friends. Even if this Old Master doesn’t die though, Mo would still be able to get out of this trap on its own one day.”
During the countless years of being trapped in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Mo was not just waiting for death, it was secretly building up its strength and testing the restriction from the inside.
In its first real attempt, it almost succeeded, but in the end, it was once again resealed by the 10 Martial Ancestors. That incident had led to more than 100 Royal Lords escaping with their Black Ink Nests.
Those 100 or so Royal Lords who escaped were the root of the major Theatres.
Today, even if Cang did not know how powerful Mo had become, after suffering a few losses, it undoubtedly became smarter and more patient. Although Cang had tried several times to dig up information from it, Mo would never reveal how powerful the force it was amassing had become.
It was lying dormant, waiting patiently for the moment when Cang became weak enough for it to attempt to break out again.
That was why Cang said that they came at just the right time. If they arrived some years later, he might have been unable to hold on. By then, Mo would escape and bring disastrous for the Universe.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao narrowed her eyes and asked with great concern, “Senior, how strong is Mo compared to you?”
Cang pondered a little and said, “Mo itself is not too strong. If we really fought, it might not be this Old Master’s match; however, it cannot be completely destroyed. I can defeat it once, or maybe twice, but I will be the one who dies in the end! Its real strength is not in itself, but in the servants it creates.”
Being an immortal entity, even if it was inferior in raw strength, it could still kill its opponents who were much stronger than it by simply persisting through the ages. This was why Cang and the other nine did not directly attack Mo.
They knew they could not destroy Mo, so they did not waste their strength.
The Ninth-Order Masters suddenly realized something and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked, “Does Senior mean that over the years, Mo may have created many Black Ink Clansmen inside the restriction?”
Cang quickly answered, “Indeed. Probably more than you can imagine, including many, many Royal Lords.”
The Ninth Orders all looked very grave.
This was terrible news.
Not only was the source of the Black Ink Clan close to breaking free of its seal, but there were also many Royal Lords trapped inside along with it that would break loose when the time came.
Thinking about the scale of the restriction, just how many Royal Lords could be hidden in this huge area?
That number was unimaginable.
Setting aside all other things, if there was even just 200 Royal Lords inside, that would be a huge problem for the Human Race. However, right now, they could not even tell how many were inside?
There must be at least 46 as there were originally 50 that ambushed the Old Ancestors in the Black Ink Space. Though some had died, there were bound to be many more than 50. Mo had been imprisoned here for millions of years, after all, and it had nothing else to do but to create servants.
“Mo cannot possibly create Black Ink Clansmen out of thin air, it must need to consume energy to do so. Since it is imprisoned here, where does the energy come from?” An Old Ancestor asked.
The main reason for this question was because the people knew that Black Ink Clansmen were born from Black Ink Nests, but when a Black Ink Nest spawned Black Ink Clansmen, it had to consume a lot of resources.
Although Mo was the source of the Black Ink Clan, it still had to draw its energy from somewhere.
Cang smiled bitterly and replied, “This could also be considered our blunder. This place is the Primordial Heavens’ Source, the origin of both the Universe, the Primordial Light, and Primordial Darkness. When we tricked Mo into coming here, we wanted to harness the vast energy here to suppress and seal it. We thought that the unlimited energy of the Primordial Heavens Source could strengthen the restriction; after all, it is the origin of all things, even Mo. But, it seems the Heavens are truly fair in all things. Mo can also extract the power of the Primordial Heavens Source for its own use while it is here.”
The Old Ancestors gasped audibly as they listened.
Mo could draw the power of the source of the 3,000 Worlds with the help of this special place. In other words, since the 3,000 Worlds were infinite and indestructible, Mo’s strength was inexhaustible!
Cang and the other nine could initially refine and absorb Starlight Strength or other forms of energy from the void to maintain the restriction; however, when the Royal Lords escaped and turned a huge swath of the void into a Spiritless Land, they could not do so anymore.
Instead, Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors had to draw from their own strength, weakening themselves day by day as they had no means to replenish their power.
Before the nine Martial Ancestors died, each of them directed all their remaining might, sacrificing their core essence to the restriction to enhance its strength; otherwise, Mo would have escaped out of this restriction long ago.
After all his old friends had departed one after another, Cang would be next if the Crusade Force had not arrived.
After his death, the restriction might still be able to suppress and seal Mo for some years, but it would not last for long and Mo would eventually be able to get out of the trap.
That was why he said that the Human Race Army came at the right time.
Even such an ancient supreme being would have felt desperate after waiting for millions of years. Who knew how excited Cang was when he perceived the aura of that battle a few years ago.
When he realized that someone was fighting in the Black Ink Nest Space, he decisively took action.
“Since you have come here, you must have the intention to get rid of Mo, and it just so happens that this Old Master needs your help.”
The Old Ancestor all looked solemn as the Great Battle Heaven Old Ancestor said, “We do not know Mo as well as Senior does. When we led the crusade to this place, we thought that we could ruthlessly kill whatever was here. We did not expect things to turn out this way. Perhaps Senior can instruct us on what to do now.”
The other Old Ancestors all nodded in unison.
Cang was the first to cup his fist and said, “This Old Master thanks all of you in advance. To be honest, if a fight breaks out, you will lose a lot of the 2 million you’ve brought here.”
The Old Ancestors laughed as one of them replied, “Senior, the founding purpose of the Cave Heavens and Paradises was to fight against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. Over the years, many of our ancestors have died to fulfil that purpose. If they did not have the Will to fight and die, they would not have dared to set foot onto the Black Ink Battlefield to kill the enemy. Senior, not to mention if we had large numbers of casualties, even if this entire Army perished here, it would be worth it if we could destroy the Black Ink Clan. As for thanking us, we should be the ones to thank you, Senior! Without Senior’s great devotion to guarding this place, the 3,000 Worlds would have been lost and we would not be here today.”
Cang looked at the crowd, and saw that the many Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not flinch, even though they were aware of the power and evilness of Mo. He began to smile with relief.
[This generation of warriors is indeed competent; otherwise, it would not have taken the Human Race more than a million years before they came.]
Just as Cang was about to speak, a voice echoed, “You all want to listen to this old man’s nonsense and become my enemies?”
The voice was so indistinct that none of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters knew where it came from, but all of them soon turned pale.
“Mo!”
Mo was the only one who would say such words at this moment.
No one expected that Mo, which was suppressed and sealed in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction where the Heavens and Earth were created, could still communicate with them. What made things worse was from the tone of its voice, it had heard everything that was said here.
Yang Kai looked very odd. Moments ago, Cang said that Mo’s personality was like a child; furthermore, it seemed that its voice was also that of a child.
It was practically the same as Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
When he thought about it, Mo, Big Brother Huang, and Big Sister Lan seemed to actually have a lot in common. Perhaps the solution to resolving the crisis of the Black Ink Clan really depended on those two.
“This Supreme One cannot be killed. What the old man said about the Primordial Light is pure nonsense. This place is the birthplace of this Supreme One, what Primordial Light could be found here?” Mo sarcastically said.
“You are only seeking your own doom if you listen to this old man’s nonsense.”
Cang slowly shook his head and retorted “Mo, just because you do not know about something does not mean that it does not exist. Or perhaps… are you afraid?”
“Afraid?” Mo raised its voice and replied, “Why would this Supreme One be afraid of you? I hate you! I hate that I trusted you so much! I hate how I was tricked into coming here, only to be imprisoned for countless years! Old man, once I get out of here, you will be the first one to die!”
Cang chuckled and said, “Rest assured, there won’t be such a day.”
Mo ignored him and said to the Old Ancestors, “It’s surprising that you’ve made it this far. However, your efforts are pointless. How about this? Why not make a deal with this Supreme One?”
The Great Battle Heaven Old Ancestor looked up at void, narrowed his eyes and asked, “What kind of deal?”
Mo replied, “If you help me kill this old man, this Supreme One will promise you that after I get out of this cage, I will rule alongside your Human Race! Black Ink Battlefield… is what you call this stretch of void. The Black Ink Clan and I will never set foot outside of Black Ink Battlefield or bring harm to your lands.”
Unlike Cang, Mo knew a lot about the Humans of today. The bizarre nature of the Black Ink Nest allowed Mo to monitor every Theatre at all times.
The Great Battle Heaven Old Ancestor snickered, “How could we possibly sleep in peace?”
There was no guarantee that Mo would keep this agreement. Even if it did, how could the Human Race be at ease? Who knew if Mo changed its mind?
After all, it was the source of the Black Ink Clan!
The Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had fought with each other for countless years. The countless dead soldiers had forged an eternal blood feud. This was not a matter that could be so easily resolved.
All the Old Ancestors wanted to hear was Mo’s proposal, but they had no plans to take it seriously.
Even Cang knew that the Human Race would not accept this proposal which was why he chose to remain quiet and not interfere.
Mo sighed and said, “You Humans keep saying that you want to kill this Supreme One for your own survival, but you have not achieved this even after so many years. You have lost a lot of people, just as I have lost a lot of my servants. No one has the upper hand. Didn’t that old man say that this Supreme One was born when the Heavens and Earth began? If the Heavens and Earth were destroyed, how can this Supreme One live on? I would be alone. When I first became sentient, I didn’t know anything and could not control my own power, that is why I caused such a great disaster. Now that I know the seriousness of what happened, I will not let it happen again. I promise. If this Supreme One says that the Black Ink Clan will never step out of the Black Ink Battlefield, this Supreme One will definitely not go back on my word. This Supreme One swears by its Soul that if I lie, may the Heavens smite my Soul and end my life.”
Cang was slightly moved and remarked, “Looks like you are determined!”
An Old Ancestor looked at Cang and asked, “Senior means that this guy can be trusted?”
Cang nodded and said, “The most important thing to Mo’s existence is its own Soul, or in other words, its sentience. Since it swore by its Soul, it should be true. If it violates its oath, even if its Soul does not get destroyed, it would suffer a fate worse than death.”
Cang did not try to exaggerate or lie and just spoke straightforwardly.
Hearing what Mo said, there was no doubt that it was extremely eager to get out of this trap. For this reason, it was even willing not to step out of the Black Ink Battlefield.
“Not only do Humans desire a prosperous future, so does this Supreme One. I naturally desired to go somewhere most bustling and alive. The disaster that happened eons ago was unintentional, and for it I have been trapped here for so many years. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
Cang sighed slightly and said, “It is not a question of if it is enough. Mo, you should know that yourself.”
Mo replied indignantly, “Then, you want to ruthlessly kill me simply because I was born with this power?”
Cang remained silent.
Was Mo wrong?
Its power was simply what it was, and what happened back then was not intentional. It wanted to be part of the Human Race’s prosperity and was driven by instinct to feel the splendour of a world it had never felt before.
But, was it right?
Its presence resulted in the decimation of hundreds of Great Territories and the death of all living things in those lands. Countless Human Race Masters became corrupted by Black Ink Strength, their original personality annihilated as they were reduced mere slaves.
This was no longer a question of right or wrong.
In the silence, the Great Battle Heaven Old Ancestor coldly snorted and said, “You were ignorant back then, but don’t you understand now? For countless years, the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield have been trying to invade the 3,000 Worlds. Your words sound sincere at first, but they are dishonest!”
Mo said leisurely, “If you had been trapped here for millions of years, wouldn’t you try to find a way to get out? There is only one way for this Supreme One to get out of here, but that was the past. Now, as long as you are willing to help me, this Supreme One naturally does not need to do that again. This Supreme One can even promise you that after I get out of this trap, this Supreme One can retract all my Black Ink Strength. Then, there would not be any Black Ink Clansman in this world except for this Supreme One!”
“That certainly sounds tempting!” An Old Ancestor chuckled.
If Mo was true to its word, it would remain in the Black Ink Battlefield and take back all its Black Ink Strength. This was undoubtedly a good outcome. However, could it keep its word?
Even if it could keep its promise for a short time, what about in the long run?
If it could never step out of the Black Ink Battlefield, it meant that it was still imprisoned!
The only thing that changed was that it had gone from a small cage built around the Primordial Heavens Source, to the big cage of the Black Ink Battlefield.
Did it not just say that it sought for prosperity? Perhaps it could endure loneliness for 1,000 years, or even 10,000 years, but what would happen after 100,000 years, or a million years?
How could an entity that had been imprisoned for millions of years, once freed, agree to be imprisoned again? They certainly could not believe everything it said.
Thus, none of the Old Ancestors took its words seriously. Mo’s sincere-sounding oath could only be taken superficially and anyone who believed in it was a fool.
Mo had sensed the Old Ancestors’ thoughts towards its proposal and it began to fume as, regardless of how long it had lived, its thoughts were still like those of a child. It now felt upset and aggrieved that even its willingness to compromise could not satisfy the greedy Human Race.
“Do you really want to be the enemy of this Supreme One?” Mo raged.
“Years of blood feud can only end in death!” The Great Battle Heaven Old Ancestor’s aura turned sharp as it pointed to the void.
Mo gloomily said, “Consider carefully. You may not be able to win if you really want to fight! This old man has also said that this Supreme One created countless servants over these millions of years. You may have a 2 million strong Army, but that is still not enough to be this Supreme One’s opponent. How can you win? What will be the final outcome? Since you cannot kill this Supreme One, are you going to continue to imprison me?”
An Old Ancestor said with a smile, “Originally, I did not have much confidence in this battle when I heard what Martial Ancestor said. However, now that I have listened to you, I think we can win. Perhaps we can even kill you!”
“You must be tired of living!” Mo shouted angrily.
The Old Ancestors did not bother to say anything else. They were all Masters with firm Wills who had led their Armies to this place; thus, they would not be swayed by what Mo said.
No matter how tempting Mo’s promises were, its very existence was a huge threat to the 3,000 Worlds. The only way to solve this problem was to completely annihilate it.
Although there was no way to find the Primordial Light for the time being, they could not just leave Mo alone.
Cang was already dying, and to relieve his burden, they must first weaken Mo. Once the situation stabilized here, the Human Race could then search for the Primordial Light.
Looking around at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Cang asked, “Have you all thought it through?”
The Old Ancestors all nodded.
The Myriad Demons Old Ancestor smiled and said, “Senior, tell us what we should do. Honestly, we had not expected things to turn out this way, so we hardly know how we should proceed.”
Cang nodded and said, “Since you and the others are determined to fight, then the matter is very simple.”
He did not try to hide what he was going to say from Mo; in fact, he could not hide it even if he wanted to. Although Mo was not particularly strong in terms of raw combat power, its Divine Sense was exceptionally keen. Thus, Mo could sense whatever he was about to say no matter how he tried to conceal it.
“When you are prepared, this Old Master will open the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Once the restriction is open, you and the army must kill the Black Ink Clansmen as soon as they emerge,” Cang explained.
An Old Ancestor asked with worry, “Once the restriction is open? Won’t Mo take advantage of the opportunity to escape?”
Cang shook his head and said “This Old Master will use the power of the restriction to restrain it. It will not be able to get out.”
Cang was confident about this point; otherwise, he would not dare to open up the restriction.
“But you must be very careful, Mo has an innate ability which also can be said to be a Secret Technique. Even if Mo does not have direct contact with you, the Secret Technique might cause you and the others to be corrupted and turn into servants.”
“An Innate Divine Ability!?” An Old Ancestor bellowed.
Cang nodded and said, “So to speak. So, be sure to protect your Souls. This Old Master will try not to let it have the opportunity to strike you, but you should also protect yourselves.”
“We understand.”
The Human Race was no stranger to such abilities of the Black Ink Clan. In fact, the Royal Lords had such an Innate Divine Ability, which the Humans simply called the Royal Lord Secret Technique.
As Cang said, even without direct contact, once their Soul was hit by such a Secret Technique, it would be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
As the source of the Black Ink Clan, how could Mo not possess such a skill?
“Over the years, this Old Master was not sure of how many servants Mo had created, so this battle will most likely be very difficult, if you and the others can’t hold on anymore, you should inform Old Master immediately and I will close the gap!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and exclaimed, “Senior can both open and close the restriction? Can we keep repeating this, so that we can keep wearing down its strength.”
As long as Cang had good control of this gap, the Human Race might even be able to kill the entire Black Ink Clan Army without any damage.
Cang, however, smiled and replied, “No. Opening and ensuring that the gap does not expand and closing it requires much time and strength. Furthermore, doing it too many times would make the restriction unstable. If Mo breaks out from inside, even this Old Master might be powerless to suppress and seal it.”
Yang Kai understood. He also knew that it could not be that simple.
“In addition…” Cang appeared slightly grave as he said, “Over these years, Mo seems to have hidden some kind of power. When he first used that power, he almost broke out of the restriction. Unfortunately, I still do not know much about this power. All of you must be extremely careful.”
The Old Ancestors all listened solemnly. If Mo nearly broke out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and even Cang, who had been here guarding this place for millions of years did not understand how, then this power was obviously Mo’s trump card.
Millions of years ago, when Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors sealed Mo, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was not so large. At that time, it was at most a small piece of the void, hardly a thousandth of its current size.
As time passed though, Mo drew on the power of the 3,000 Worlds, through this Primordial Heavens Source, and its own power fiercely rose.
Thus, the Grand Restriction also expanded along with it.
By now, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had almost reached its limit. The greater the size of the Grand Restriction, the more difficult it was for Cang to maintain it, and when the scope exceeded a certain threshold, the restriction would naturally burst.
That was also why Cang said that the Human Race Army came just in time. Even if he did not die, he would be unable to maintain the seal if they came more than 1,000 years later.
Now, in order to relieve his burden, they had to wear down the Black Ink Strength inside. If he could get better control over the restriction, then there would not be any concerns about Mo breaking out of the trap. By then, the Human Race Masters would be free to search for the Primordial Light.
Thus, no matter what, a battle was inevitable.
The Human Race would fight to weaken the Black Ink Strength, while Mo would try to use this opportunity to escape.
Mo had been suppressed and sealed here all this time, but even Cang did not know what the situation inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was.
Mo completely isolated the inside with its own power and its Divine Sense was extremely powerful, so it intentionally prevented anyone from sensing what was going on. Even Cang was unable to peek into it.
However, when Mo nearly broke out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction long ago, there was indeed an extremely powerful force that blew up from the inside. Even when Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors quickly suppressed it, some Royal Lords still managed to escape.
Those Royal Lords first took this surrounding area, where the Heavens and Earth was formed, as their target and managed to turn this huge stretch of void into a Spiritless Land so as to cut off any source of power for Cang and the others. They then took their Black Ink Nests across the dangerous ancient battlefields to search for suitable locations to create Royal Cities. Thereafter, they began to spawn large armies so that they could invade the 3,000 Worlds, gain more resources, breed more Black Ink Clansmen, and then return to rescue Mo.
In fact, back then, more than 200 Royal Lords had escaped the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but in that era, the restrictions and residual Divine Abilities that remained on the ancient battlefields were far more powerful than the ones the Human crusade experienced along their way here. Thus, many Royal Lords fell, leaving just over 100 survivors.
Those restrictions and residual Divine Abilities were from the first great war between Mo’s servants and the Great Experts of the Late Ancient Era. Cang had mentioned that the battle raged for 10,000 years.
The Royal Lords who moved to create their Royal Cities did so too far away for Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors to monitor their movements.
At that time, the Human Race, and the Dragon and Phoenix Clans of the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land joined forces to guard the only path that connected the Black Ink Battlefield to the 3,000 Worlds; after all, when the Royal Cities first appeared, it naturally alarmed the Human Race.
In order to cope with the future Black Ink Clan invasion, the Human Race also built their Great Passes, one for each Royal City, forming the basis for the various war Theatres. The Human Race Masters then returned to the 3,000 Worlds to prepare. They chose cultivation paradises with abundant resources and World Energy to foster new talents. It was these cultivation holy lands that later became the Cave Heavens and Paradises. From there, they recruited disciples widely and trained elite Masters for the coming war.
Hence, the layout of the Black Ink Battlefield was formed step by step.
However, Cang and the nine Martial Ancestors did not know these details; after all, they had long joined forces to imprison Mo and were trapped alongside it to maintain the Grand Restriction.
It was because they managed to suppress and seal Mo that the Late Ancient Era’s shocking war between Mo’s servants and the Human Race could even occur.
The ancestors of those who created the Cave Heavens and Paradises only knew to fight against the Black Ink Clan, they did not even know where they originated from.
The Great Experts who knew the full story had all been killed by the end of the Late Ancient Era in the battle of extinction against Mo’s servants.
Millions of years then passed with neither side being able to make a true breakthrough. The Black Ink Clan never managed to take down the Great Passes en masse, settling for recklessly attacking and retreating, not caring if they incurred huge losses each time.
They were all spawned from Black Ink Nests rather than being born and raised by parents. As long as there were sufficient resources, they could endlessly continue to create more Black Ink Clansmen.
It was only in recent centuries that the Human Race had gradually turned from its defensive position to an offensive one. Now, the 2-million-strong army crusade had finally marched to this point with the means to threaten Mo directly.
A great war was inevitable!
“This Old Master needs some things to restore himself,” Cang requested.
Although he had used Shi’s power to steal some of Mo’s power from time to time over the years, Black Ink Strength was still corruptive by nature and he did not dare to use it indiscriminately.
Even Shi was at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength because he devoured too much of it. He eventually could not sustain himself and had to sacrifice himself to the restriction.
Thus, over the years, Cang had always been in a state of malnutrition and was barely able to maintain the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. That was why he became skin and bones, much like a living dead.
The only reason why he now had a somewhat normal physique was because he did not want to frighten these Juniors.
It was naturally not an issue to help provide Cang with some resources, as while most of the Old Ancestors only carried a few on them, Yang Kai had plenty.
Yang Kai immediately took out a Space Ring, filled it with all kinds of resources, and handed it to Cang, “Senior, see if this is enough, if not, Junior still has some more.”
Cang took the ring and looked before smiling lightly, “It’s enough.”
After saying that, he looked at the Old Ancestors and said, “Go and prepare yourselves first, after this Old Master restores himself, I will open the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!”
Some Ninth-Order Masters asked, “Senior, where is the best place for us to assemble?”
They knew nothing about this Spiritless Land, so it was natural to ask for Cang’s instructions.
Cang looked around for a while before pointing in a certain direction, “There. Over there is where Mo tore open a crack and those Royal Lords managed to escape from back then. Relatively speaking, that position is easiest to open, and due to some old setups by my friends, it is also the easiest to close.”
The Old Ancestors looked in the direction he pointed and naturally had no objections.
“Then we will go and prepare.”
The Old Ancestors flew away and Yang Kai followed.
Soon, all the Army Commanders of the Great Passes quickly understood the situation after receiving instructions from the Old Ancestors. Orders were given, and all the soldiers began to make preparations for battle.
For so many years, the Human Race had mostly been in a passive and defensive state, repeatedly invaded by the Black Ink Clan while forced to repel them.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen were killed when the Royal Cities were pacified. Thereafter, the Great Passes crossed the Late Ancient Era battlefield, which had many residual dangers, and finally arrived here. It was only today that they could finally take the fight to Mo.
Such an opportunity was scarce.
As Cang said, the objective here was for the Human Race to kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen who tried to escape the gap as possible after he opened the restriction.
Who could withstand a combined attack of more than 100 Great Passes and a 2-million-strong Army?
Even Royal Lords would be annihilated in an instant before such power.
The Human Race was completely confident in this battle which aimed at weakening the Black Ink Strength.
Another good thing was that the battlefield was in the void. If it was a flat land, it would be impossible to properly arrange the 106 Great Passes. Even so, it still took the Humans a full month of work before battle lines were formed.
More than 100 Great Passes were divided into layers, with each layer consisting of some 30 Great Passes. Inside each of the Great Passes, the soldiers were all busy preparing and repeatedly checking their artifacts, formations, and Warships.
Various pills were also distributed.
It took them about one and a half months before everything was ready.
Cang had consumed a large number of resources by now and was close to being fully restored.
Mo angrily snapped, “Cang, do you really want to do this? What happened back then was unintentional. I’ve already been imprisoned for millions of years. I’ve suffered a lot, can’t you let me live?”
All this while, Mo continued to chatter into Cang’s ears. Sometimes it threatened, other times it intimidated, and at times, it softly begged.
However, Cang remained unmoved.
He knew better. The dangers that Mo could bring to the 3,000 Worlds were too great. What happened during the Late Ancient Era was still fresh in his mind, so how could he allow history to repeat itself?
All his old friends had already perished to suppress and seal Mo, leaving him alone to stand guard here. How would he allow his friends’ sacrifice to be for nothing?
This had nothing to do with whether Mo did anything wrong, its existence itself was harmful so it could not be allowed to live. Mo was indestructible, so if he was released, this vast world would never have peace again.
“Old Man, do you think that what you do now will really wear me down? You can’t weaken me unless I allow it!” Mo angrily scolded.
Although it was venting, it was also telling the truth. Even if Cang opened a gap in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, if Mo did not command its servants to fight, the Humans could not do anything about it.
Cang finally responded with a light chuckle, “Mo, you have existed for so long and you are no longer a child, so please don’t throw a tantrum. Don’t you want to get out of here after so many years in captivity? When this Old Master opens a gap, it will be both a crisis and an opportunity for you. Don’t you want to take advantage of this chance to get out of this seal? As long as you can kill all these people and then let your servants kill this Old Master, no one else will be able to stop you.”
“You liar! Liar, liar, liar!” Mo screamed angrily, “You even told them before that you could close the gap at any time, do you think that I didn’t hear you?!”
Cang laughed but did not say anything.
Mo said again, “You’ve been lying to me all this time! You bully! What have I done wrong for you to treat me like this!? Cang, Old Man… let’s not fight, okay? You let them leave and I will withdraw all my Black Ink Strength. You can then seal the Black Ink Strength within this Grand Restriction. As long as this restriction does not break, my Black Ink Strength will not escape. So, it will not endanger the others.”
“Hmm…” Cang said softly but seriously, “Mo, stop pretending. This might be possible if you had cooperated back then, but it is too late now. You have chosen this path and you must bear the consequences of your actions. What’s more, you know that Mu proposed to make the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to seal off your Black Ink Strength, but even she could not be sure of whether it would work or what risks it would carry.”
“Mu…” Mo’s memory must have been evoked and it angrily cried out, “She died! Right in front of me! You killed her!”
When Mo became friends with Cang and the others back then, it was completely sincere with them.
Among the ten, it was most fond of Mu, who was always gentle and amiable. Compared to the others, Mu was also more friendly to Mo.
When the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction started taking effect, Mu suggested planting the restriction inside Mo’s body so that it could internally suppress its Black Ink Strength. That way, they didn’t have to restrict Mo’s freedom. As long as the restriction wasn’t broken, its Black Ink Strength wouldn’t leak out, and Mo wouldn’t have to bear the suffering of being imprisoned. By then, they could bring Mo with them and monitor it at all times.
However, no one could guarantee that the idea was feasible. Everyone would be happy if it worked, but if it didn’t, Mo wouldn’t let them suppress it again when it was aware of their intentions.
In the end, Cang and the others didn’t dare to take the risk.
Mu passed away pretty early on when Mo flared up for the first time after it was suppressed. To appease Mo, she ignored the others’ dissuasion and entered the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction on her own.
No one knew what happened to her while she was inside, but when she returned, she was horribly wounded. Before her death, she blended all her power and her body into the restriction to strengthen it.
That day, Cang and the others were heartbroken while Mo’s wails reverberated across the entire universe.
Among the ten of them, the gentle and compassionate woman was the most talented. It could be said that the others were not comparable to her. She was the one who came up with the idea of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and Duan personally crafted it while the rest assisted from the side.
Mu was also the most powerful among them. Cang even suspected that she had found the path that led beyond the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Unfortunately, she passed away when she was still fairly young. Given her aptitude, she could have ascended to a realm that was beyond the Ninth Order.
Cang turned solemn when he heard Mo mention Mu and grimly said, “You’re fully aware of how Mu was killed, Mo.”
A furious Mo roared, “Do you think I killed her? It wasn’t me! I’d never kill her! Why would I do that to her?”
Cang snorted, “She passed away after returning from inside the restriction. Why had she fallen into such a state if not for you?”
“It really wasn’t me!” Mo refuted.
“Enough. Whether or not it was your doing no longer matters.”
Now that 2 million Human Race soldiers had arrived, they had to weaken Mo’s power even if they couldn’t destroy it. Cang couldn’t persevere any longer.
Like a child who had been wrongly accused, Mo cried, “It really wasn’t me…”
When Mu entered the restriction, Mo indeed ordered his servants to attack her because it was mad at her betrayal. However, Mu was extremely powerful, so how were his servants supposed to be a match for her? While they were able to slightly injure her, killing her was simply impossible.
Nevertheless, it was a fact that Mu passed away after leaving the restriction. Even after all these years, Mo had never been able to explain why.
In fact, Cang and the others initially thought that it was Mo’s doing and were furious after Mu passed away, but after giving it some thought, they realised that might not be the truth.
Mu was just that strong. Even though the servants that Mo had created were formidable, they couldn’t possibly cause enough injury to her for her to fall. Moreover, Mu was the one who came up with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If she wanted to leave it, there was no way Mo could stop her, and there was certainly no reason for her to fight with Mo to the death.
As they recalled the scenes from back then, they realised that Mu’s injuries were not a result of fighting against someone. There was some other reason for them.
At that time, she was critically injured and on her last breath.
Before her death, she passed them a piece of jade and left for the next world without saying anything more.
Now, that jade was in Cang’s hands. He had examined the jade over and over again, but was never able to figure out what it was for. He just felt that the jade had something to do with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Therefore, he wouldn’t dare to try it out lest the restriction was affected.
The incident in the past remained a mystery. Perhaps Mo knew something about it; however, it might also know nothing.
“Everything is prepared, Senior.”
The Great Battle Heaven Old Ancestor landed beside Cang, causing him to snap back to the present.
Cang looked up and saw over 100 Great Passes hovering in the void. On the Great Passes, the determined Humans were filled with murderous intent. He pulled himself together and nodded gently, “Let’s begin, then.”
The Great Battle Cave Heaven Old Ancestor turned around and nodded at the people in the distance.
“Prepare for war!”
A roar reverberated across the entire void as World Forces started exuding from the Great Passes. The arrays and the artifacts all lit up.
They were ready to strike.
Seeing that, Cang shouted, “Open!”
In the next instant, his figure expanded rapidly. He soon became enormous as a powerful aura exuded from his frail body.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ eyes brightened when they felt that aura.
Previously, when they asked Cang what realm he was in, he only told them that he was still in the Ninth Order, just further beyond the Old Ancestors.
The Old Ancestors asked nothing more.
However, at this moment, they could clearly feel that this old man, who had been guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction for millions of years, had an aura that none of them could match.
The entire void seemed to be trembling as his aura spread out.
It was apparent that he wasn’t just further ahead of them in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. These Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help but think that Cang might have broken through the Ninth-Order and reached a realm that they were not aware of.
As such, these Ninth-Order Masters were thrilled.
It had come to a point where they had reached the end of their cultivation journey, and they still hadn’t managed to find any new path forward. However, as they observed Cang’s aura now, they realised the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was not the peak of the Martial Dao, there was still a higher summit to reach. They were just incapable of discovering it.
As Cang’s aura undulated, ripples started spreading across the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and began gathering at a particular spot.
In front of that spot stood the Human formations. It was also where Mo formed a crack with its strength back then.
As the ripples spread, a gap appeared in the originally flawless restriction. In the beginning, it was just a small gap, but it soon expanded rapidly.
Cang roared and surged his power to control the size of the gap. Soon, the gap became as large as a lake, with space itself seemingly having been torn apart.
An extremely malevolent aura exuded from the opening, and despite having the protection of many Grand Arrays, those on the Great Passes could still clearly feel that chilling aura.
As they stared intently, they could see impossibly thick darkness sweltering in the gap. They could also faintly hear growls coming from within.
Seeing that, the Humans quickly put their guard up.
A long time later, the darkness still never spilled out of the gap, nor did any Black Ink Clansmen appear, but eventually, there came a moment when Mo’s roar sounded, “It really wasn’t me, you old fart! You’re all pompous people who never listen to me explain! Why? It wasn’t my fault! Since you don’t even care to listen to what I have to say, I’ll destroy everything and kill everyone!”
Following Mo’s howl, darkness gushed out of the gap like a flood bursting through a dam.
It wasn’t really darkness though; it was a torrent made from countless Black Ink Clansmen.
“Kill!”
Following the Army Commanders’ order, arrays on the Great Passes thrummed and the powers of the Secret Techniques and artifacts shot forth.
The first batch of the Black Ink Clansmen who stormed out of the gap hadn’t even managed to see what the outside world looked like before they were vaporized.
The place where the attacks from over 100 Great Passes landed instantly turned into a living Hell.
More and more Black Ink Clansmen were destroyed; however, since their first appearance, the Black Ink Clansmen had never stopped flooding out of the darkness.
They stepped on the corpses of their clansmen and fearlessly charged forward. Just a moment later, they were struck by the Secret Techniques and artifacts and killed. Their Black Ink Strength burst forth, and their corpses were then stepped on by the ones behind them.
This stretch of void, which had remained silent for millions of years, suddenly erupted with light and sound.
The Humans never stopped firing at the enemy, while the Black Ink Clansmen marched forward without pause. Regardless of the danger ahead, they didn’t even hesitate.
The gap was soon shrouded with Black Ink Strength.
Above the wall of Great Evolution Pass, Yang Kai was hovering in the void as he stared coldly at the front and remained still.
It wasn’t the right time for him to make a move yet.
This was a war that was unlike anything the Humans had experienced before, a fight that would be remembered by all future generations. If the Humans won, they could ensure some peaceful days for the 3,000 Worlds, but if they lost, the 3,000 Worlds would descend into chaos as Mo had threatened to destroy everything.
Even though there were a lot of soldiers and countless Masters on the Humans’ side, they didn’t dare to make rash moves. Those that were attacking the enemies were the cultivators who were in charge of the arrays on the walls of the Great Passes. The rest were conserving their strength.
It would take a long time before the war ended; therefore, they needed to ration their energy.
Three rotations of soldiers were arranged to control and activate the arrays to ensure that they would be able to fire continuously.
The Artifact Refiners and Array Masters were also on standby to repair the artifacts and arrays at any moment.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai sported a solemn expression.
Although the war had just started and he hadn’t participated in the fight, he could feel immense pressure washing over him from afar.
Even though the Humans managed to destroy these Black Ink Clansmen without getting hurt, the enemies who gushed out of the gap were all very weak.
According to the Black Ink Clan’s own classification, those enemies were just Serfs, even weaker than Low-Rank Clansmen.
As long as there were enough resources and a Black Ink Nest, they could produce an infinite number of such Black Ink Clansmen.
Although Mo appeared infuriated, it didn’t let its fury get the better of it. It knew it had to use these weak soldiers to drain the Humans’ strength first.
In fact, it wasn’t so surprising. The Black Ink Clan and the Human Race had been fighting against each other on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, and as the source of the Black Ink Clan, Mo, was able to monitor what was going on in every Theatre. Therefore, it was familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the Human Race.
Its way of dealing with the Humans now was the best solution available.
Even though the Black Ink Clan soldiers gushing out of the gap were weak, they came in an enormous quantity. They would be a threat to the Humans if they were allowed to roam freely; therefore, the Humans had no choice but to kill them.
What surprised Yang Kai was that most of the Black Ink Clansmen rushing out of the gap looked like Monster Beasts, which was something new to the Humans.
For as long as the Human Race could remember, even though the Black Ink Clansmen in every Theatre came in all different shapes and sizes, they mostly had a Human frame. The Human Race had never seen Black Ink Clansmen that looked purely like Monster Beasts before.
Now, however, there were a large number of such creatures. They were apparently created by Mo using Black Ink Strength after it was confined in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Even though these Monster Beast-like creatures were weak, they came in a larger number than even ordinary Black Ink Clansmen, and after they were killed, the Black Ink Strength in their bodies gushed out and filled a vast swatch of space.
The war unfolded just like the Humans had expected as Cang was able to control the size of the opening in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Therefore, there wouldn’t be too many Black Ink Clansmen who could dash out through the gap. As over 100 Great Passes joined forces, they could ensure they killed all the enemies who emerged. As long as they never stopped attacking, they wouldn’t have to worry about the Black Ink Clansmen breaking through their defence.
100,000, 200,000, 300,000, 500,000…
Although they were unable to get an accurate count, it was roughly estimated that over 1 million Black Ink Clansmen had rushed through the gap in just half a day. All the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Beasts were killed the moment they left the gap, so they were unable to move any further.
Regardless, a torrent of these creatures still continuously gushed out from the darkness. Seeing that, Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp.
A million Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Beasts was about how many casualties there would be in a major war, but only half a day had passed so far.
How many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Beasts were still hiding in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction? How many servants had Mo created over the past several million years? No one knew the answer. Perhaps only Mo was aware of the exact number.
Half a day later, another million of Black Ink Clan soldiers were killed, and after another half a day, the same thing happened.
A few days later, over 10 million Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Beasts had been slaughtered, but other than the fact that some of their artifacts and arrays were damaged from overuse, the Humans hadn’t suffered any kind of damage.
Despite being in an advantageous position, none of them were happy.
Mo didn’t seem concerned about losing over 10 million soldiers. The subordinates it had been summoning were still the weakest Black Ink Serfs and Black Ink Beasts.
These cannon fodder were simply meant to wear down the Human Race Army’s strength, and there seemed to be an infinite number of them hiding in the depths of the darkness.
By this point, everyone realised that something was off.
Regardless of whether there was really an infinite number of Black Ink Clan soldiers, the Humans’ defence would collapse in a month given the fact that they had been using the artifacts and arrays with such intensity. The Artifact Refiners and Array Masters were unable to make repairs as quickly as damage was accrued. Without the help of these artifacts and arrays, the Human Race would have no choice but to personally stop these Black Ink Clan soldiers from advancing further. By then, there were bound to be casualties.
What the Humans found amiss was that since over 10 million Black Ink Clan soldiers had passed away, the entire region should have been filled with the Black Ink Strength from the dead Black Ink Clansmen, and there should have been innumerable Black Ink Clouds around them.
In past wars, the Black Ink Clan always left behind a lot of Black Ink Clouds after suffering a large number of casualties. Those clouds would then merge together into Black Ink Oceans.
However, at this moment, almost all the thick Black Ink Strength hovered around the opening in the Grand Restriction, concealing it from sight. Not much of it had even spilled through the gap.
Realising the crux of the problem, Cang shouted loudly, “It’s been retrieving the Black Ink Strength to recycle it! Stop it! Otherwise, its strength will be endless!”
Only then did Yang Kai realise what was wrong.
It was no wonder that Mo had been sending these weak Black Ink Clansmen out so recklessly, and why it didn’t seem to care despite so many of them being killed. The Black Ink Strength left behind from these corpses could be reused by it.
That way, it would have an infinite supply of Black Ink Strength. Perhaps it could fight until the end of time itself using this method.
The reason the Humans hadn’t discovered it earlier was that it was chaotic at the opening. Black Ink Clansmen continuously passed through the gap and got killed as the Black Ink Strength concealed it, and hid the traces of Mo retrieving its power.
Although Cang had been guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction for a long time, it still took him several days to figure out what was happening.
Upon hearing Cang’s warning, the Humans promptly came up with a solution as Squads were dispatched from the Great Passes to the battlefield.
Soon, the Squads summoned artifacts that looked like fishing nets and began to dredge the battlefield with them. Every net could capture a lot of Black Ink Strength which the Squads would then haul away and discard.
These artifacts that looked like fishing nets were specifically developed by the Humans to clean up Black Ink Strength. They could also be used to trap enemies, but they were much less effective at this. Therefore, the Humans usually wouldn’t use these artifacts when dealing with the Black Ink Clan and only bring them out after the fighting was over.
After Yang Kai experienced his first major war back in Blue Sky Pass, he received Zhong Liang’s order to clean up the battlefield. At that time, he also experimented with this kind of artifact.
Over 1,000 Squads moved around the battlefield to capture the Black Ink Strength left behind by the dead Black Ink Clansmen; however, it was still an inefficient process because after seizing the Black Ink Strength, they had to bring it somewhere far away and discard it, which was quite time-consuming.
After observing for a bit, Yang Kai turned to the rest of Dawn’s members and said, “Give me some spare Space Rings.”
Realising his intention, they fished out the Space Rings they did not need and passed them to Yang Kai.
Seeing that from a nearby place, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao knew what he was trying to do, but she didn’t stop him, only giving him a reminder, “Be careful. Even though all those Black Ink Clansmen are weak now, that doesn’t mean there won’t be Masters hiding among them.”
“Understood,” Yang Kai nodded lightly before charging towards the battlefield.
Behind him, the Great Passes continuously fired at the Black Ink Clansmen gushing out of the gap, but they cleverly ensured Yang Kai and the other Human Squads wouldn’t be struck.
Soon, Yang Kai arrived at the place where the Black Ink Strength came together. Flying around, his Divine Sense surged and large quantities of Black Ink Strength disappeared.
The idea of putting Black Ink Strength inside Space Rings wasn’t something revolutionary and had already been proven possible, but the prerequisite was that one had to wrap the Black Ink Strength with their Divine Sense before they could do so.
The average cultivator, even if he or she was an Eighth-Order Master, wouldn’t dare to recklessly do such a thing. The Black Ink Strength’s corruption had no limitations, so it was able to affect both a Human’s body, Small Universe, and Soul.
A powerful Eighth-Order Master could resist the Black Ink Strength’s influence for a while, but they still would be corrupted in short order if they actively tried to handle it.
It was a different matter for Yang Kai as he had a World Tree clone to protect his Small Universe from any external invasion. There was also the Soul Warming Lotus to safeguard his Soul.
He just had to put the Black Ink Strength inside the Space Rings without the need to go somewhere else to discard it; therefore, he was more effective than several hundred Squads combined.
The Space Rings were soon filled with Black Ink Strength, so he was unable to capture more. In just half a day, he had used up all the Space Rings that he had collected.
If possible, he wouldn’t mind storing the Black Ink Strength inside his Small Universe; however, there was simply too much of it. Even though his Small Universe was safe from any corruption, it couldn’t take in so much Black Ink Strength.
Left with no choice, Yang Kai could only return to Great Evolution Pass. Fortunately, Xiang Shan was well prepared as he had collected a lot of Space Rings for Yang Kai.
A moment later, Yang Kai returned to the battlefield and continued collecting Black Ink Strength.
The efforts of over 1,000 Squads and Yang Kai proved to be useful as a large amount of Black Ink Strength was soon swept away. Enraged, Mo’s roar sounded from the depths of the darkness, “You all court death! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all!”
As its screams reverberated across the void, the Black Ink Clansmen became increasingly savage and other than the weak Serfs and beasts, there were now also Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen leaving the opening. Even a few Feudal Lords were hiding amongst the crowd.
Some of the unsuspecting Squads that were cleaning up the Black Ink Strength were caught off guard by the stronger Black Ink Clansmen. Fortunately, none of them lost their lives as they had their Warships’ protection.
Nevertheless, as the Black Ink Clan soldiers’ power increased, the attacks from the Humans also appeared insufficient.
Initially, the arrays and artifacts on the Great Passes were good enough to deal with the weak cannon fodder and no Black Ink Clansmen that dashed out of the gap was able to leave very far.
However, the Black Ink Clansmen appeared now were powerful enough that the Human’s long-range bombardment was unable to immediately destroy them all.
The Black Ink Clansmen were marching forward while the Squads that were cleaning up the Black Ink Strength had to move backwards. It was the same case for Yang Kai.
Several hours later, the Humans were no longer able to stop the Black Ink Clansmen from taking ground and the enemies gushed out of the opening and flew towards the Great Passes.
Even though they were still unable to get anywhere near the Great Passes as they were intercepted far from the walls, a new phase in the war had begun.
Everyone knew that this was just the beginning, for Mo hadn’t fully exhibited its power. It was still sending out mostly weak servants with a few Low-Rank, High-Rank Clansmen, and a tiny number of Feudal Lords.
No Territory Lords or Royal Lords had appeared yet. No one knew how many of such top Masters were hiding in the darkness. Mo had been accumulating its power for millions of years, so it probably had a staggering number of Black Ink Clansmen with it.
The one-sided slaughter lasted for half a month as innumerable Black Ink Clansmen had been killed in the void. The Squads and Yang Kai seized every chance to clean up more Black Ink Strength. Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan Army was steadily getting closer to the Humans.
Then came the moment when a truly powerful aura bolted out of the gap.
The first Territory Lord had appeared.
The Territory Lord was gigantic, and his entire figure was covered in an armour that seemed to be made from bones. Even his head was protected by a bone helmet as an eerie light radiated from his eyes.
All of the Human Masters were stunned as they had never seen a Territory Lord in such a form before. The Territory Lord’s appearance suggested that he had thick skin and strong flesh. He was the kind of soldier who would clash with the opponents head-on.
Apparently, Mo had specially crafted this Territory Lord. It must have expected this day to come; otherwise, it wouldn’t have created such a creature.
After the first, more and more Territory Lords that seemed to be cast in the same mould appeared among the Black Ink Clan soldiers.
The moment these huge Territory Lords in bone armour appeared, they spat Black Ink Strength that formed into bone shields in their hands so that they would have an even stronger defence against the Humans.
The Territory Lords’ auras suggested that they were Innate Territory Lords. These powerful beings were much stronger than the Acquired Territory Lords that the Humans had mostly encountered before. Basically, they were about as strong as Che Kong.
The attacks from the Great Passes became less lethal as they struck the bone shields.
As these Territory Lords roared, they dispersed and charged towards the Great Passes. The Black Ink Clansmen following behind them were like a rushing river.
The hum of the arrays on the Great Passes intensified. The walls shook, and the Great Passes started trembling.
More and more bone shields were shattered as the Territory Lords behind them staggered upon impact as sparks flew from their bone armours. They could only persevere for a short moment before they were killed.
Faced with continuous attacks from over 100 Great Passes, even Royal Lords wouldn’t be able to last for long, let alone these Territory Lords.
Without the protection of the Territory Lords in bone armour, the Black Ink Clansmen behind them were killed the moment they were exposed.
However, things were not looking good for the Humans as the powers of their arrays and artifacts were no longer sufficient. With the sacrifice of those Territory Lords in bone armour, the Black Ink Clan Army managed to close much of the gap between the opening in the Great Restriction and the Great Passes.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen were killed in the process, but that did not soothe the Human Race’s worries.
Mo had clearly been preparing for this day for over a million years, so the heritage it had built up was unimaginable. From the looks of it, even though the Humans currently held the advantage, no one knew what the outcome would be as the war dragged on.
After several more days of intense battle, it was impossible to count the number of corpses of weaker Black Ink Clansmen, while the Humans estimated they had killed over 1,000 Territory Lords.
This was an astounding number, especially when all these were Innate Territory Lords directly created by Mo. They were gifted with sturdy defence and extraordinary power, each of them equivalent to a top Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
There weren’t a lot of Human Eighth-Order Masters to begin with. On average, there were only 40 to 50 Eighth-Order Masters in every Great Pass. In other words, there were fewer than 5,000 Eighth-Order Masters in the entire Human Race Army.
Over 1,000 Territory Lords was equivalent to the number of Eighth-Order Masters in more than 20 Great Passes. They were undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, and if not for the fact that the Humans held an advantageous position, they would have had to pay a huge price to kill these enemies.
Territory Lords clad in bone armour and Black Ink Clan soldiers continuously gushed out of the opening and charged forward fearlessly. Their only purpose was to help Mo break free of the restriction, so their deaths were predestined the moment they were created.
The Humans were no longer able to clean up the Black Ink Strength, for the entire battlefield was now engulfed in chaotic energy fluctuations. If the Squads continued moving about on their own, either the Black Ink Clan would kill them or they would be hit by friendly fire. Even if that did not happen, it was simply too hard for them to do their job.
Mo was still recycling Black Ink Strength. That was clear due to the scale of the Black Ink Ocean around the opening not having expanded much.
Fortunately, even though it was able to easily create those weak cannon fodder, it couldn’t possibly replace those Territory Lords, Feudal Lords, or even the High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen that had been killed as it pleased. Therefore, every Territory Lord or Feudal Lord that the Humans killed was a loss for Mo.
The Royal Lords were still nowhere to be found though, most likely still hiding in the dark, making the Humans feel wary, as though a blade was hanging above their heads just waiting to fall.
One month after the war broke out, a Territory Lord in bone armour roared and condensed a spear in his hand using Black Ink Strength. The next moment, he hurled the weapon at a Great Pass in front of him.
The black spear easily cut across space and struck the Great Pass’ defensive barrier, causing ripples to spread across it.
Even though the Territory Lord was soon blasted to pieces, this attack served as a breakthrough for the Black Ink Clan’s advancement.
A Ninth-Order Old Ancestor ordered grimly, “It’s time.”
The defensive barriers around the Great Passes and the attacks from the arrays and artifacts were no longer able to stop the Black Ink Clan soldiers from marching forward. If the situation was allowed to continue like this, the Black Ink Clan soldiers would soon be able to attack the Great Passes.
It was time for the Human Army to make a move. Following the order, auras that seemed able to shake the entire void undulated from the Great Passes as countless dazzling lights were shot from the Warships.
Wherever the lights struck, those Territory Lords in bone armour were unable to endure and were swiftly dispatched, leaving behind black blood where they fell.
The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques cast from over 100 Great Passes then resumed firing, forming trails of vacuum in the void. Along the way, the Black Ink Clansmen were either injured or killed.
For a moment, the originally clamorous battlefield fell into dead silence.
The Old Ancestors had made a move!
Seizing the chance, the well-prepared Humans drove their Warships out of the Great Passes. The vessels formed into rays of light as they coordinated with each other and sailed towards the battlefield.
As the Warships set off, the Eighth-Order Masters also charged towards the battlefield. They targeted the Territory Lords and cast their Secret Techniques in an attempt to tie down the enemy Masters.
Dawn from Great Evolution Pass also darted forward. In fact, they were the ones leading the charge.
The other Squads didn’t have a lot of members, and their Warships were not particularly robust, so on such a battlefield, they had to group up to be effective. However, as a Special Operations Squad, Dawn was used to charging around the battlefield on their own.
Yang Kai was at the front while Shen Ao and Blood Crow protected the Warship from both sides. Ren Bing Bai, Yu Zi You, and Miao Fei Ping were at the rear of the Warship. Meanwhile, Bai Yi stood at the bow, channelling her World Force into her longbow to the point where the weapon radiated a glow.
They had experienced countless life-and-death battles together in the past, so on such a battlefield, there wasn’t a need for Yang Kai to give any orders. All of them knew what they were supposed to do. These close-knit members were ready for war.
As Yang Kai summoned his Azure Dragon Spear, he took a deep breath and ordered loudly, “Kill!”
A Dragon Roar sounded as the Azure Dragon Spear transformed into countless spear shadows which engulfed the Black Ink Clansmen in front and blasted them to bits. As for the Black Ink Clansmen who managed to escape, they were slaughtered by Shen Ao and Blood Crow.
Aboard Dawning Light, the arrays and artifacts started buzzing as flashes of light shot in all directions. They didn’t even need to aim as they were surrounded by enemies. Bai Yi’s arrows split into countless streaks of light which struck the swarming Black Ink Clansmen, splattering them into blood mist.
Meanwhile, Ren Bing Bai, Yu Zi You, and Miao Fei Ping brought up the rear, making sure the Black Ink Clansmen couldn’t get anywhere near the back of the Warship.
As Dawning Light soared out of Great Evolution Pass, it turned into something akin to a blade and cut across the Black Ink Clan Army. Wherever it went, the enemy was consigned to the Yellow Springs.
After the Human soldiers appeared on the field, the Black Ink Clan soldiers changed their tactics. They stopped charging towards the Great Passes and instead focused on besieging the Human Warships.
Mo knew that if it wanted to get out of its cage, it had to destroy the Humans who were here on a crusade against it. As long as all the Humans were killed, the Great Passes would be rendered useless.
After just one hour, the vast battlefield had become a clamorous melee, but even though everything seemed to be chaotic, there were still tactics and strategies being employed.
Although the Human Warships didn’t maintain a formation to kill the enemies, they were constantly on the lookout for each other so that they could ensure their safety.
More and more Black Ink Clan soldiers were killed.
Over the past month, the Humans had made use of the arrangements on the Great Passes to stop the Black Ink Clan soldiers from marching forward and had killed many enemies this way. Regardless, stationary arrays and artifacts were inflexible.
Now that over a million Human soldiers had moved forward to engage the enemy on the battlefield, there was no doubt they were more efficient at killing than the fixed emplacements.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan didn’t have any experience with coming together in formations. Although they had enormous numbers, they appeared crowded and disorganized, which made it easier for the Human Warships to butcher them.
After the initial charge, the Humans essentially fell into a bloodlust. The battlefield was covered with broken limbs and hashed meat, making it look extremely horrifying.
Finally, a long howl sounded from the rear. It was a signal for the Human Army to retreat.
The Humans, who were still slaughtering the enemies, promptly and in an organized fashion fell back with their Warships. At the same time, another group of Warships in peak condition set out from the Great Passes.
This was going to be a long fight, so there was no way the higher-ups would let all the soldiers join the battle at the same time. Even though they would be able to destroy more Black Ink Clansmen in a shorter time by doing so, they would be powerless to counterattack if all their strength was used up.
Only half of the Human Army had left the Great Passes in the first round while another million stayed back.
Now, it was time for them to go to war.
The high-spirited million soldiers dashed out of the Great Passes to replace their fellow Brothers and Sisters on the battlefield. They brushed past each other as the Black Ink Clansmen were intercepted and killed.
The battered Warships soon returned to the Great Passes where Array Masters and Artifact Refiners, who had been waiting for quite a while, hurriedly made repairs.
Somewhere on the battlefield, Yang Kai turned around and ordered, “All of you, retreat!”
Shen Ao guffawed, “There’s no need for that. We still can fight!”
They were an elite Squad, after all. Even though this battlefield was stressful for the average Squad, the members of Dawn could still persevere. Just like Shen Ao had said, it hadn’t come to a point where they needed to go back and recuperate.
However, Yang Kai shook his head, “All of you should withdraw. We don’t know how long this war will last, so maintaining your peak states is more important.”
Shen Ao decided to stop insisting as he nodded, “Be careful, Squad Leader.”
Since Yang Kai had told them to retreat, Shen Ao knew that he was going to stay on the battlefield.
The heritage of Yang Kai’s Small Universe was far more ample than average, and he had the World Tree clone to further refine his power. Moreover, the living beings in his Small Universe would continuously provide World Force for him. There was no denying that Yang Kai had a much greater stamina than the ordinary Seventh-Order Master, allowing him to remain energetic when others in the Seventh-Order would feel exhausted.
Soon, Shen Ao and Yang Kai exchanged places as the former led Dawn to return to Great Evolution Pass.
Seeing that, some of the Black Ink Clansmen pursued Dawning Light while some of them pounced on Yang Kai.
Earlier, this bigger-than-normal Human Squad had rendered them powerless to counterattack, but now that Yang Kai was on his own, the Black Ink Clansmen naturally wouldn’t let him off.
Despite being surrounded by the enemy, Yang Kai wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, he put on an eerie grin as he prepared for a massacre!
Yang Kai had always felt that he was best suited to fight on his own.
He had a power that far surpassed that of those in the same Order, and even if he was faced with a Territory Lord, he was able to transform into an Ancient Dragon to do battle. He also had Space Secret Techniques that allowed him to come and go freely as well as several other advantages that were unrivalled among Seventh-Order Masters.
Only by fighting on his own could he maximise his advantages.
Of course, he would be exposed to less risk when he fought alongside Dawn, but it was also a kind of restraint for him. The others were unable to match his speed and quick reflexes, so he had to coordinate with them when making a move.
Now that Dawning Light was gone, all restraints on Yang Kai were lifted.
Wielding the Supreme Limitless Spear Art, innumerable spear shadows spread out in all directions, and by the time they faded, all the surrounding the Black Ink Clansmen burst into blood mist.
With his spear in hand, Yang Kai charged towards places where the Black Ink Clansmen were most concentrated. Wherever he went, the enemies collapsed like straw amidst a storm.
As a Dragon Roar reverberated across the void, Yang Kai transformed into his 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon Form. He let out a Dragon Breath and swept his Dragon Tail across the swarm of enemies, clearing out large spaces on the battlefield.
However, he wouldn’t dare to remain in his Dragon Form for extended periods.
Although he was able to battle against the Territory Lords as an Ancient Dragon, his figure was too big and it was hard for him to move around. Not to mention, in his Dragon Form, he made an obvious target and was wounded by the attacks coming from all directions in short order.
Even though most of them were flesh wounds, Yang Kai couldn’t ignore them if they continued to pile up.
His Dragon Form abruptly disappeared and the Black Ink Clan lost their target. After turning back into Human Form, Yang Kai rampaged around the battlefield again.
As he alternated between Human Form and Dragon Form, he attracted the attention of lots of Black Ink Clansmen. Although many enemies were chasing after him, he fearlessly dashed forward and silently destroyed his opponents.
All of a sudden, Space Principles undulated as Yang Kai abruptly disappeared. When he reappeared, it was in the middle of an intense battle.
It was a battle between an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Territory Lord in bone armour.
At that instant, Yang Kai’s eyes reflected the figure of the Territory Lord in bone armour. As Time Principles spread, the world seemed to have frozen for a moment.
He pushed out his spear and stabbed it right into the back of the Territory Lord’s head.
Even though the bone armour that this Territory Lord was wearing was thick and nigh impenetrable, it was not without any weaknesses, and the crack at the back of this Territory Lord’s head was one of them.
The Azure Dragon Spear accurately penetrated the crack, and sparks instantly flew. Suddenly, Yang Kai felt an immense force of resistance, making it impossible to push his razor-sharp spear any further forward.
He was stunned, for it never crossed his mind that he wouldn’t succeed even though he had targeted his opponent’s weakness while he was distracted.
Madly surging his World Force, he roared, “Die!”
Exerting even more force into his thrust caused more sparks to fly and eventually, the crack in the armour broke and the spear penetrated the Territory Lord’s head.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t able to push his spear out from the other side as the opponent’s hard skull stopped him from doing that.
Having succeeded, Yang Kai immediately tried to retreat, but it was too late.
The moment the Territory Lord was attacked, he swung the bone shield in his hand at Yang Kai and a violent force swept across his stomach. Instantly, Yang Kai felt half of his body turning numb and a huge gash opened on his abdomen. Golden Blood gushed out of the wound as his squirming organs could be seen.
The Territory Lord wanted to kill Yang Kai ruthlessly, but the latter actually activated Purifying Light and engulfed the enemy with it.
The light could restrain Black Ink Strength, so there was no way Yang Kai wouldn’t use it now that its existence had been exposed. He just hadn’t come across any opponents that left him with no choice but to use the Purifying Light until now. Facing a powerful Territory Lord, he naturally wouldn’t keep this trump card rotting.
The Territory Lord was unfazed even when his head was struck by the Azure Dragon Spear; however, when the pure white light engulfed him, he wailed in agony as though he was experiencing the cruellest torment in the world.
As though having a spirituality of its own, the Purifying Light snuck into the Territory Lord’s body through his wounds and clashed with his Black Ink Strength, causing both forces to fizzle and vaporize.
While the Territory Lord was stunned, a sabre light flashed across his neck and shattered his bone armour, sending his head flying away as black blood gushed from his neck.
“Well done!” Xu Ling Gong praised the other man while holding a large sabre in his hand.
If not for Yang Kai’s help at the critical moment, he would’ve been killed by this Territory Lord; after all, it had only been a short time since Xu Ling Gong ascended to the Eighth Order, so his heritage wasn’t comparable to those of the experienced Eighth-Order Masters. On the other hand, these powerful Innate Territory Lords in bone armour were specifically created by Mo to endure large amounts of abuse.
The instant Xu Ling Gong clashed with the opponent earlier, he fell into a disadvantageous position.
He had even used an Evil Purging Divine Spear; however, the Territory Lord only had a small number of weaknesses to exploit and Xu Ling Gong was unable to shatter the other party’s armour, so even the Evil Purging Divine Spear became useless.
The most effective method of using the Evil Purging Divine Spear’s power was to stab it right into the opponent’s body, letting the Purifying Light explode inside their body so that it could directly grind down their Black Ink Strength.
Now that these Territory Lords were all equipped with robust armour, it was hard for Evil Purging Divine Spears to play any role.
On the other hand, Yang Kai could pose a bigger threat to these Territory Lords in bone armour by directly channelling Purifying Light against them because he could guide the Purifying Light to pass through the bone armour’s gaps and enter their bodies.
Before Xu Ling Gong could ask whether Yang Kai was alright, the latter had disappeared and re-entered the chaotic battlefield.
Xu Ling Gong was rendered speechless at that. Regardless, he knew that Yang Kai had a powerful Dragon Clan Bloodline, so even though he looked battered, he was supposedly fine. Therefore, Xu Ling Gong decided to ignore him and shifted his attention to another Territory Lord before darting forward.
The battlefield was a mess, and there seemed to be an infinite supply of Black Ink Clan soldiers to replace those who fell. Since the opening appeared, the torrent of darkness had not stopped spilling from it.
More and more Feudal Lords and Territory Lords appeared. Fortunately, the Humans were quick to destroy the enemies, so they were able to maintain a balance.
After helping Xu Ling Gong kill a Territory Lord, Yang Kai went on to make several more contributions.
Using the disorderly Black Ink Clan soldiers as cover, he swiftly yet stealthily approached the Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords. When he was close enough, he would directly activate Space Principles and launch a sneak attack.
He had learned his lesson after the setback earlier.
He no longer summoned his Azure Dragon Spear to attack the enemies and instead used Instantaneous Movement to appear behind a Territory Lord and cast a bolt of Purifying Light at them. Ignoring the furious Territory Lord, he then directly disappeared.
Many Territory Lords suffered a setback because of this tactic. The Purifying Light was able to restrain Black Ink Strength, and their bone armour couldn’t fully cover the Territory Lords up. Once they were struck by the Purifying Light, their powers would significantly weaken and the Eighth-Order Masters naturally wouldn’t let such a chance slip through their fingers.
As Yang Kai stealthily moved around and struck the Territory Lords in bone armour, they inevitably faltered. As such, the Eighth-Order Masters were able to kill these Territory Lords with ease.
The Black Ink Clansmen soon noticed Yang Kai’s action and more and more of them began chasing after him. Wherever he went, a chaotic storm followed.
Even Cang, who had been guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, couldn’t help but have his eye drawn to him; after all, it was rare for a Seventh-Order Master to be able to make such an impact on this kind of battlefield.
As a thought flashed across his mind, Cang parted his lips and sent a Divine Sense transmission to Yang Kai.
After being startled for a moment, Yang Kai was elated as he became even more reckless.
Earlier, he still wouldn’t dare to move further into the battlefield, for he was worried that he might not be able to escape should he come across a powerful enemy. Upon hearing Cang’s transmission though, his worries disappeared.
His high-pitched Dragon Roar reverberated across the void again and his 70,000 metres Ancient Dragon’s figure reappeared in the Void while his Dragon Scales radiated a golden glow. As he let out a Dragon Breath, the Black Ink Clan soldiers in front of him melted like snow under the hot sun.
Throughout history, perhaps only the war in the Late Ancient Era was comparable to the magnificence of the war today. Over 100 Great Passes and all the elites of the Human Race had come together. It was a war that would determine the future of all Humans, so they couldn’t afford to be negligent.
As time passed, the number of these 2 million soldiers decreased as they were no longer able to make use of the Great Passes to ensure their safety. As the Humans had to fight with the enemies on the battlefield, deaths were inevitable. Everywhere on the battlefield, Small Universes ruptured and Human Masters passed away.
Besides the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Masters, even the Eighth-Order Masters were not spared the fate.
About 2 million Human soldiers had been taking turns to strike the enemies, but things were still not looking good. All the same, no one faltered.
In the Great Passes, the Old Ancestors had only made a move once before falling silent. It wasn’t that they were not willing to act, but that they didn’t dare to. The strongest Black Ink Clansmen that had streamed out of the gap so far were Territory Lords, while the Royal Lords were still nowhere to be seen.
None of them knew how many Royal Lords were hiding in the dark, but since the Royal Lords hadn’t appeared, the Old Ancestors could only remain unmoving. Otherwise, their weaknesses would be exposed to the enemies.
It had come to a point where even a slight mistake could cost their lives.
The battlefield was filled with chaos, but invisible undercurrents were also stirring as the Humans and Black Ink Clan were also waging a contest of patience. Whether the Old Ancestors or the Royal Lords appeared on the battlefield first would play a large role in determining the outcome of the war.
Seeing that so many Human soldiers had been killed, the Old Ancestors were naturally heartbroken; nevertheless, they knew that they could only grit their teeth and hold their ground lest their plans all be derailed.
Presently, Yang Kai was badly wounded. Even though the living beings in his Small Universe continuously replenished the World Force for him, he realised he would not be able to persevere for much longer.
While the other cultivators took turns to return to the Great Passes to recuperate, he had not rested once since he joined the battle. He had managed to kill over 100,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers and even though he hadn’t personally killed a Territory Lord, a few dozen of them had been harassed by his Purifying Light and subsequently been eliminated.
Still, this made only a minimal impact on the overall battle. It seemed like this war would never end at this rate.
It was then that an imposing aura was felt coming from the gap that changed everything. The Black Ink Clan’s attacks intensified while the Humans felt their chests tightening.
All of them realised that the Royal Lords, who had remained patient all this time, had finally made a move.
This was the change the Humans had been longing to see. If the Royal Lords still refused to appear and the Black Ink Clan just kept sending more Territory Lords and weaker soldiers to fight, the Humans would descend into a state of despair.
Now that the Royal Lords had appeared, it showed that the Black Ink Clan could no longer bear the loss of Black Ink Strength. It had come to a point where the Royal Lords had no choice but to take to the field.
A majestic figure stepped out of the darkness through the gap and a Royal Lord’s savage aura swept across the void.
Before he even left the gap, he darted his gaze around in a condescending manner, but at that instant, over 10 figures abruptly appeared near the gap, as though they had always been there yet no one knew when they had appeared.
Just then, a seemingly thin and powerless sword light appeared and slashed across the Royal Lord’s head, a palm pushed forward gently, a bamboo cane tapped on the Royal Lord’s skull, and several other Divine Abilities of different forms appeared.
The smug Royal Lord was frozen in place. After he was struck by the Divine Abilities, his body started trembling violently; then, the bamboo cane tapped on his skull again and formed a black bloody hole. As the sword light faded, what was left of the Royal Lord’s head was sent flying away before extremely thick Black Ink Strength that mixed with black blood gushed out of the fresh corpse.
A Royal Lord had been killed! Before the Royal Lord even stepped out of the gap, he had been struck by over 10 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and killed.
It wasn’t that the Royal Lord wasn’t powerful, it was just that the Humans had devised such a plot in advance and their reaction was swift. Furthermore, the Royal Lord had to step through the gap if he wanted to leave; hence, he was unable to dodge the attacks from the Ninth-Order Masters.
Any Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would have suffered the same fate if they were faced with the attacks from a dozen Royal Lords.
The gap was the greatest edge that the Humans could make use of, so it was expected that the Old Ancestors would try to maximise the advantage.
Before the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could rejoice though, more Royal Lords stepped through the gap.
Their companion’s sudden death didn’t deter them from advancing. Despite knowing that they were faced with mortal danger, they still boldly streamed out of the gap.
Certainly, the dozen or so Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters outside the opening wouldn’t go easy on them. They cast their Divine Abilities in quick succession and killed another two Royal Lords the moment they stepped through the gap.
Regardless, even more Royal Lords rushed out of the opening. Leveraging the sacrifices of their companions, they soon broke through the Ninth-Order Masters’ defences and charged towards the battlefield, ignoring the Human Old Ancestors behind them.
There were even more Royal Lords who had to leave the gap, so the Black Ink Clan knew the battlefield couldn’t just be at the mouth of the opening. That was the reason the Ninth-Order Masters had to be lured away.
More Ninth-Order Masters flew out of the Great Passes to meet the Royal Lords who had broken through the first defence line.
Royal Lords continued to be killed at the opening, but even more of them managed to break through the siege.
In such a situation, even the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to go all out, directly using their most powerful moves to try to stem the flow of enemy reinforcements.
Everywhere on the battlefield, magnificent auras appeared in battles that the average cultivator wouldn’t have a right to approach.
Within just half a day, over 100 Royal Lords had rushed out of the opening, and even though 20 of them had been killed before they could do anything, there were still about 80 of them who had managed to break through.
It required the same number of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to restrain these 80 Royal Lords.
There were only a small number of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters left in the Great Passes at this point, and all of them sported solemn expressions because there were still Royal Lords flooding out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
No one knew how many Royal Lords were hiding in the darkness. If there were too many of them, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t be able to deal with them. If the number of Royal Lords exceeded what the Ninth-Order Masters could handle, the Human soldiers would fall into a perilous situation.
One hour later, the defence of the dozen Ninth-Order Masters at the opening was finally broken. All of them were wounded and powerless to stop the enemies from leaving the opening, so while they were retreating, more than ten Royal Lords bolted out of the gap and chased after them.
Cang, who had been guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, sported a grim expression. He had been comparing the differences in powers between the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Royal Lords. If things came to a point where the Humans were no longer able to manage, he would immediately close the opening.
At this moment, the Humans had reached their limits as all the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had left the Great Passes to engage in life-and-death battles with the Royal Lords. The Humans were unable to deal with more Royal Lords.
If another five Royal Lords appeared, the balance on the battlefield would be shattered, so Cang was ready to seal the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at any moment.
At this point, Mo had released quite a lot of the power that it had accumulated over the years, but while Cang felt less pressured, it still wasn’t enough. Even so, that was the last of his concerns now. If the Humans were destroyed, his efforts to guard the Grand Restriction over the past few millions of years would all be wasted.
To his surprise though, no more Royal Lords emerged from the opening, causing him to furrow his brow. He didn’t think Mo had released all of its Royal Lords as Cang could still feel some powerful auras lurking in the dark. Apparently, quite many Royal Lords remained hidden.
Nevertheless, Mo didn’t release any more Royal Lords at this moment, and after giving it some thought, Cang realised the other party’s intention.
Presently, he wasn’t the only one who wanted to retain the balance of the battlefield; Mo shared the same sentiment. It was fully aware of Cang’s intentions, and knew that once it released even more Royal Lords, the Humans would lose any hope of winning the war, and the gap of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would be closed. By then, it would no longer be able to escape.
While Cang wanted to maintain a balance, Mo was trying to do the same. Even though more and more of its servants were killed, it seemed it thought the sacrifice was worth it.
[But… What’s the point of Mo doing all this? This kind of balance won’t help it get out of the trap. What is it really up to?] Cang was unable to figure out the reason behind it.
Initially, Mo was indeed as gullible as a young child, but certainly, Cang wouldn’t really regard Mo to be a child after the latter was imprisoned for millions of years. Although Mo had been trapped inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was able to make use of the Black Ink Nests to find out everything that was going on in the outside world.
Millions of years had passed, so even the most gullible child would have grown cunning.
Since Cang was unable to figure out Mo’s intention, he decided to push it to the back of his mind. At any rate, things were still within his control.
Even though no more Royal Lords stepped out of the gap, there were still a large number of Black Ink Clansmen, including Territory Lords and Feudal Lords, emerging.
Despite their best efforts, the Humans were unable to gain the upper hand on the battlefield, for the Black Ink Clan Army was continuously replenished. The human race couldn’t hope to reclaim their advantageous position if they were unable to cut off the enemy’s flow of reinforcements.
However, this war’s objective was to alleviate some pressure on Cang. Although a large number of Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives, Cang still hadn’t closed the Grand Restriction; in other words, it still wasn’t time to do so yet.
Left with no choice, the Humans could only grit their teeth and soldier on.
At this moment, Yang Kai was in a difficult spot as well. It seemed that because of his frequent use of Purifying Light, he had been targeted by a female Territory Lord with a curvy figure.
It had come to a point where the Territory Lords streaming out of the gap were no longer clad in the same bone armour as before; they now came in all different shapes and sizes.
Unlike the Territory Lords in bone armour who had an impenetrable defence, these Territory Lords in different forms had their own unique characteristics.
This alluring Territory Lord who had targeted Yang Kai had a special trait; she was extremely agile. She was able to move at lightning speed, and even though Yang Kai had repeatedly used Instantaneous Movement to dart around the battlefield, he was unable to shake her off.
The Territory Lord ignored everyone else as she locked onto Yang Kai and relentlessly pursued him.
If Yang Kai was still at peak strength, he could have transformed into his Ancient Dragon Form and fought it out with her. Unfortunately, he had exhausted himself by moving around the battlefield earlier, so he wasn’t a match for this alluring Territory Lord at this point.
Powerless, he repeatedly fell into danger. Seeing that the situation he was in was increasingly perilous, Yang Kai clenched his teeth and charged towards a particular direction.
A moment later, he appeared beside Cang and instantly felt a force engulfing him. It was the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction’s power.
Then, Yang Kai turned around and glared at the Territory Lord who had followed him to this place.
Cang teased him, saying, “Does she have her eyes on you or something?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Well, she has fine taste when it comes to men.”
Cang was stunned, for he hadn’t expected this little brat to be so thick-skinned.
“Kill her, Senior!” Yang Kai urged.
Hearing that, the Territory Lord appeared flustered and instinctively took a few steps back as she warily stared at Cang. If someone like Cang made a move on her, she wouldn’t be able to resist.
Nevertheless, Cang shook his head, “I can’t. I can only make a move within the bounds of the restriction. Anything outside the restriction is beyond my control.”
Yang Kai widened his eyes in disbelief, “Is there such a restraint?”
Cang appeared helpless as well, “There’s no choice. I’ve practically become part of the Grand Restriction. The restriction is me, and I am the restriction. Only by doing so could I maximise my control over it. That’s the trade-off.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai replied, “I see. It’s fine then, I’ll just get some rest here and kill her later.”
The reason he came all the way here was that Cang had sent a Divine Sense transmission some time ago saying that he could seek his help when he was in danger.
Cang was unable to help the Human Army kill their enemies, but he could make use of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction’s power to protect some of them.
It was because of Cang’s assurance that Yang Kai had the guts to act recklessly on the battlefield. If he didn’t have a nearby sanctuary, he wouldn’t have been so audacious.
Then, Yang Kai turned to glare at the Territory Lord and ran his fingers across his neck, “Wash your neck and wait for me!”
He conveniently ignored the fact that he was just a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and that even if he was at full strength, he couldn’t defeat the other party.
Enraged by Yang Kai’s arrogance, the Territory Lord sported a dark expression and lifted her hand to summon her Black Ink Strength, which turned into a dark Flood Dragon. As it widened its jaws, it came charging towards Yang Kai.
“Idiot,” Yang Kai snickered, was unfazed. As he was now protected by Cang’ in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, no one else could harm him. Therefore, he didn’t even bother to blink when he was faced with this ferocious strike.
All of a sudden, Cang chuckled and performed a different hand seal.
About 10 metres before Yang Kai and Cang, the dark Flood Dragon was stopped by an invisible barrier.
A turn of events took place suddenly.
The dark Flood Dragon instantly turned around. As its body expanded, it reached for the Territory Lord and opened its mouth wide. While the Territory Lord was flabbergasted, the Flood Dragon swallowed her before shaking its head and flicking its tail smugly.
Yang Kai was equally astounded.
The next instant, Yang Kai shot out with his spear in hand as a Great Sun rose from behind him. This time, no Golden Crow was heard cawing, nor was there any scorching heat for this Great Sun was formed from flawless Purifying Light.
The dark Flood Dragon exploded and the battered Territory Lord appeared. Even though the Secret Technique was powerful, she was the one who activated it, after all. Cang managed to hijack it and send it back against her, but even though the Flood Dragon had been strengthened, it couldn’t possibly kill her.
However, it was inevitable that she would be hurt since she was caught completely off guard.
The moment she extricated herself, a Great Sun exploded in front of her and made her unable to open her eyes. At the same time, she was engulfed in a great sense of danger.
Instantly, this Territory Lord screamed as her Black Ink Strength madly left her body and was dispelled by the Purifying Light.
As though having a spirituality of its own, the white light streamed into her body through her seven orifices and freshly opened wounds. In an instant, her expression turned hideous and she howled in agony.
At that moment, she did not only feel that her Black Ink Strength was being destroyed as though it had come across an archnemesis, but also that her very body was melting like snow under a scorching Sun. Her alluring face literally began to warp like a burning candle.
Just then, the Azure Dragon Spear stabbed right between her eyes. Black blood spattered as she instinctively threw a palm on Yang Kai’s chest.
Yang Kai didn’t bother to dodge it, taking the blow directly as he infused all of his strength into the Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it forward, “Fall!”
The spear penetrated the Territory Lord’s head and a violent World Force exploded, causing her skull to shatter to pieces.
At the same time, Yang Kai was sent flying away as he plunged back beside Cang and gasped, clearly in pain.
Cang looked down at him, and upon seeing his chest caved in, he was surprised as he commented, “You were almost killed!”
In that moment earlier, the Territory Lord didn’t just land a palm on Yang Kai once. In fact, she had struck him several dozen times on the same spot; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so horribly injured given the fact that he had an extremely powerful Dragon Vein.
Any other Seventh-Order Master would have lost their life if they were in Yang Kai’s shoes as not just anyone could kill an opponent that was far more powerful than themselves.
In Cang’s eyes, the battle between Yang Kai and the Territory Lord was no different from two small children fighting with each other, but to those involved, given their powers, it was truly a life-and-death contest.
The moment the Territory Lord suffered a backlash of her own Divine Ability, Yang Kai directly charged forward, which went to show how determined he was. When he saw a chance, he did not hesitate to seize it.
Not many could be as determined and ruthless as he was. Any hesitation at that moment would have cost him the chance to kill his enemy.
Even faced with the counterattack of an enemy much stronger than he was, he didn’t back down and instead risked being further injured in order to end the enemy’s life, which showed how ruthless he was to both his enemies and himself.
Even though the process was short, it was a life-and-death moment that even somewhat surprised someone like Cang.
Yang Kai sat down with his legs crossed and spat out a mouthful of blood before grinning, “I certainly had to do my best to kill the enemy. If the Human Race had backed down at any point, we would’ve lost the fight long ago.”
Then, he gulped down some healing pills and started recuperating. The reason he came to Cang’s side was to seek his refuge and restore some strength. It never crossed his mind that the Territory Lord would be so relentless, or Cang would create a chance for him to turn things around.
Cang had never expected that his nonchalant move would lead to such an outcome. Upon hearing Yang Kai’s words though, he turned to look at the battlefield in silence. Everywhere on the battlefield, he saw Human soldiers clashing with the Black Ink Clan, the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters spreading across the void, and even the Ninth-Order Masters fighting with everything they had.
They were all risking their lives to destroy the enemy. At that instant, Cang fell into a dazed state, [They’re the Humans of the current generation.]
It was because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves that they managed to reach this place. Cang had been waiting for millions of years, and only this generation of Humans allowed him to see the silver lining.
The battlefield was filled with chaos, and with every breath there would be powerful auras withering. Both the Humans and Black Ink Clan suffered immense losses.
Even some of the Royal Lords lost their lives. Earlier, several Royal Lords were killed the instant they left the gap, not because they were weak, but because of the circumstances they had to deal with. If they wanted to escape out of the gap, they had to bear the attacks from the Ninth-Order Masters lying in ambush for them.
In such a situation, it was expected that some Royal Lords were killed; however, once they managed to leave the gap, they became much harder to kill. Even so, as the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joined forces, they managed to kill four more Royal Lords.
However, the situation didn’t change at all. After four Royal Lords were killed, another four Royal Lords appeared from the gap to replace them. There were no longer any more Ninth-Order Masters outside the gap, so the Royal Lords could leave at will.
At this point, the Human Race Masters realised that Mo was trying to maintain balance on the battlefield. There were surely even more Royal Lords hiding in the darkness; however, Mo didn’t release them all at once. Instead, it had been replacing the dead Royal Lords with new ones in an attempt to make it look as though both sides were equally matched.
Regardless, even Cang was unable to figure out Mo’s intention, let alone the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Fortunately, this was the situation they hoped to see. If the Black Ink Clan soldiers were so powerful that the Humans were unable to deal with them, it was bad news to the Human Race as a whole.
Cang had been paying close attention to the movements in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. He was wary of Mo’s plans, thinking it must be up to something; however, he was unable to figure out what since it wasn’t the right time yet. Now, he could only keep his guard up. If something went wrong, he would immediately seal the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and stop Mo from getting out of the trap.
“Heaven Devouring Battle Law?” Yang Kai turned to Cang with a doubtful expression. While Yang Kai was restoring his energy, Cang wasn’t just sitting idly by either.
Previously, Yang Kai had passed him a lot of resources to recuperate, and Cang had been refining them in order to replenish his losses this whole time.
Cang was able to refine resources extremely quickly, which was understandable as he was a powerful cultivator, but the real crux of the matter was that Yang Kai detected traces of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law in the way the old man refined the resources.
Yang Kai had cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law before; however, he hadn’t mastered this Secret Art, so he wasn’t comparable to Wu Kuang in this regard. With that said, he understood this Evil Art more than anyone else aside from the latter.
Therefore, the moment he detected similar traces of it, he was stunned.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that he was mistaken, but as he observed Cang for a while longer, he confirmed that the latter was indeed using the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. If that wasn’t the case, even though Cang was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he couldn’t have refined resources so quickly.
Moreover, he wasn’t just refining the resources that were given to him. If one paid close attention, they would realise that Cang was even devouring the Black Ink Strength left behind by the nearby dead Black Ink Clansmen.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai was flabbergasted.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was a Secret Art that Wu Kuang had personally created, and it was probably the most extraordinary and evil one in history, so why was Cang able to use it?
Hearing Yang Kai’s words, Cang was also startled for a moment before a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face and he asked, “Do you recognise this Secret Art?”
Yang Kai replied with uncertainty, “Perhaps I’m mistaken.”
There were countless Secret Arts in this world, and even though Heaven Devouring Battle Law was quite possibly the evilest Secret Arts in existence, Cang was someone who had lived for millions of years, so it shouldn’t be surprising that such an unrivalled Master knew some amazing Secret Arts. Perhaps his Secret Art only shared some similarities with Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Cang said, “It’s fine. Look closely.”
Saying so, he openly used his Secret Art again. In order to let Yang Kai see clearly, he exhibited the movements of his aura and the fluctuations of energy in detail.
Yang Kai’s expression turned more and more stunned as he watched.
Although this Secret Art was slightly different from the one he knew, it was indeed the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. The two Secret Arts shared more than 90% of the same circulation paths while the remaining 10% seemed to be due to some kind of personal abstrusity that he couldn’t quite grasp.
A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “Why does Senior know the Heaven Devouring Battle Law?”
He was even more perplexed at the fact that Cang appeared so thrilled at this moment. [What’s so exciting about it? He didn’t seem this exhilarated even after so many Royal Lords were killed.]
Instead of answering his question, Cang asked, “You call this ‘Heaven Devouring Battle Law’? Who do you know who uses this Secret Art?”
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai replied, “There’s an old fart named Wu Kuang who cultivates this Secret Art. As far as I knew, he was the creator of this Secret Art. I had a chance to cultivate this Secret Art in the past and even did so for a time in a sense, though not anymore. Supposedly, there should be no one else who has cultivated it. Oh, I also taught the Stone Spirit Clan this Secret Art long ago.”
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was too wicked and even though it could help a cultivator increase their strength rapidly, its drawbacks were simply unbearable for most people. Even Yang Kai was unable to resolve those drawbacks; therefore, the moment he realised something was wrong back then, he stopped cultivating it.
Wu Kuang was different, for he had the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, so he could recklessly devour external powers without worrying about any backlash. However, there was only one Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus in existence, so no one else could imitate him; hence, there was only one Heaven Devouring Great Emperor in the World.
The reason the Stone Spirit Clan members were able to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was that their physiques were unique. Their bodies were not made from flesh, and they had an innate ability to refine and expel all kinds of impurities; therefore, they were best suited to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
“Wu Kuang…” Cang muttered, “Tell me more about that guy.”
Although Yang Kai was puzzled at the fact that Cang seemed interested in Wu Kuang, he still told him everything he knew. Honestly, he had mostly learned about Wu Kuang through rumours and stories.
Yang Kai hadn’t even been born when Wu Kuang was first active, so he wasn’t sure of the details of the war in the Shattered Star Sea back then. He only knew that many Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were killed in that clash while they managed to ‘kill’ Wu Kuang in the end.
In truth, Wu Kuang faked his death and escaped. Then, he waited for a chance to resurrect.
It took 20,000 years or so, but Wu Kuang’s wish was eventually granted. Although he had managed to escape from the Shattered Star Sea, his cultivation had plunged. At that time, he occupied Bustling World Great Emperor’s body and spent quite a long time sharing it with the body’s original owner, Duan Hong Chen.
Then, Wu Kuang appeared on Dragon Island and kicked up a storm before vanishing into thin air again. When he reappeared, it was when the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary joined forces to deal with Great Demon God.
The Star Boundary was almost destroyed in that war, and after the death of Great Demon God, Mo Sheng, Wu Kuang seized the former’s body and fully resurrected. Then, he broke free of the Star Boundary’s restraints and headed out into the Outer Universe to seek greater heights in the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai had no idea what Wu Kuang went through after the latter left the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai knew that he could cultivate pretty quickly, but Wu Kuang wasn’t any slower. When they met again after that day, both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Then, Wu Kuang hid inside the New Great Territory for a while before Yang Kai brought him to the Shattered Heaven.
Someone like Wu Kuang could only be in his own skin in a place such as the Shattered Heaven. After that, Yang Kai never heard from him again.
Sometimes, Yang Kai wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t defeated Blood Crow, who was later brought away by the Fisherman Uncle from Bright King Cave Heaven. He imagined that when Wu Kuang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, there would have been a fierce battle between two evenly-matched opponents.
Both the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could absorb and refine other people’s powers, so they shared some similarities. It would surely be an interesting fight if Wu Kuang and Blood Crow encountered one another.
In a straightforward comparison, there was no denying that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was more powerful as there was nothing that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law could not refine as long as it had some energy.
On the other hand, even though the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could devour another person’s strength, it was mainly focused on refining their Blood Essence. In that sense, it was inferior to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
With that said, Blood Crow had been subdued and brought back to Bright King Heaven a long time ago. When Wu Kuang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, only the stories of Blood Crow remained.
Yang Kai reckoned that if the two of them ever met, there was no doubt Blood Crow would be at a disadvantage. Several hundred years had passed since then, and he wondered how Wu Kuang had been doing in the Shattered Heaven. Given the wickedness of his Secret Art, he must be the focus of much ire and contempt.
At that moment, Yang Kai even felt a bit sorry for him.
“Wu Kuang…” Cang muttered before he started guffawing. He appeared so exhilarated that he almost broke into tears of joy as he chanted, “Wu Kuang!”
Yang Kai was astounded, “You know Wu Kuang, Senior?”
Cang shook his head, “Nope. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard his name.”
At that, Yang Kai was baffled. [Since you don’t know Wu Kuang, why are you so happy to hear about him?]
Unbeknownst to him, even though Cang wasn’t aware of who Wu Kuang was today, he knew someone else similar to him. In fact, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was the primary Secret Art that other person cultivated.
There was no denying that this Secret Art was evil. With that said, there was no such thing as right or wrong when it came to Secret Arts, only people who could be divided into good and evil. Whatever Secret Art it was, the person using it would determine whether it was just or malevolent.
[Part of Shi’s plan succeeded! Otherwise, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law wouldn’t have been passed down to someone else. However, looking at the matter from another perspective, his plan also seems to have failed.]
Although Cang had never come into contact with Wu Kuang, through Yang Kai’s words he could tell that Wu Kuang never inherited all of Shi’s memories.
Perhaps after Shi left this place back then, his Soul was gradually worn down after encountering many different crises. As such, Wu Kuang had no idea what had happened in his previous life, he only retained knowledge of the wondrous Secret Art named the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Regardless, this was the best news Cang had heard in the past few millions of years.
“Have you been to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?” Cang suddenly asked.
Yang Kai was caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, but he was even more astounded by the old man’s question and couldn’t help asking, “How do you know, Senior?”
Cang replied with a smile, “I can feel the World Tree’s aura coming from you.”
Only then did Yang Kai understand.
“I saw you running around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength. It’s apparent that you have a World Tree clone protecting your Small Universe.”
Yang Kai nodded, “You have sharp eyesight, Senior. There’s indeed a World Tree clone in my Small Universe, but I didn’t get it from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. I acquired it from a Universe Cave Heaven that was left behind on the battlefield.”
The World Tree clone he had obtained from Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was planted in the Star Boundary, an action that saved the Star Boundary from collapsing and also transformed it into the Open Heaven Realm Cradle it was today.
Then, Yang Kai realised something and asked in shock, “The World Tree and the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary existed in your era, Senior?”
Cang had been guarding this place and separated from the outside world for millions of years, so it surprised Yang Kai that he was aware of the World Tree and the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Cang chuckled, “The World Tree and Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary are far more ancient than you think. I heard that the World Tree was born the moment Heaven and Earth split apart.”
[It was born with the Universe itself…] Recently, Yang Kai had learned quite a number of secrets that were previously unknown to him.
“As for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary…” Cang frowned, “No one knows how exactly it was formed. I told you all that in the Late Ancient Era, a mighty force realised that the Humans were suffering in hardship, so it gathered together 10 Humans to spread the Martial Dao. Only then did the Human Race truly learn to cultivate.”
Yang Kai nodded as Cang had told them about it before. Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors were those 10 people who had created the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Millions of years had passed since then, and the other nine people had all passed away. Only Cang was left guarding this place.
At that time, an Old Ancestor asked what the mighty force was, but Cang only replied with a smile that it was the Will of the Heavenly Way.
Presently, the battlefield was in chaos, but the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was completely unaffected. The Black Ink Clansmen didn’t bother to attack the two of them because they knew they were unable to break the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Cang went on to say calmly, “The 10 of us managed to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm after we were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded.
“Before that, even though the Humans could gain some power through simple cultivation, we could only reach somewhere below the Open Heaven Realm. At that time, the realm below the Open Heaven Realm was the end of Martial Dao.”
Yang Kai hurriedly straightened his back. He had a feeling that he was about to hear some incredible secret.
“The 10 of us were not born in the same place. Rather, we all came from different Great Territories. We managed to gain the acknowledgement of our homelands and became Venerables in our own lands. Only then were we able to shake off our Universe World’s restraints and head out into the vast void to explore a higher Martial Dao.”
He went on to say, “At that time, Monster Beasts were everywhere with all of them possessing the bloodlines of Divine Spirits, though the purity of those bloodlines varied greatly. Their cultivation was unhindered as the powers of their bloodlines alone allowed them to grow into formidable beings. The Humans were unable to defend themselves from the Monster Beasts. In order to solve this crisis, we had to seek a higher Martial Dao. However, no one managed to succeed.”
After a pause, he continued, “One day, I was swept away by a rolling fog and brought to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. In that place, I came across the other nine and became friends with them. Just like me, they had left their homelands in search of a higher Martial Dao. A long time has passed, so I can’t remember many of the details, but with that said, I will never be able to forget the strangeness of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. While we were there, we experienced countless crises, but by working together, we eventually resolved all of them. Looking back now, I realize that those were all trials for us. In the end, we arrived at a place where there was an enormous tree, the World Tree.”
Yang Kai nodded, for he had seen the World Tree as well, though it wasn’t a pleasant encounter. Still, he had gained some benefits from the World Tree; otherwise, the Seventh Order would have been his limit in this lifetime.
“The tree gave us one fruit each.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was surprised, “The World Tree was so generous?”
At that time, he had gone through the trials of different Worlds before he acquired some Low-Rank and Mid-Rank World Fruits, and the only reason he obtained a root was because the World Tree sacrificed it to throw him out.
However, Cang and the other Martial Ancestors were just given World Fruits without doing anything. What’s more, the achievements of Cang and the others suggested that the World Fruits they had acquired were High-Rank World Fruits. Perhaps they were even superior to High-Rank World Fruits.
In comparison, what Yang Kai had obtained was nothing worth noting. He had the urge to head to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary again and rob the World Tree.
Cang went on to say, “After we consumed the fruits, we were able to open Small Universes in our bodies and step into the Open Heaven Realm. Only then did we comprehend the cultivation method of the Open Heaven Realm. After leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, we taught everyone this cultivation method, and the Humans were finally able to oppose the Monster Beasts.”
Yang Kai said solemnly, “It was thanks to Sir and the other Seniors that the Human Race was finally able to cultivate. Your contributions should be remembered by all.”
With a smile, Cang waved his hand, “The reason I’m telling you all this is that over the years, I’ve faintly detected something.”
“Please enlighten me, Senior.”
After a moment of deliberation, Cang continued, “Back then, we came from different Great Territories and Universe Worlds, but we were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by the rolling fog all at the same time. The crises we faced seemed to be the trials to test our temperaments. In the end, the fruits given to us seemed to be the World Tree’s rewards.”
He paused for a moment, “Initially, we didn’t read too much into it. Since we had acquired greater powers, we decided to teach the other Humans how to do the same so that we all had the capital to gain a footing in the vast universe. Later, we created the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and confined Mo to this place. Only then did we have time to ponder on certain issues. The World Tree’s existence seems to have something to do with the entire 3,000 Worlds. To be precise, the World Tree might be the source of the 3,000 Worlds.”
Yang Kai was astounded, “You mean… the 3,000 Worlds are just a reflection of the World Tree’s power?”
Cang shook his head, “That’s not what I meant. There’s a reason the tree is named the World Tree and it must have something to do with the 3,000 Worlds. The 10 of us were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and given the fruits by the World Tree, thus allowing us to create a complete Martial Dao system. Rather than saying it was our opportunity, it was more like a method the 3,000 Worlds used to help itself.”
“Help itself?” Yang Kai muttered, “You mean the 3,000 Worlds has a consciousness of its own?”
“Perhaps not a consciousness, or at least one that we would understand. Think of it as there being some ‘rules’ that we’re unable to comprehend,” Cang explained, “At that time, Mo’s sentience had just awakened, and Black Ink Strength started spreading across the Great Territories. If left unhindered, the entire universe would have been taken over by Black Ink Strength. Therefore, someone had to stop it. Even if it was not us, there would have been another 10 to take up that role.”
Cang stared fervently at Yang Kai, “What’s more, there must have been more than one attempt to help itself. The World Tree gave you a clone. If I’m not mistaken, you’re also one of the ones selected by these ‘rules’.”
It was because of that realization that Cang paid extra attention to Yang Kai and sent a transmission to him, telling him to seek refuge next to him when he fell into danger. It was also because of this realization that Cang told Yang Kai so many things.
In the Late Ancient Era, Cang and the other nine were just a means the ‘rules’ tried to use to save themselves. Now, Yang Kai could very well be those same ‘rules’ trump card.
Yang Kai fell into a dazed state.
Even though the clone he had obtained in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was subsequently planted in the Star Boundary, he inadvertently acquired another to shelter his Small Universe at a later point. Rather than it all just being a big coincidence, Cang’s speculation made more sense.
Was Yang Kai also one of the ways the unfathomable ‘rules’ tried to save themselves?
As Yang Kai looked back, he realised it was inconceivable that he even managed to snatch a root from the World Tree. At that time, he was pretty weak as he wasn’t even an Open Heaven Realm Master yet. He had only condensed his Dao Seal and had yet to even refine all the necessary Powers.
On the other hand, the World Tree was an ancient existence born with the Universe. As time passed, it must have developed spirituality of its own and grown into a powerful being.
How was an Emperor Realm Master supposed to snatch a root from the World Tree? After he acquired the root, the World Tree just swept him to a faraway place, which showed that it was fully capable of dismissing him, it just didn’t bother to do so until after the fact.
If Cang’s speculation was right, Yang Kai was also one of the ways the unfathomable ‘rules’ tried to save themselves, which explained everything. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was where the trials took place, and the root and the World Fruits were the rewards granted by the World Tree.
Millions of years ago, Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors were selected and given World Fruits by the World Tree, thus allowing them to enter the Open Heaven Realm and teach the others how to do the same. When the Humans grew stronger, they were able to fight against the Monster Beasts and Mo itself.
Millions of years later, Yang Kai arrived at the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and obtained a root from the World Tree. Even though the outcomes were different, they were both methods the 3,000 Worlds used to help themselves when they found themselves in crisis.
In that case, the original owner of the World Tree clone in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was likely also one of the ways the rules had selected to save themselves. Unfortunately, that Senior passed away on the Black Ink Battlefield, and his or her Small Universe was left behind as a Universe Cave Heaven. Countless years later, Yang Kai had the opportunity to enter it and obtain the World Tree clone.
Perhaps there were other people just like them over the eons; however, Yang Kai didn’t have a way to find out who they were, nor did he know whether they were even still alive.
Cang’s words were too shocking, but believable; after all, he had lived for millions of years and his life in this place gave him ample time to ponder on some deeper issues. Even though Yang Kai found his words inconceivable, it could very possibly be the truth.
“You must be careful,” Cang suddenly said.
A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean, Senior?”
With a solemn expression, Cang explained, “Many years have passed, and Mo might have also realised what I’ve come to understand. Perhaps it even knows things that I don’t. If my speculation is right, you are in a perilous situation.”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment, but he soon realised what Cang meant.
If he was indeed one of the ways the ‘rules’ had selected to save themselves, he must be special in some way. As long as Mo noticed his presence, he wouldn’t let him off.
“You swaggered around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength, so perhaps you’ve already caught Mo’s attention.”
Yang Kai replied, “The Four Universe Pillars are also able to protect one’s Small Universe and fend off Black Ink Strength. It might not realise that I have a World Tree clone.”
Cang nodded, “You have a point, but you still have to be careful. Also, even though you have the World Tree clone, which makes you immune to the Black Ink Strength of ordinary Black Ink Clansmen, that might not be able to drive off Mo’s Source Strength. Its strength is far greater than that of ordinary Black Ink Clansmen. Perhaps it might be able to break through the barriers of your Small Universe.”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “With you around, Mo won’t be able to get out of the trap, so how is it going to make a move against me? If even Senior is unable to suppress Mo, the Human Race won’t be far from extinction either way.”
Cang replied solemnly, “I’ll do my best.”
The next moment, Yang Kai got to his feet and lifted his Azure Dragon Spear, “I’ve gotten enough rest, Senior. I’ll kill some more enemies before coming back to chat with you.”
Then, he directly charged towards the battlefield.
Half a day later, Yang Kai returned, covered in blood. The Territory Lords chasing after him appeared furious, for the moment Yang Kai landed beside Cang, they had no choice but to leave. This time, he was in a better state than before, so it took him less time to recover.
After getting some rest, Yang Kai continued battling against the enemy. As he repeated this over and over again, the Black Ink Clansmen grew annoyed. Some of the Territory Lords now directly waited outside the safe zone on the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that they could kill Yang Kai the moment he left Cang’s shelter.
However, Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, so as long as the space around him wasn’t sealed, these Territory Lords had no way to capture him. Eventually, the Black Ink Clan stopped bothering with him, and without any restraints, Yang Kai was able to kill even more enemies.
Nevertheless, he was the only one capable of such things, as the other Humans were unable to imitate him. As they were not experts in the Dao of Space, they couldn’t cross the vast battlefield quickly and safely; therefore, only Yang Kai could run to Cang’s side to seek refuge and recuperate. Although he had made significant contributions, he was unable to single-handedly change the tide of battle.
Several months had passed since the war started, and 30% of the original 2 million Human soldiers had been killed in action. In other words, some 600,000 Human soldiers had lost their lives, all of them in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above. The losses they had suffered were simply staggering.
There was no denying that the losses that the Black Ink Clan had suffered were dozens of times greater than those of the Humans as innumerable Territory Lords and Royal Lords had lost their lives. Still, even more Black Ink Clansmen continuously poured out from the opening and entered the battlefield to make up for the losses.
All the Humans were exhausted, and even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters appeared weary. The two Races had been fighting against one another on the Black Ink Battlefield for many years, and although some wars lasted for months or even years, it was always a process of intense battles, followed by a period of rest and recovery before they clashed once again.
This time was different as the two Races had never stopped fighting since the war started. The chaos on the battlefield was constant. Fortunately, the various Army Commanders had already expected that this war would be a long one, so the 2 million soldiers were divided into two groups that took turns to battle the enemy. If not for this rotation of troops, the Humans would have been defeated by the Black Ink Clan long ago.
At this point, the Black Ink Clan had gained the upper hand. Although it wasn’t conspicuous, they were indeed in a favourable position. This was the balance Mo had been trying to sustain. Had it recklessly released all its servants to the battlefield, the Humans would’ve been defeated long ago.
Cang’s expression became increasingly solemn as he felt that it was time to seal the gap in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If this dragged on and the Humans were routed, the situation would surely get out of hand.
After months of releasing Black Ink Strength, he could feel that the pressure within the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been alleviated somewhat. Although it wouldn’t be as much as he hoped for if he stopped now, it was still acceptable. At the thought of this, he hesitated no more. As he performed a different hand seal, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction started vibrating.
All of a sudden, Mo, who had remained silent all along, said, “I thought you were going to wait for a while more.”
Cang snorted, “You’d better quickly show us what tricks you still have; otherwise, you won’t have the chance to do so soon.”
Since the beginning, Cang had realised that Mo must have been holding something back; otherwise, it wouldn’t have tried to maintain the balance of powers between the two sides. It knew that once the balance was broken and the Humans were defeated, Cang would immediately seal the gap, giving it no chance to escape.
While the balance was being sustained, Cang was more than happy to weaken Mo’s power. It could be said that the situation on the battlefield was a tacit coordination between the two Races with the 2 million Human soldiers and the tens of millions of Black Ink Clansmen serving as chess pieces.
Cang also knew that once he started sealing the opening, there was no way Mo would sit idly by. There was bound to be a fierce fight where both sides did everything they could to gain the upper hand.
“You’ve grown old, Cang,” Mo let out a sigh of pity.
Even a cultivator as powerful as Cang had grown old after staying here for millions of years. As Mo recalled the days when it and the 10 Humans were still friends, it couldn’t help but feel rueful.
Those were the best days of its life. It could talk with his friends, travel with them, and share tea and wine together. It was carefree. Those days were gone for good once it was confined to this place. There wouldn’t be another Mu or Cang in this world.
It was fully aware that they didn’t hold any malicious intent trapping it in this place, but it was unresigned. It was born the way it was, it didn’t acquire its strength through cultivation. Since the Heavens had given it a power to turn others into the same beings as it, it was destined to rule over the Universe.
As all its friends were gone for good, so it stopped having any pity for this world. Everyone was bound to be subservient to it.
“All of you have underestimated me!” As Mo roared, an immense force burst out of the endless darkness. A magnificent aura spread out and shocked both the Black Ink Clansmen and the Humans on the battlefield. It was a power that was so overwhelming that even the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were dazed by it.
Cang’s expression changed, for he realised that the resistance coming from the opening was making it impossible for him to reseal it for the time being. With that said, he wasn’t flustered. He wouldn’t think that Mo didn’t even have the capabilities to do such a thing. Everything was well within his expectations. This wasn’t Mo’s trump card, he must have another trick up his sleeve.
All of a sudden, Cang had a bad premonition. After several months of intense fighting, countless Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives on the battlefield. Black blood, Black Ink Strength, and severed limbs were everywhere in the void.
The moment Mo’s Will spread out, these miscellaneous scraps on the battlefield started squirming and shooting towards the same place as though they had been guided by a mysterious force.
The expressions of all of the Humans changed. That was because these miscellaneous things were moving towards the opening.
In just a moment, the black blood, Black Ink Strength, and the hashed flesh left behind from fallen Black Ink Clansmen formed a colossal dark tide. The dark tide crossed the battlefield, and along the way, some Human soldiers were accidentally swept into it and killed.
The entire universe trembled as the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction shook. Even more dark blood, Black Ink Strength, and smashed meat joined the dark tide and fortified it.
Besides that, even the Black Ink Clansmen, who had been dealing with the Humans, abandoned their opponents and dashed towards the dark tide before disappearing. The turn of events stunned the Humans. They had been in a disadvantageous position on the battlefield when they suddenly lost their opponents.
“Damn!” Cang exclaimed as he hadn’t expected that Mo was able to use such a move. In fact, even though the 10 of them were close friends with Mo in the past and they subsequently confined it to this place for millions of years, they didn’t really know its capabilities very well.
Cang had never seen Mo use this Secret Technique before, nor could he figure out what the other party was about to do. With that said, he finally realised why Mo had been trying to sustain the balance on the battlefield, even letting so many of its servants get killed. It had all been to prepare for this moment.
Despite not knowing what Mo was about to do, Cang reckoned that he had to immediately stop it; otherwise, the Humans would be in grave danger. He madly surged his power in an attempt to reseal the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction; however, from the depths of the darkness a violent force burst forth to resist it, stopping the gap from closing.
As this competition unfolded, Cang eventually gained the upper hand because he had the restriction’s help, but even though the gap was closing, it was extremely slow.
“Kill!” A Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s roar reverberated across the entire battlefield. Everyone knew that they had reached the most critical moment. Regardless of what Mo was up to, if they couldn’t stop him, they would lose the war.
Several hundred thousand Human soldiers who had been recuperating in the Great Passes charged towards the battlefield. All the Human soldiers were ready to strike. Even the soldiers guarding the arrays drove their Warships towards the battlefield. In an instant, the 106 Great Passes became empty.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers also divided into two groups, the first group leaving to intercept the Humans while the other group joined the dark tide to strengthen it.
The competition between Cang and Mo was still ongoing. Having said that, Cang was apparently in an advantageous position as the speed at which the opening of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was closing had increased.
Just then, a force that was as immense as a tidal wave gushed out from the depths of the darkness and penetrated the gap before joining the squirming dark tide. Then, the dark tide contorted and wiggled before forming into an arm.
The arm was made from countless limbs, black blood, and Black Ink Strength, but it wasn’t engulfed in Death Qi at all. Instead, it was as vibrant as a real arm. The bulging muscles of the arm suggested that it was full of strength. It was so gigantic that everyone could see nothing else and the aura billowing from it shook all beholders to the core.
The arm was connected to the force coming out from the gap. Looking from afar, it was as though a giant was sticking a hand out from the opening.
In fact, Cang could indeed feel a horrifying aura coming to life from the darkness where a giant was rapidly taking shape. The arm that penetrated the gap became a force that stopped the restriction from sealing.
Cang’s expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, “Have you reached that realm?”
The realm that was beyond the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
In the past, Cang and the other nine had been trying to ascend to that realm, but none of them succeeded. Even though Cang was more powerful than the average Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he still hadn’t broken free from the Open Heaven Realm.
He believed that beyond the Open Heaven Realm was the Creation Realm that no Humans had ever reached.
However, Mo’s voice sounded dispirited, “That realm? Maybe… I don’t know. Do you think I’ve reached that realm? I don’t think so.”
Cang was flabbergasted as he recalled the turmoil that took place in the restriction back then. At that time, Mo almost managed to break free from the trap. It seemed that Mo had already reached the Creation Realm at that time as in the endless darkness, it had created a lot of powerful beings.
After giving it some thought though, Cang realised it wasn’t surprising. Mo was able to create innumerable servants. All the Black Ink Clansmen were created from its Black Ink Strength and given its innate power and years of accumulation, it shouldn’t be shocking that it had reached the Creation Realm.
In truth, Mo didn’t directly create Black Ink Clansmen. It was fundamentally the initial darkness of the Heavens and Earth. What it had created were the Black Ink Nests, and all the Black Ink Clansmen were nurtured in those Black Ink Nests. It was Mo’s innate ability. However, this time, this powerful being in the darkness was indeed created by Mo.
All of a sudden, Cang turned calm and let out a sigh, “Mo, you were born alongside the Universe with unrivalled gifts and incredible capabilities. You’re supposed to be free from any restraints, but your strength dictates that you’ll not be accepted by everyone else.”
Mo asked hesitantly, “What are you trying to do?”
Cang replied impassively, “Millions of years have passed, so this matter should come to an end. I’m worried that my friends have grown anxious from waiting for so long.”
All of a sudden, Mo had a bad premonition and shouted, “Don’t do anything silly!”
Cang guffawed, “You’re the one who’s doing something silly.”
Saying so, he flicked his fingers as a ray of light broke through the air. Wherever the light went, it penetrated the Black Ink Clansmen and destroyed them.
Previously, he told Yang Kai that while he was part of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he could only make a move within the restriction; he was unable to have a hand in the affairs outside the Grand Restriction. That wasn’t a strict rule though, but there was a huge price to pay for breaking it. In order to send this ray of light out of the restriction, he had no choice but to put himself at stake.
The moment he made a move, the entire Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction seemed to have become unstable. Seizing the chance, Mo exerted more force to expand the gap. The arm that spanned the gap was shaking in an attempt to enlarge the opening.
“Stop it!” Mo’s Divine Sense spread across the void. Even though it had no idea what the ray of light was, it couldn’t let Cang achieve his goal at this point.
A Royal Lord extended his hand to catch the ray of light, but before he could even grasp it, his arm exploded. The power within the light was unimaginably horrifying.
Seeing that, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who had been chasing after this Royal Lord, immediately summoned his Divine Manifestation that turned into a hideous giant beast and swallowed the Royal Lord whole. Then, the Ninth-Order Master cast several seals at the Royal Lord and directly refined him.
Driven by Mo, the other Black Ink Clansmen along the way tried to stop the ray of light; however, even a Royal Lord was unable to intercept it, so how were the other Black Ink Clansmen supposed to achieve anything?
The ray of light crossed the void and left behind a vacuum in its wake before it actually penetrated Yang Kai. Upon impact, Yang Kai’s figure shook, and before he could figure out what was going on, he saw countless Black Ink Clansmen savagely coming at him from all directions. He promptly retreated and dashed towards the place where the Human Race soldiers gathered together.
The Black Ink Clansmen chased after him, but they were soon intercepted. Both parties clashed in the void as their blood spattered.
On the other hand, after casting that ray of light, Cang extended his hand into the void and pulled out a rough, uncut jade.
“Mu!” Mo exclaimed. It could feel Mu’s aura coming from this uncut jade. This was definitely something Mu had left behind after her death.
Among the 10, Mo was most fond of Mu, and it was also closest to her. However, in the end, it was confined to this place because of her. Millions of years had passed, but it didn’t hold hatred for her. Nevertheless, when it felt the familiar aura again, it couldn’t help but have conflicted feelings.
Mo soon pulled itself together and roared in a voice that still sounded childlike, “Ah! What do you plan to do, Cang!?”
As it spoke, another hand stuck out from the opening and clenched the edge. The other arm that had originally penetrated the gap retracted and grasped the other side.
Both hands exerted themselves and pushed the gap open as though they were opening a door. A horrifying aura streamed out of the gap, and at the same time, a gigantic head stuck out from the chasm. Its dark eyes reflected the entire battlefield, as though it was going to devour everything in sight.
The world trembled as the universe seemed to have been turned upside down and countless cracks started appearing in the Void.
“I don’t know what is going to happen either,” Cang’s voice sounded helpless.
His words sounded perfunctory, but he indeed had no idea what was about to happen. The uncut jade was the last testament left behind by Mu. She told them that they just had to summon this uncut jade at the most perilous moment.
Back then, Mu entered the Grand Restriction and arrived at the depths of the endless darkness. When she returned, she was already on her last breath. After passing the uncut jade to them, she blended herself into the restriction to fortify it.
She didn’t explain anything about the uncut jade; however, Cang and the others never doubted her decision or judgement. Now, it had come to the most perilous moment just like what she had said. Perhaps she had seen something in the darkness back then and expected this day to come.
After the uncut jade was summoned, it rose into the sky and shone brightly. From the light, a slender figure appeared. The figure was so colossal that she seemed to cover the entire sky, but no one could make out her face. Nevertheless, the moment she appeared, she became the centre of the universe.
Everyone stopped fighting on the battlefield as their attention was drawn to her. It was the most immaculate figure in the world, as though everything good and beautiful had been condensed within her. No one would ever have any evil thoughts about her.
“Mu!” Cang looked up with a conflicted gaze.
“Mu!” Mo muttered.
There seemed to be a smile on Mu’s face as she spoke in a gentle tone, “We haven’t met for ages, Mo.”
“Are you still… alive?” There was a hint of pleasant surprise in Mo’s voice.
Mu shook her head, “I’m dead. You know that I passed away a long time ago.”
Mo let out a sigh and replied in a dejected tone, “Yes, I know. I thought you were still alive, but since you’re dead, what are you trying to do now?”
All of a sudden, Mu said in a mischievous tone, “I’m going to play your favourite game with you for the last time.”
Mo was torn between tears and laughter, “You’re such a good friend.”
Mu refuted, “Call me Big Sister. I’m not that old.”
Saying so, she swept her hand across the darkness and muttered under her breath, “There, there. When you wake up, there’ll be games to play and food to have.”
Following her movement, the entire Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction started shining brightly and pulsing rhythmically. On the battlefield, both the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen became sluggish as a sense of sleepiness washed over them, making them feel dizzy.
Besides the Fifth-Order, Sixth-Order, and Seventh-Order Masters, even the Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Masters were unable to fight off the sleepiness.
At that instant, a strange scene appeared on this violent battlefield. The weaker soldiers of both Races fell into a peaceful sleep all of a sudden. In general, the Black Ink Clansmen were most heavily affected as the Humans had their Warships’ protection, so they still had some power to resist the mysterious force.
Yang Kai was sleepy as well. He felt his eyelids threatening to shut against his will, but at the most critical moment, a sense of coolness coursed through him, making him come back to his senses. It was the Soul Warming Lotus.
Even though he had no idea what move Mu had used, it was apparently a technique that affected the Soul, so the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection helped him endure it.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai stimulated his Dragon Source and transformed into a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon. He then swiped his Dragon Claw in a particular direction.
Over there, a Royal Lord was staggering while exchanging moves with an equally sleepy Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Unlike the violent fight earlier, they now looked like two kids haphazardly slapping at each other.
Yang Kai directly grasped the Royal Lord in his claw and clenched.
The Royal Lord’s figure was huge, but while he was in Yang Kai’s claw, only his head was shown outside the iron grip.
The Royal Lord struggled hard but couldn’t get out of the trap. As he felt intense pressure from all directions, his bones cracked and his dark blood gushed out of his body.
“You’re pretty tough,” Yang Kai grumbled; after all, this was a powerful Royal Lord. Yang Kai was unable to squeeze him to death and hadn’t even managed to severely injure him. At most, he had slightly wounded the Royal Lord.
As a sharp pain shot through him, this Royal Lord showed signs of regaining his senses.
Instantly, Yang Kai felt an immense force of resistance coming from his grip and his claw was forced to expand as the Royal Lord was about to free himself.
At the critical moment though, a flash of sword light repeatedly cut across the Royal Lord’s throat.
His head was sent flying away and dark blood spurted out of his neck as his vitality swiftly drained away.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master struggled to keep himself awake as he smugly lifted his sword and said to Yang Kai, “Kid, you’re still too weak.”
Yang Kai refuted through clenched teeth, “You’d better not fall asleep, Senior.”
This person was none other than the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor from Blue Sky Pass, so Yang Kai was naturally familiar with him.
The Old Ancestor had been tangled up with the Royal Lord for a long time, with neither side able to deal critical damage to the other party, but with Yang Kai’s help, the Old Ancestor finally managed to kill his opponent.
Hearing Yang Kai’s mockery, the Old Ancestor did his best to stay awake as he retorted, “Why would I fall asleep? Are you mocking me?”
Saying so, he turned into a sword light and dashed towards the battle between a nearby Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Royal Lord.
Yang Kai shook his head and charged towards the vast battlefield.
Presently, both the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen, regardless of their cultivation, had been affected by Mu’s Soul Technique and their combat effectiveness plummeted while Yang Kai was safe and sound with the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection.
On the entire battlefield, he was probably the only one who was still wide awake and fully able to use his power; therefore, it was time for him to deal a fatal blow to the enemies.
As he let out a Dragon Breath, his Dragon Form zigzagged across the battlefield. He wielded his Dragon Tail and easily slaughtered countless Black Ink Clansmen along the way.
Soon, he approached the battle between a Royal Lord and a Ninth-Order Master. With the previous experience, he directly extended both claws this time and shouted, “I’m here to assist, Old Ancestor!”
As the Royal Lord saw the claws closing in on him, he felt his face twitching. He wanted to dodge, but he realised that the Space around him had become viscous. Unable to escape, he was grasped by Yang Kai with both claws, leaving only his head exposed outside the grip.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s eyes brightened when he saw this and immediately launched a series of Divine Abilities.
Upon impact, the Dragon Scales on Yang Kai’s claws were blown off and his skin started bleeding. He was in so much pain that he roared at the top of his lungs.
…..
Above the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Mu’s colossal figure shone even more brightly, as though she was radiating the last gleam of light in her life. She was singing a song in a language no one could understand.
No one knew what the lyrics meant, but as they listened to it, they realised they could barely keep themselves awake.
While still singing, Mu suddenly turned to Cang and said, “Thanks for everything.”
Cang let out a sigh. At this point, he finally figured out what Mu’s plan was. He replied, “Don’t mention it. I’m finally able to feel relieved. It’s a shame that you passed away so early.”
Mu’s talent was unfathomable. Among the 10 of them back then, even though she was the only woman, none of the other nine were comparable to her.
If not for the fact that she passed away so early on, given her intelligence and skill, she may very well have come up with a real solution to the problem.
Mu replied with a smile, “The moment we were chosen back then, the outcome was determined. There’s nothing to feel regretful about. We’ve done our best, and the rest is beyond our control.”
All of a sudden, she turned to the battlefield, her eyes reflecting the 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon, “Is he also a chosen one?”
Cang nodded.
A glint flashed across Mu’s eyes, “He’s not bad.”
Despite her seemingly perfunctory remark, Cang knew that she had acknowledged Yang Kai to be a capable youth.
“All of you are so noisy…” Mo muttered under its breath from the darkness, as though it was talking in its sleep. It seemed to have returned to millions of years ago when it was taking a nap on Mu’s lap, but it was helplessly disturbed by the discussion among them, “You’re making it hard for me to fall asleep.”
Mu said gently, “We’ll be quiet.” Then, she turned to Cang, “We’re still not there yet. I need to borrow some power.”
Cang nodded solemnly, “I’ve been waiting for this moment.” Saying so, he performed a different hand seal and yelled, “Take my body and strengthen the restriction!”
Following that, all the power in his body dissipated as he assimilated his very essence into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The restriction was originally invisible and intangible, but after it absorbed Cang’s power, the barrier became obvious to all.
The barrier covered a radius of hundreds of millions of kilometres and didn’t seem to have an end to it, while inside was only endless darkness.
Cang’s aura gradually withered and eventually disappeared. Even his figure turned into motes of light and dissipated.
Above the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Mu’s figure solidified to the point where one could almost see her unrivalled beauty.
The vitality she had hidden within the restriction many years ago exploded at this moment. With the help of Cang’s power, it infused into her illusory phantom, making her look vivid and lifelike, as though she had really resurrected.
She turned to look at the void with her dark gaze, as if she was trying to take in the entire universe. The next instant, she leaped into the darkness.
“I can finally have a good sleep…” Mo muttered from the darkness, which shook all of a sudden. There seemed to be an ominous monster hidden within the darkness that turned over in its sleep, and a hush fell abruptly.
The void trembled as though it was mourning for the death of these powerful beings.
The moment Mu leaped into the darkness, all the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen, who had been affected earlier, snapped back to their senses in an instant.
The battlefield, which had become calm due to Mu’s Soul Technique, turned violent instantly.
However, everyone sensitively detected that two powerful beings’ Wills were missing. One of them was Mo, and the other was Cang.
With that said, there was now another powerful Will.
In the darkness, the enormous creature was still prying open the edges of the gap with half of his body having been revealed.
Even though it hadn’t fully revealed itself, even half of his body was enough to give off indescribable pressure.
Mu’s Soul Secret Technique had a huge impact on this giant as well and it had stopped moving earlier; however, the moment Mu leapt into the darkness, the influence of her Secret Technique disappeared. As though having received an order, the giant struggled even harder to get out of the darkness.
But it was too late. Cang had sacrificed himself to strengthen the restriction, and Mu had used a trump card she had left behind years ago. Not only had Mo fallen asleep, but the gap of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was closing rapidly as well.
Regardless of how hard the giant tried, he was unable to stop the gap from closing. In just three breaths of time, the wide gap was shut.
However, the giant still hadn’t fully crawled out of the gap. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was like a razor-sharp blade that cut across the giant’s waist, splitting him in half.
No black blood streamed out of his body, only Black Ink Strength gushed out of his wounds. The dark giant roared in pain as his voice spread across the universe.
Yang Kai took a glance at the giant and became startled, “A Giant Spirit God?”
Earlier, he had been assisting the Ninth-Order Masters to kill the Royal Lords, so he didn’t have time to look at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Now, he was stunned by what he saw.
The dark giant was actually a Giant Spirit God!
[Were Giant Spirit Gods created by Mo? No!] Yang Kai soon dismissed the idea, for the creature was not a real Giant Spirit God. He believed that it was a creature that Mo had created based on the Giant Spirit Gods. The giant had the size and appearance of a Giant Spirit God, and perhaps even the power of one, but he certainly wasn’t a member of the amiable Giant Spirit God Clan.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that he came across in the Black Ink Sealing Land in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.
Back then, he thought that a Giant Spirit God had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Now, it seemed to him that it wasn’t the case. Perhaps that Black Ink Giant Spirit God was also created by Mo.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp.
Giant Spirit Gods were incredibly powerful beings that even the Divine Spirits were no match for. He had also personally witnessed a Giant Spirit God’s power. In the past, Ah Er brought him to barge into the Chaotic Dead Territory, but despite being surrounded by mortal danger, Ah Er was completely at ease.
The Chaotic Dead Territory was a place where even Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to remain for long.
In other words, Giant Spirit Gods were more powerful than Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Perhaps they were as strong as Cang and the other Martial Ancestors.
The Heavens didn’t give the Giant Spirit God Clan a very high level of intelligence, but with that said, they were gifted with unrivalled powers.
Now, Yang Kai wondered how powerful this Black Giant Spirit God was.
What made him relax slightly was that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had cut this giant figure in half, causing his strength to plummet.
On the battlefield, more auras soon disappeared for good.
In the short moment when Mu’s Secret Technique had affected the entire battlefield, Yang Kai had helped the Ninth-Oder Open Heaven Realm Masters kill five Royal Lords.
Initially, after five Royal Lords were killed, there supposedly would be another five Royal Lords who would step out of the darkness to make up for the losses; nevertheless, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been closed, and Mo was now sound asleep. There wouldn’t be any new Royal Lords.
In the battles between the Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords, the Humans had gained the upper hand and as time passed, this advantage would be increasingly enhanced until the Black Ink Clan were no longer able to resist.
If not for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s appearance, the Humans would be guaranteed to win this war.
However, with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s existence, no one could tell what the outcome would be.
Following a roar, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God stuck out a hand and grasped somewhere on the battlefield. Faced with the giant hand, both the Human Warships and Black Ink Clansmen found it hard to dodge.
Warships exploded apart, and before the Humans could even flee, they were vaporized by the impact. It was the same case for the Black Ink Clansmen. Without any Warships to protect them, they were killed even before the Humans.
The hand then swept across the void, and although it seemed sluggish, that was only because it was too colossal.
Space itself was torn apart wherever the hand swatted.
A Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who happened to be available activated his World Force and transformed into a giant.
However, this giant still looked like a child in front of this Black Ink Giant Spirit God; there was that huge of a difference between their sizes. Even as the giant rained attacks on this Black Ink Giant Spirit God, he was unable to harm the other party at all. On the other hand, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master trembled after he was struck by the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
In the far ancient past, a single Black Ink Giant Spirit God had wreaked havoc on the Divine Spirits in Ancestral Land. In the end, it was the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress of that generation who made use of the Sacred Treasures of the different Clans, along with burning their entire Blood Essence and vitality to finally suppress and seal the rampaging Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
This resulted in the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress passing away, and as the Void itself collapsed, the Dragon Emperor Source and the Phoenix Empress Source were lost for millions of years, eventually being acquired by Yang Kai and Su Yan.
Since they were both Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, they were supposedly equally powerful; however, the one before their eyes only had half of his body left after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction sliced him in two. As such, he wasn’t nearly as powerful as the one who had kicked up a storm in Ancestral Land in the past.
Even so, a single Ninth-Order Master still wasn’t a match for him.
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God didn’t have a lower body, he was still pretty agile. Soon, he left the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and barged into the battlefield to begin a slaughter.
In his eyes, there were no friends or foes. Be it the Humans or the Black Ink Clansmen, as long as they were in his way, they were targets to be destroyed.
Within moments, many from both Races lost their lives while the flesh and blood of the dead Humans and Black Ink Clansmen, as well as the Black Ink Strength on the battlefield all seemed to be drawn to his figure. As he absorbed more and more, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s lower body showed signs of taking shape again.
He was already so overwhelmed with just his upper body, so if he managed to form a complete lower body, the situation would only become more dire.
More Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters charged towards him, but it wasn’t until the 13 Old Ancestors joined in that they managed to pin down the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, an almost inconceivable reality.
For a very long time, the Ninth-Order Masters were thought to be the most powerful beings in the world that only the Royal Lords were a match for. Now, it required 13 of them to stop a Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was missing half a body. It was unimaginable how powerful he would be if his body was whole.
The Humans had initially gained the upper hand in the battles between the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Royal Lords; however, with 13 Old Ancestors needed to restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the momentum of the battle had shifted again.
Many Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to deal with two Royal Lords on their own while some of them even had to fight three at once. Only by doing so could they stop the Royal Lords from slaughtering the Human soldiers.
The appearance of a Black Ink Giant Spirit God with only half a body destroyed the advantage that the Humans had accumulated. Even though the Humans were still in an advantageous position in the battles below the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, their edge would disappear if this dragged on.
Yang Kai had kept his Dragon Form and returned to his Human Form. With the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands, he charged around the battlefield.
The turn of events at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction happened too suddenly. Cang wanted to seal the restriction, but his actions triggered Mo’s trump card in the process. Then, Mu, who passed away eons ago, appeared and sang an unknown lullaby as she stimulated the restriction’s power.
Now, Cang’s figure was nowhere to be found, and the auras of Mu and Mo had disappeared. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had become as flawless as it used to be.
Yang Kai knew that Cang had passed away, Mu was gone for good, and Mo had fallen into a state of deep sleep. Now, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been resealed, which meant that there would be no more Black Ink Clansmen leaving it.
The ones left on the battlefield were all the soldiers that the Black Ink Clan had. As long as the Humans could wipe out these Black Ink Clansmen, they would win the war.
However, that was an extremely difficult task. Besides the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that was able to go against 13 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the same time, it was also hard to kill the remaining Royal Lords.
In fact, quite a number of Royal Lords had been killed so far. Since Mo had deliberately tried to sustain the balance on the battlefield, the Humans managed to destroy a lot of Royal Lords. Before the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s appearance, at least a dozen Royal Lords had lost their lives.
On the other hand, the Humans had also paid a huge price as several Old Ancestors had fallen in battle.
When everyone on the battlefield was affected by Mu’s Soul Secret Technique earlier, several Royal Lords were suppressed by Yang Kai and subsequently killed by the Old Ancestors, leading to there being more Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters than Royal Lords.
Nevertheless, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s appearance negated that advantage and even reversed it.
With that said, none of the Human soldiers backed down as they still fearlessly clashed with the enemy. All of them knew that if they couldn’t win this war, there wouldn’t be another chance for them.
All the Ninth-Order, Eighth-Order, Seventh-Order, Sixth-Order, and Fifth-Order Masters were going all out. They didn’t care if their Warships were shattered as they could summon their spare Warships and continue fighting. Even if all their Warships were destroyed, they would clash with the enemies and kill as many as they could before their death.
There was no time for rest or recuperation. If they held back any of their powers, they would fall into the abyss.
Yang Kai darted around and killed all the enemies he could with his Azure Dragon Spear, sending black blood splattering everywhere. He was looking for Dawn; however, the battlefield was chaotic, so it was hard to find anyone.
A while later, Yang Kai finally spotted Dawn as a large, swirling Blood Sea was a clear sign of Blood Crow’s presence.
Before he could even get near them though, Yang Kai felt alarmed all of a sudden. The next instant, he detected a violent force coming at him from the side. Before he knew what was happening, Yang Kai coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying away.
He still hadn’t gotten out of danger though. As he extended his spear to the back, a Golden Crow cawed and a Great Sun leaped into the air before it shone brightly.
Then, a hand gently gripped the Great Sun and extinguished it. The next instant, a fist came at Yang Kai.
Flabbergasted, Yang Kai lifted his spear to parry the attack. The next moment, he shook as if struck by lightning before he was sent flying again. While tumbling, he sprayed out more blood.
It wasn’t until this moment that he made out the person who was attacking him. It was a Royal Lord with a sheep head and Human body. Just like Mo Zhao from Great Evolution Theatre, this Royal Lord had a pair of dark wings extending from his back.
As their eyes met, a hint of surprise flashed across the Royal Lord’s eyes. He hadn’t expected that he wouldn’t be able to kill Yang Kai after striking him twice. Although he hadn’t used his full power, he was certain Yang Kai wouldn’t stand a chance to survive given the fact that the latter was just a Seventh-Order Junior. Regardless, that was indeed what had happened.
On the other hand, Yang Kai felt a metallic taste in his mouth as he choked down the blood in his throat. While bearing the pain, he kept his guard up. He had just escaped from death’s door! The moment he detected danger earlier, he drew upon his Dragon Source madly and covered himself with Dragon Scales. If not for that, he would have exploded upon impact.
Even though his Dragon Scales were sturdy though, they were still smashed through after being struck twice.
What he had been most worried about eventually happened. Since 13 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the Humans, who were in a favourable position earlier, had completely lost the advantage.
Some of the Royal Lords were now available to deal with the weaker Human soldiers, and this particular Royal Lord had set his eyes on Yang Kai.
Having said that, Yang Kai wasn’t surprised that he was being targeted. Cang had told him to be careful because he had been charging around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength, perhaps drawing Mo’s attention.
What’s more, in his last moments, Cang had cast a ray of light which then penetrated Yang Kai’s body. The Black Ink Clansmen all saw this and were certainly concerned about what that ray of light was. Since this Royal Lord was unrestrained, he naturally had to hunt Yang Kai down and find out what the ray of light was.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and scanned his surroundings. He realised that all the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were already locked in intense battles with the Royal Lords and the Eighth-Order Masters were occupied with the Territory Lords. All the Warships were dilapidated, and the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters on the vessels were in danger of dying at any moment while the Seventh-Order Masters around the Warships were soaked in blood.
Meanwhile, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s aura seemed to be growing with each moment. His lower body continued to absorb the Black Ink Strength from the battlefield and showed signs of taking shape.
Suddenly, Yang Kai let out a long sigh. He gave up on the idea of seeking help from the Ninth-Order Masters or the other Humans. As he wielded his spear, he bolted towards the Royal Lord.
A hint of contempt and mockery flashed across the Royal Lord’s eyes as he extended his hand towards Yang Kai. His nonchalant manner made it look as though he was trying to swat dead an insect.
As a Royal Lord, he indeed didn’t have to exert himself to deal with a Seventh-Order Human. Even though he didn’t manage to achieve his goal earlier, he had severely injured the other party. This time, he had the confidence to kill Yang Kai.
All of a sudden, he was dazzled by a pure white light, which expanded and dispelled the Black Ink Strength around them before it engulfed the Royal Lord.
The sheep-headed Royal Lord was enraged. He was certainly aware of the Purifying Light, which was the archnemesis of Black Ink Strength, but all else aside, he was still a Royal Lord. Even though the Purifying Light could harm him, it couldn’t kill him.
Therefore, the instant he realised Yang Kai’s intention, he didn’t dodge the attack and instead directly extended his hand into the Purifying Light.
Yang Kai skirted past the Royal Lord whose black blood spattered from a wound on his face. The Royal Lord turned around and saw the battered Yang Kai running away. Without hesitation, he raced after him.
While coughing up blood, Yang Kai felt that he had never been so severely injured before. After he was struck by the Royal Lord three times, half of his bones were broken, and his five viscera and six organs were a mess. If not for the fact that he had a potent Dragon Vein, he would have already been killed.
On a nearby battlefield, when a Ninth-Order Master saw that Yang Kai was in danger, he intended to lend him a hand; however, his opponent suddenly flared up and held him down. Left with no choice, the Ninth-Order Master could only watch as Yang Kai fled.
Along the way, several Ninth-Order Masters wanted to save him, but the Royal Lords turned even more ferocious and refused to allow them to do so.
All the same, Yang Kai never intended to seek the Ninth-Order Masters’ help. He had seen the big picture after scanning the battlefield and knew if he lured the Royal Lord behind him to any Old Ancestor, the latter would be at risk of losing their life. It wasn’t fun dealing with two equally powerful opponents on your own.
Yang Kai couldn’t pin his hopes on the Eighth-Order Masters either. Perhaps they couldn’t even persevere as long as he did; therefore, he could only find a way to save himself.
He had no idea if he could escape from a Royal Lord, but Yang Kai knew that the Humans were now in a disadvantageous position on the battlefield. As such, he couldn’t bring trouble to the top Masters.
Furthermore, if he could lure a Royal Lord away, he could lift some pressure off the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters despite not being able to influence the war in any way.
Two figures dashed across the bloody battlefield that looked like a living Hell. While Yang Kai never stopped fleeing, the Royal Lord relentlessly chased after him.
Just a moment later, the distance between them shortened and without hesitation, Yang Kai manipulated Space Principles and disappeared from the spot.
The sheep-headed Royal Lord behind him was evidently startled. He had lived his entire life inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Even though he was able to learn about the Humans through the Black Ink Nests, he had never come across an opponent like Yang Kai, so it was the first time he witnessed a Space Secret Technique.
Soon, he detected Yang Kai’s aura and turned to look in a different direction. Over there, a blood-soaked Yang Kai appeared inside a Human Great Pass. While standing on the wall, he eyed the Royal Lord from across the battlefield and pointed his spear at him in a provocative manner.
Running away wasn’t his sole intention. On such a vast battlefield, Yang Kai couldn’t just focus on his own safety. Since this Royal Lord had set his eyes on him, Yang Kai had to come up with a way to lure him away from the others.
He had no idea which Great Pass he was in as all the Humans had left to attack the enemy, so all the Great Passes were empty with not even a single person remaining behind. Therefore, he didn’t have to worry about luring the Royal Lord to this place.
Seeing how smug Yang Kai looked, the Royal Lord was enraged and charged towards him.
On the wall, Yang Kai settled his spear on the floor and sat down on a large array. The Array Core was an artifact that looked like a giant crossbow. Usually, it required three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to activate such an array.
At this moment, Yang Kai turned his hands into Dragon Claws and clutched the giant crossbow before madly infusing his World Force into the array. The patterns on the array lit up, and all the energy entered the crossbow. Despite being strong, Yang Kai realised he almost couldn’t control this crossbow. He activated his Divine Sense and locked onto the Royal Lord with his aura, a hideous expression on his face.
Following a buzz, the entire wall started shaking and the next moment, a gigantic light column condensed into an arrow and shot towards the Royal Lord. This violent attack was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Master’s all-out strike.
There were only a small number of arrays of such powers in the Great Passes and they were the most powerful and lethal ones the Humans could refine. Most of the artifacts and arrays could only cast attacks that were equivalent to a Seventh-Order Master’s attacks.
The arrow formed from the light column was not only intimidating but also rapid. In the blink of an eye, it was about to strike the Royal Lord; however, he didn’t seem to have the intention of dodging it. The black wings on his back folded in front of him to cover his body as he withstood the light arrow and dashed towards the Great Pass before shattering the array and artifact on the wall with a punch. A large part of the wall collapsed and as his force spread, levelling many buildings in the Great Pass.
It didn’t matter if the attack was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Master’s strike, he was a Royal Lord, so why would he be afraid of such a blow? However, he soon frowned as Yang Kai was nowhere in sight.
In fact, right after Yang Kai fired the arrow, he disappeared.
Detecting something, the Royal Lord turned to look at a nearby Great Pass and saw Yang Kai standing on the wall. Again, he was trying to activate the power of an artifact.
Enraged, the Royal Lord pounced on his opponent once again.
The same thing happened again; however, this time, what shot out of the Great Pass wasn’t a light arrow but a rain of sword waves.
The Royal Lord surged his Black Ink Strength and blocked all the sword waves. Seeing that Yang Kai was about to jump to another Great Pass, he locked onto him with his aura, which then burst and caused Yang Kai to stagger as he fell out of the Void.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth as he retreated and concealed his aura. He directly entered the Great Pass and used the buildings as cover.
Booms were continuously heard from behind him as the Royal Lord hunted him down and destroyed countless buildings along the way. The entire Great Pass soon turned into ruins.
Finally, Yang Kai found a chance to manipulate Space Principles and escape.
The moment he reappeared, the Royal Lord locked his aura onto him and pursued him like maggots on rotting bones.
Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he realised he couldn’t go on doing this. The Royal Lord hadn’t dealt with someone who was a Master of the Dao of Space before, which was why Yang Kai managed to escape from him earlier.
Now that the Royal Lord had a way to deal with him though, Yang Kai was no longer able to use Instantaneous Movement as he pleased. At this rate, he would be cornered sooner or later. After glancing at the chaotic battlefield, Yang Kai grit his teeth, turned around, and charged towards the depths of the void.
It had come to a point where the Ninth-Order Masters were all engaged in life-and-death battles against the Black Ink Clan Masters. With that said, the Human Race Masters below the Ninth Order still had a slight advantage against the Black Ink Clan. As long as they could enlarge that advantage, they would be able to influence the battles between the Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords.
When the Eighth-Order Masters were free from restraints, they would be able to lend the Ninth-Order Masters assistance.
Nevertheless, it remained hard to deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. All the same, this wasn’t a problem that Yang Kai could solve. He was in a perilous situation himself, so he had to focus on staying alive first.
Yang Kai’s action surprised the Royal Lord. As he looked in the direction Yang Kai was fleeing, he hesitated for a bit before chasing after him.
Even though no one knew anything about the ray of light that Cang had cast into Yang Kai at the last moment, it was obviously something important. That was why the Royal Lord decided to personally deal with him.
He initially thought that he could easily achieve his goal, so it surprised him that there were so many twists and turns. Certainly, he wouldn’t let this Seventh-Order brat flee from the battlefield as the latter clearly intended.
The black wings on his back flapped before he turned into a flash of light and shot towards Yang Kai.
On the battlefield, when the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters saw this, they wanted to help, but they were unable to shake off their opponents. Only a few Eighth-Order Masters managed to break free from their entanglements and rushed towards Yang Kai from different directions.
While running across the void, Yang Kai stuffed a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth and even consumed a Low-Rank World Fruit that he had kept in storage for years.
At this point, nothing else mattered than restoring his reserves. He had consumed too much of his World Force, and only a bit of power was left in his Small Universe. It was inefficient to refine Open Heaven Pills, so he needed a World Fruit to replenish his energy quickly.
He knew that this was a life-and-death tribulation for him. Everything would be fine if he managed to shake off this Royal Lord; however, if he was captured, he would be doomed despite being able to transform into an Ancient Dragon.
In fact, he wasn’t sure if he could escape; after all, the Royal Lord could move much faster than he did. The only thing he could rely on was Space Principles.
Yang Kai had quite several experiences when it came to fleeing from Masters who were more powerful than him, but in such a situation, he could only do his best and let the Heavens decide his fate.
He was aware that several Eighth-Order Masters were trying to aid him; however, they were no match for a Royal Lord. Once both parties clashed, those Eighth-Order Masters would certain die; therefore, he wouldn’t dare to stop.
Yang Kai madly pushed his World Force and Dragon Clan Secret Techniques as he moved across the void at the speed of lightning, soon leaving the battlefield behind as he escaped further and further away.
However, the threat behind him was only getting closer. In less than an incense stick worth of time, Yang Kai was engulfed in a great sense of crisis. This sense of danger suggested that he was already within the range where the Royal Lord could strike him.
He wanted to manipulate Space Principles to teleport away, but the Royal Lord had locked his aura onto him. Once he made a move, that aura would explode and destabilize the surrounding Void. When that happened, his Instantaneous Movement would be disrupted and he would be killed.
Silently, he flicked a bead out as he wanted to use a Space Beacon to save his life; however, the Royal Lord was extremely vigilant and didn’t even let something as small as a Space Beacon off. From a distance, he cast an attack and destroyed the Space Beacon.
Yang Kai secretly cursed at the Royal Lord. Since he was unable to make use of Space Beacons, he could only try to cut off the aura on him if he wanted to make use of Space Principles.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai decided to engulf himself in Purifying Light. There was no doubt that Purifying Light was the archnemesis of Black Ink Strength, but he wasn’t sure if this power could cut off the Royal Lord’s aura.
Aura was invisible, but strictly speaking, it was also a form of Divine Sense. Since Purifying Light could restrain the Black Ink Clan’s power, it could also theoretically cut off a thread of aura.
What disappointed Yang Kai was that as he was covered in the Purifying Light, the aura wasn’t thrown off. However, he was pleasantly surprised at the fact that even though the aura locked onto him, he was able to isolate himself from it temporarily.
The next moment, he pushed Space Principles and disappeared from the spot. At the same time, a brutal force came at him from a distance. Apparently, the Royal Lord wanted to kill Yang Kai upon seeing that the latter was about to flee.
When a battered Yang Kai reappeared in a place that was a few million kilometres away, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
He was hampered at the most critical moment of activating Instantaneous Movement and failed to cross a distance that was as far as he’d hoped and instead landed in the wrong place. Even though he was injured, he had gotten rid of the threat for now at the very least.
However, before Yang Kai could catch a breath, the Purifying Light around him dissipated. As soon as that happened, the Royal Lord’s aura locked onto him again.
“Bastard!” Yang Kai cursed. He felt his own aura trembling and his power becoming intermittent. At that moment, he was unable to manipulate Space Principles again, so he had no choice but to fly forward.
He had suffered several setbacks because of this Royal Lord, and even though he had consumed a lot of Spirit Pills, his wounds had only gotten worse.
Fortunately, being an Ancient Dragon, he had a robust body. Given enough time, his injuries would heal themselves.
A moment later, the small advantage he had gained by using Instantaneous Movement to move across millions of kilometres was wiped out. The distance between them was shortening fast.
Feeling the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Strength undulating behind him, as though a Secret Technique was about to be cast, Yang Kai once again engulfed himself with Purifying Light and isolated himself from the other party’s aura. Then, he did the same thing by activating Instantaneous Movement.
The Royal Lord had no choice but to stop using his Secret Technique and detonate the aura which was near Yang Kai, forcing the latter from the Void a few million kilometres away.
Again, Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
The same thing repeatedly happened to the point where Yang Kai was infuriated. On the other hand, the Royal Lord, who had been relentless, was also cursing non-stop. He had never expected that despite being a Royal Lord, it would be so hard for him to end the life of a puny Seventh-Order Human.
Before this war, the sheep-headed Royal Lord had never dealt with Humans, so his knowledge of them was limited to what he had gathered from the Black Ink Nest Space.
After leaving the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he immediately engaged in an intense battle with a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It was a fight between two equally matched opponents and in fact, he found himself at a slight disadvantage almost from the start, so he truly admired that Ninth-Order Master’s power.
But what was happening now? He felt disgusted by having to chase after Yang Kai, unlike his fight against the Ninth-Order Master a while back. When dealing with the Ninth-Order Master, he just had to exert all his strength in a life-and-death struggle; however, when pursuing this Seventh-Order Master, he felt helpless despite having far greater strength.
As such, there was an awkward scene in the void where a Seventh-Order Human was unable to get rid of a Royal Lord, who, on the other hand, couldn’t capture the Seventh-Order Human.
Initially, the Eighth-Order Masters coming from the battlefield could still see some traces and follow them. Nevertheless, barely a day later, they had completely lost track of Yang Kai and the Royal Lord.
One repeatedly manipulated Space Principles while the other could move extremely quickly. Eighth-Order Masters like them were unable to catch them.
One of the Eighth-Order Masters who had tan skin said grimly, “Damn it! Little friend Yang is in danger.”
If they were able to reach the two of them, they might have been able to help Yang Kai; however, given their strength, the most likely outcome would be their deaths. Since Yang Kai and the Royal Lord were nowhere to be seen though, how were they supposed to find them in this vast void?
Without their help, could a Seventh-Order Junior like Yang Kai even hope to get rid of a Royal Lord’s pursuit? Despite being a Master of the Dao of Space, he couldn’t possibly persevere for long.
The others remained silent, but they shared the same sentiment. After they exchanged glances, another Eighth-Order Master sighed, “Perhaps this is his fate. Let’s go back.”
The war was still raging, and as Eighth-Order Masters, they had to return to make some contributions. Doing nothing in this place was meaningless.
Being Eighth-Order Masters, they were all decisive people. Since they were unable to save Yang Kai, they wouldn’t force themselves, so they returned to the battlefield.
On the other hand, Yang Kai kept activating Purifying Light to separate himself from the Royal Lord’s aura before using Instantaneous Movement to widen the gap between them. When the gap shortened to a certain point, he would do it again.
By doing so, he could ensure his safety with some difficulty; nevertheless, it was impossible for him to completely get rid of this Royal Lord.
Aware of this fact as well, the Royal Lord relentlessly pursued him. Regardless of how hard Yang Kai tried, he was unable to escape this Royal Lord.
Having witnessed Yang Kai’s methods, the Royal Lord soon acclimatised himself to the strangeness of Space Principles. Although he was indeed unable to stop Yang Kai from using Instantaneous Movement after the latter used Purifying Light to block his aura, he could still bombard the Void itself from a distance the moment Yang Kai activated his Space Secret Technique.
Without much effort, he could harass and disrupt Yang Kai.
By doing so, he could ensure that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to move across a long distance by using Instantaneous Movement, and Yang Kai would always arrive at a place that was different from what he had expected.
On Yang Kai’s end, he knew that his current method of escaping was dangerous. Since he was unable to determine where he would re-appear after using Instantaneous Movement, he was taking a chance with his life each time he teleported; however, he couldn’t care less at this point as stopping would mean certain death.
He could risk using Instantaneous Movement or die. By using the Instantaneous Movement, he stood a chance to survive, and as long as he wasn’t too unlucky, he wouldn’t come across any real danger. Also, he had figured out the Royal Lord’s plan.
The Royal Lord must have figured it was fine if he couldn’t capture his target for now. As long as he relentlessly chased after Yang Kai and made sure the latter was within his detection range, Yang Kai would eventually exhaust his strength.
Regardless of how ample the heritage of a Seventh-Order Human’s Small Universe was, there was a limit to it. Even though this Human brat could replenish his energy with pills, he should only be capable of persevering for a while longer.
On the other hand, the Royal Lord was barely expending any of his strength or stamina, so he had ample time to hunt down Yang Kai.
Realizing the other party’s thought process, Yang Kai secretly sneered. If this was indeed the Royal Lord’s plan, he was bound to be disappointed.
During the war some time ago, Yang Kai had indeed exhausted himself, but after he consumed a lot of Spirit Pills and a Low-Rank World Fruit, the heritage in his Small Universe had mostly been restored. Furthermore, as the living beings in his Small Universe went through the vicissitudes of life, they continuously helped increase his heritage.
Having said that, he would eventually run out of energy if this dragged on for too long. All the same, he had more than one Low-Rank World Fruit, and although he didn’t have many of them, they could allow him to persevere for a while longer.
Once again, Yang Kai was disturbed while using Instantaneous Movement. When he abruptly appeared somewhere, his five viscera and six organs weltered and he started seeing stars. To say that he was feeling uncomfortable would be a gross understatement.
Before he could pull himself together though, a remnant Divine Ability came at him from a nearby place.
An astounded Yang Kai hurriedly dodged.
Fortunately, the Divine Ability was quite weak, so despite looking magnificent, it wasn’t lethal and Yang Kai quickly evaded it.
He had arrived at the Late Ancient Era battlefield. Basically, he had rushed back along the route the Human Race Army had used on the crusade and made it past the region that could be considered the Spiritless Land.
When they initially arrived here, the Humans had no idea why this vast area of void was a Spiritless Land. It wasn’t until Cang explained to them that it was the Black Ink Clan’s doing to prevent him and the other Martial Ancestors from replenishing their energy.
After crossing the vast Spiritless Land, one would arrive at the Late Ancient Era battlefield.
In the Late Ancient Era, the Humans and the Black Ink Clan fought for 10,000 years without pause, causing countless people to lose their lives. As such, there were a lot of hidden dangers on this battlefield. Many restrictions and Divine Abilities remained dormant, but they would explode if someone approached them. The Great Passes had suffered miserably when they passed this area.
Yang Kai knew that he was no match for the sheep-headed Royal Lord, and he couldn’t even get rid of him using Space Principles; therefore, he decided to make use of this Late Ancient Era battlefield.
Although he had to be careful as well, it was better than letting the other party keep chasing him. Perhaps he could make use of the hidden dangers in this place to shake off his pursuer.
The Divine Abilities and restrictions in the periphery were weak, so Yang Kai ignored them and charged towards the battlefield’s depths. Wherever he went, the dormant Divine Abilities and restrictions would be triggered. Like cats that caught a whiff of fish, they all came alive and pounced.
A few Divine Abilities and restrictions were triggered the moment Yang Kai arrived, striking at him almost instantaneously.
Fortunately, he was able to run swiftly. As a result, those Divine Abilities and restrictions turned into flashes of light that relentlessly followed after him.
It was not long before there seemed to be a tail of colourful lights behind Yang Kai. After moving across some distance, the energy of some lights was used up as they dissipated; however, even more Divine Abilities and restrictions joined, so the light tail only enlarged.
As for the majority of the Divine Abilities and restrictions, they were sluggish to react as they had remained dormant for far too long. They were only activated a short time after Yang Kai brushed past them. As a result, the Royal Lord, who was chasing after Yang Kai, became the target of these Divine Abilities and restrictions.
A short time later, there was a longer and more brilliant tail of lights that was behind the Royal Lord.
Initially, the Royal Lord wasn’t concerned about the light tail behind him. He was one of the most powerful Masters in the world, so why would he be bothered by these worn-out Divine Abilities and restrictions?
However, as time passed, the light tail grew and grew. The innumerable restrictions and Divine Abilities intertwined with each other. Some of them clashed and wore each other down, but others synergized and merged, evolving into something entirely different from their original form. At this point, even a powerful Master like him felt threatened.
Therefore, the Royal Lord hastened his pace as he knew that he would be in trouble once the light tail caught up with him.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was running as fast as he could. Even though the light tail behind him was smaller than that of the Royal Lord, he was much weaker than the other party, so it was still lethal to him.
As time passed, the distance between them shortened again.
All of a sudden, the Royal Lord recalled that this guy named Yang Kai was able to leap across the Void and wondered, [What would happen to the light tail behind him if he uses that teleportation technique?]
Before he could figure it out, he saw Yang Kai turning to look at him with an eerie grin. He had been chasing after Yang Kai for quite a while, but it was the first time he had a bad premonition.
The next instant, the power of Space Principles undulated and without hesitation, the Royal Lord pointed at his opponent and struck from afar.
Yang Kai disappeared from the spot, but the next moment, he reappeared in a place that was a couple million kilometres away.
Initially, even if he was interrupted by the Royal Lord when using Instantaneous Movement, he could cross a distance of roughly 10 million kilometres; however, he only managed to traverse some 3 million kilometres this time. It went to show how chaotic the space and energy in this Late Ancient Era battlefield was.
Still, it was enough, as after losing Yang Kai, the light tail that had been chasing him started showing signs of becoming dormant again, only to become attracted to the Royal Lord’s aura a moment later.
With a livid expression, the Royal Lord watched as the light tail, which was initially chasing after Yang Kai, turned around and came at him.
Enraged, the Royal Lord madly activated his Black Ink Strength and swelled up into a giant. As a roar reverberated across the void, he punched out and destroyed the light tails in front of and behind him.
When Yang Kai saw that from afar, he couldn’t help but shudder.
In the end, he was still a Royal Lord. It was naive of Yang Kai to think that he could make use of these dormant Divine Abilities and restrictions on this Late Ancient Era battlefield to deal with this kind of opponent. Left with no choice, he could only keep running for his life.
After suffering such a setback, the Royal Lord became even more ruthless as he shattered all the Divine Abilities and restrictions along the way so that they wouldn’t gather together to pursue him.
On the other hand, Yang Kai did his best to quicken his pace.
The Royal Lord was furious. Perhaps he had become irritated from chasing after his prey for so long. If Yang Kai was captured by the Royal Lord in such a situation, he reckoned that the other party would certainly torture him to death.
After moving around the Late Ancient Era battlefield for a month, Yang Kai dismally realised that he had become lost.
His initial plan was simple. Since he wasn’t a match for this Royal Lord, he could make use of the restrictions and Divine Abilities on the Late Ancient Era battlefield to distract him. By doing so, he would stand a chance to shake him off his trail.
Even if he couldn’t achieve his goal by making use of the Late Ancient Era battlefield, he could still cross this place and head to the No-Return Pass,
The Dragon and Phoenix Clans were standing guard at the No-Return Pass, and with a Divine Dragon and Divine Phoenix who were even more powerful than Ninth-Order Masters, if this Royal Lord chased him all the way to the No-Return Pass, he would be doomed.
Certainly, there was a huge risk to take, for it would take Yang Kai a long time to arrive at the No-Return Pass.
Back then, after the Humans set off on the crusade, it took them several years to arrive at Mo’s whereabouts. Even though Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, which allowed him to move extremely quickly, in his current battered state, and not fully able to make use of his Space Principles, he estimated it would take him about a year to reach the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai wasn’t even sure if he could survive a Royal Lord’s pursuit for several months, let alone a whole year; however, it was already the best solution he could think of. Regardless, his plan had been derailed, for he had lost his way.
Everywhere he looked on this vast Late Ancient Era battlefield, everything looked the same, so he couldn’t tell where he was or where he should head. Initially, he was still confident he was moving in the right direction, but he had been interrupted by the sheep-headed Royal Lord on several occasions when using Instantaneous Movement, which resulted in him reappearing in random places. Now, he wasn’t even sure which direction the No-Return Pass was in.
Left with no choice, he could only keep activating his Space Secret Technique to run for his life, for the other party seemed determined to destroy him.
Nevertheless, things were only getting worse. As Yang Kai traversed this Late Ancient Era battlefield, regardless of how careful he was, he couldn’t avoid getting hurt by the dormant restrictions and Divine Abilities. For the past month, he kept getting injured, so instead of healing from his wounds, his injuries had turned worse.
As though realising that Yang Kai was at a dead end, the Royal Lord became even more ruthless.
Yang Kai knew that if this dragged on, he wouldn’t be able to persevere for long; however, it was unlikely that he could get rid of this Royal Lord. As he was running away, he gritted his teeth and looked in a particular direction.
Over there, a gigantic cloud of fog covered a vast region of the Void. Although Yang Kai was many millions of kilometres away, the fog bank still looked enormous.
It was a Celestial Phenomenon!
Years after the Humans set off on their crusade, they came across a lot of different Celestial Phenomena that came in a myriad of forms and sizes. Regardless, all of them shared a common trait; they gave off a dangerous vibe.
Yang Kai had not explored any of those Celestial Phenomena. On the other hand, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had barged into one on a whim a while back, but when she returned, she refused to say what she had seen inside. She only said that it was extremely dangerous and even a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her was at risk of losing her life if she remained inside.
Therefore, as those from Great Evolution Pass crossed this place, they would always make a detour whenever they came across a Celestial Phenomena lest they fall into mortal danger.
No one knew how these Celestial Phenomena were formed. Perhaps it had something to do with the clash between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan in the Late Ancient Era, or perhaps they were naturally born.
The Humans knew little about this area of the void behind the Royal Cities.
The Celestial Phenomenon that looked like a fog bank was the only one Yang Kai could see right now and he had no idea how dangerous it was; however, it wasn’t like he had a choice now as he was pursued by a Royal Lord. If he couldn’t find a way to turn things around, he would just be waiting for death. Even if there were some dangers within the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, they were the least of his concerns.
Apparently, the Royal Lord saw the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon as well and there was a hint of doubt behind his gaze.
Yang Kai had seen quite many Celestial Phenomena, but it was the first time the Royal Lord came across one, so he had no idea what it was.
Regardless, when he saw Yang Kai heading towards the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon all of a sudden, he understood the latter’s intention. As he quickened his pace, the distance between them shortened.
However, the Seventh-Order boy was just too slippery. When his opponent was close enough, he teleported and disappeared once again, widening the gap between them.
After using the same trick several more times, Yang Kai reached the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
When he scanned the Celestial Phenomenon with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai was surprised, for he couldn’t feel any danger from this dense fog. It was very strange indeed. The Celestial Phenomena he had seen in the past all exuded dangerous auras, but this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon appeared somewhat special.
At that instant, he wasn’t sure if he should be worried or happy. If there was really no danger in the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, it would be safe for him to enter it; however, he also wouldn’t be able to make use of this Celestial Phenomenon to eliminate the Royal Lord.
With that said, things had come to such a point where there was no turning back. Having made up his mind, Yang Kai crashed into the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
Following that, he realised that something was off. He couldn’t detect any danger when he was outside the Celestial Phenomenon, but once he was inside, he immediately found himself in a perilous situation.
An ominous aura engulfed him, like death itself. At that moment, all his hair stood on end as he activated the power of his Small Universe and raised his guard as high as it would go.
Outside the Celestial Phenomenon, the Royal Lord was stunned. That was because he lost track of Yang Kai the moment the latter entered the Celestial Phenomenon.
The brat named Yang Kai seemed to have entered another world as even his Divine Sense was unable to penetrate the fog and find out what was going on inside. After a moment of hesitation, he, too, dashed inside.
The next instant, he was baffled by what he saw. Yang Kai was indeed in the fog, but at this moment, he seemed to be battling against an invisible enemy.
His World Force burst forth, and his Golden Blood spattered. Within a breath, he was completely battered. As a Dragon Roar reverberated, Yang Kai even transformed into his 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon Form. Still, he was unable to ward off the danger within the fog as even his Dragon Scales were being blown off.
The Royal Lord was perplexed as he had no idea what was going on.
However, he didn’t have time to ponder on it. Just like Yang Kai, the moment he stepped into the fog, he was deluged with an enormous sense of crisis that came at him from all directions, which prompted him to madly push his Black Ink Strength.
Soon, he realised what Yang Kai was fighting against. There seemed to be immense pressure that was intent on crushing him to death.
Certainly, he wouldn’t stand idly by and wait for death to come. He immediately activated his power to push back against the fog. At the same time, he tried to leave this area.
What shocked him was that, even though he had moved backwards a long distance, he still couldn’t escape the fog.
He had just entered this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, so he should have been able to leave by taking a single big step back; however, as though a mysterious force had sealed off this space, he was unable to escape.
The pressure around him intensified, and left with no choice, he could only surge his power to resist it. From the corner of his eye, he could see that the 70,000 metres Ancient Dragon had stopped moving and now hovered in the distance. Half of his Dragon Scales were gone, and his entire figure was soaked in blood, making him look totally battered.
Seemingly having lost consciousness, Yang Kai reverted from a Dragon back into a Human.
[Is he dead?] The Royal Lord found it hard to believe. He had been chasing after this Human for so long but hadn’t managed to kill him; yet now, this brat had lost his life just like that. At that instant, the Royal Lord had some conflicted feelings.
Regardless, he wasn’t in the mood to find out whether Yang Kai was dead or alive because he realised he had come across the biggest crisis of his life. If he couldn’t find a way out, and soon, he would be accompanying this Human to the Yellow Springs.
…..
A long time later, Yang Kai finally regained consciousness and immediately realised some energy fluctuations were coming from a nearby place.
Instantly, he recalled what he had gone through before he blacked out. To shake off the Royal Lord’s pursuit, he barged into a Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon and faced a mysterious attack. He tried his best to resist the pressure coming from all directions, but in the end, he was in so much pain that he passed out.
He still hadn’t figured out what it was in the fog that had attacked him. Although he was equally puzzled why he was still alive, he hurriedly circulated his power and kept his guard up. The next instant, his expression darkened, [Here it comes again!]
Just a dozen breaths later, he once again passed out due to the pressure coming from all directions.
Before that though, Yang Kai caught a glimpse of the battered Royal Lord who was not far away. He seemed to be fighting against an invisible enemy as well, the energy fluctuations Yang Kai felt earlier obviously coming from him.
[He’s a Royal Lord, after all. I’ll pass out again soon, but this guy is still engaged in an intense battle. He’s simply more powerful than I am!]
…
When Yang Kai woke up for the second time, he once again felt energy fluctuations nearby, and they were even more violent this time. He hurriedly turned his head and saw the Royal Lord casting a Divine Ability. Black Ink Strength billowed from his body and turned into a gigantic illusory phantom before it covered him like a protective film.
At this moment, the Royal Lord was in a sorry state. He was badly wounded and his aura was unstable while he was covered in dark blood.
Seeing that, Yang Kai snickered. It was indeed embarrassing that he had blacked out twice, and he didn’t even know who his enemy was; regardless, it seemed he had made the right decision by diving into this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
At the very least, the Royal Lord had also suffered a setback.
But soon, Yang Kai became doubtful. He had passed out twice, so if there was really an invisible enemy in the fog, why hadn’t it seized the chance to kill him?
Moreover, as he carefully reviewed what he had gone through, Yang Kai found that the odd pressure didn’t feel like a kind of attack. Instead, it was like an automatic response, similar to the effect of some arrays.
Quite a number of arrays could do the same by reflecting one’s own strength to wound them.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai decided to not immediately make any moves. He just secretly activated his power and kept his guard up.
Just like what had happened previously, he felt pressure coming from all directions. The last time, he subconsciously tried to resist and push the pressure away, but this time he didn’t make a move and instead let the pressure do as it pleased.
He still felt some discomfort, but it was bearable. Still, even this mild force had irritated his wounds, causing him to gasp.
After remaining still for a moment, Yang Kai realised the pressure didn’t intensify. As he pondered on it, he stopped circulating his World Force entirely and completely relaxed.
Just like he had expected, as his power dissipated and he became at ease, the pressure coming from all directions diminished and eventually disappeared.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai was dumbstruck. There was no invisible enemy in this fog; in fact, he was his own enemy. Although he had no idea how this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was formed, he believed that it was similar to a powerful Reflection Array.
The pressure that came at him was actually caused by him. As he let his power go, the pressure also vanished. Yang Kai was torn between tears and laughter as he realized that he had blacked out twice because he was essentially bludgeoning himself.
As he glanced at the Royal Lord, who was still fighting against the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai felt a bit better about himself. At least he wasn’t the only idiot in this place.
Upon figuring out the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon’s secret, Yang Kai darted his gaze around while continuing to lie in the same position. As he never activated his power, the fog around him remained calm. Next, he examined his body and couldn’t help feeling sorry for himself.
In summary, his condition was terrible.
Before he was hunted down by this sheep headed Royal Lord, he was already badly injured; then, during the pursuit, he was repeatedly struck by this Royal Lord and his injuries exacerbated after he entered this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
His five viscera and six organs were a mess as they all nearly ruptured exploded. About 70% of his bones were broken and there were even sharp bones stuck out from his flesh here and there.
Half of his Dragon Scales, which were originally hidden under his skin, were gone. If he transformed into his Dragon Form now, he would be half-naked.
Fortunately, despite his serious injuries, he wasn’t at risk of losing his life. Coupled with his own restorative power and his potent Dragon Vein, he was actually on the mend.
He stealthily stuffed some Spirit Pills into his mouth and took a glance at the Royal Lord, only to see that the other party was still engaged in an intense fight. Amazing Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were cast from the Royal Lord’s hands as he his fight against the fog seemed to have turned the entire universe upside down.
[That guy is really dumb!] Yang Kai was gleeful; however, it wasn’t until he blacked out twice that he realised the secret behind the fog. The Royal Lord still hadn’t passed out after persevering for such a long time, so it wasn’t surprising that he hadn’t discovered the truth yet.
Anyone who fell into danger would instinctively counterattack to save themselves. Who would have thought that in this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, doing nothing was the best way to protect oneself? The more one attacked, the more perilous their situation became.
[Maybe he’ll exhaust himself to death!] Yang Kai hoped.
However, his wish wasn’t to be granted. Just like what happened to him previously, the Royal Lord was unable to fend off the pressure despite going all out. He kept roaring and releasing his Black Ink Strength until he had no more energy left and finally passed out several days later.
As soon as he became unmoving and all the noise in the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon died down.
Staring at the unmoving Royal Lord, Yang Kai knew that the other party wasn’t dead, so he was naturally disappointed. Nevertheless, he soon pulled himself together and gazed fervently at the Royal Lord. His eyes were filled with murderous intent.
[Since this guy is unconscious and exhausted, maybe I can kill him now!] As soon as Yang Kai began gathering his power though, he realised he felt the pressure coming from the fog again. The more he exerted himself, the more powerful the pressure became.
Soon, he released his power, as he realised his idea wasn’t feasible. The Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was extremely sensitive to any foreign power. Before Yang Kai could gather the necessary strength to kill the Royal Lord, he would pass out again.
Left with no choice, he could only gather his World Force on his palms and test the response from the fog. He tried to adjust his energy fluctuations to reach a kind of balance. Then, he slowly wriggled his arms as though he was swimming towards the sheep headed Royal Lord.
However, Yang Kai found himself to be outrageously slow. Two whole hours passed, but he only managed to cross half of the distance between them.
Another two hours later, Yang Kai arrived at a place that was 100 metres away from the Royal Lord. He slowly summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and pointed it at the Royal Lord’s neck. Then, he squirmed and stealthily inched closer to him.
During the process, the balance he had been trying to sustain was almost shattered. Fortunately, he managed to dispel his power in time and let the fog calm down. He then approached his target again.
Watching as the Azure Dragon Spear was about to stab into the opponent’s neck, Yang Kai felt his heart thumping in his chest. Perhaps the Royal Lord was shocked by the murderous intent or he indeed had an incredible restorative power, but he opened his eyes all of a sudden.
Seeing that, Yang Kai forcefully extended his spear.
Black blood spattered as the razor-sharp Azure Dragon Spear was even able to penetrate a Royal Lord’s robust body. His spear jabbed right into the opponent’s throat and was about to stick out from the other side, but just then, the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon launched a counterattack.
Instantly, Yang Kai felt immense pressure coming at him. His wounds split open, and as he faced enormous resistance, unable to extend his spear one bit.
He couldn’t help but curse.
As a sharp pain shot through him, the Royal Lord came to his senses and turned his head, only to see Yang Kai stabbing a weapon into his throat.
[This brat is still alive!?] The Royal Lord was startled. When he saw Yang Kai looking battered and unmoving earlier, he thought he had died. To his surprise, not only had Yang Kai survived, but he had also seized this chance to try to kill him while he was unconscious.
If the Royal Lord hadn’t woken up in time, he very well might have lost his life. Enraged, the Royal Lord released his aura as his Black Ink Strength burst forth.
“Wai…” Before Yang Kai could even get a word out, his expression had darkened as the pressure coming from all directions intensified many times, causing all the bones in his body to crack. He couldn’t help but spray out a mouthful of blood, and following that, he blacked out and lost consciousness.
The Royal Lord extended his hand in an attempt to kill him, but his hand was forced to stop just a metre away from Yang Kai, and he was unable to push it any further.
His expression changed. Ignoring Yang Kai, he surged his power in an attempt to shake off the restrictive force; however, the force became so immense that he soon fell into a state of despair. Three breaths later, his eyes rolled back into his head and he too passed out.
Without the disturbance of foreign powers, the fog soon calmed down.
When Yang Kai awakened, he saw the Royal Lord hovering somewhere near him. This guy had passed out, but his hand still remained stretched out towards Yang Kai. Seeing that, Yang Kai knew what the other party intended to do after he blacked out.
After hesitating for a bit, he gave up on the idea of killing this Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord indeed looked like he was powerless to resist now, but based on the previous experience, Yang Kai believed that the Royal Lord would regain consciousness the moment he made a move against him.
A Royal Lord’s sense for danger was extreme, so any external threat would undoubtedly wake him up.
Moreover, the reflective power in this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was savage. Yang Kai had to activate his power if he wanted to kill the Royal Lord, but if he did that, he would be the one who would suffer. Before he even managed to kill the Royal Lord, he would pass out upon getting squeezed by the pressure.
In this damned place, neither one of them could kill the other. In that case, Yang Kai reckoned that his best option for now was to flee.
Since the Royal Lord was still unconscious, he had to try to leave the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. Perhaps he could return to the battlefield and join the war again. Making use of his previous experience, Yang Kai carefully activated his power and infused energy into his hands. Then, he flailed about as he awkwardly swam away from the Royal Lord.
Half a day later, the Royal Lord also regained consciousness. This time, he didn’t immediately make a move; instead, he remained still and fell into his thoughts.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai blacked out twice that he found out the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon’s secret. Since the Royal Lord was not a fool, he certainly could do the same.
If there was really an invisible enemy in this fog, the two of them would have died after falling unconscious. Since he and the Human brat were still alive, something was obviously off.
A moment later, the Royal Lord also figured out the secret behind this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. As he scanned his surroundings, he soon spotted Yang Kai swimming away from him. After giving it some thought, he imitated Yang Kai and infused some of the power into his arms. Then, he started swimming in this fog.
Detecting something, Yang Kai turned his head and saw the Royal Lord running after him. He couldn’t help but curse, “You’re a stubborn one aren’t you!?”
Both of them were in a sorry state, yet this guy hadn’t given up on the idea of killing him, leaving Yang Kai vexed.
The Royal Lord snorted as his eyes reflected Yang Kai’s figure. Slowly, he followed behind Yang Kai.
“Haa… even if we get into a life-and-death battle here, it won’t affect the war between the two Races. I’m just a Seventh-Order Human, so it’s pointless for you to kill me. Why don’t we bid each other farewell here? We’ll meet again if fate brings us together in the future.”
With a cold expression, the Royal Lord remained unfazed.
Yang Kai kept persuading him by saying, “You’re a Royal Lord, so what’s the point of you making things difficult for me? If you spare my life now, I’ll spare yours in the future. Who knows? We might even be friends.”
However, the Royal Lord remained silent.
“It’s not like you’ll be able to reach me, so stop wasting your time. I can see that you’re horribly injured, so why don’t you recuperate now to prevent your injuries from becoming worse?”
Seeing that the other party totally ignored him and refused to back down, Yang Kai grew incensed and said through clenched teeth, “Injured Black Ink Clansmen have to recuperate inside Black Ink Nests. You’re badly wounded now, so I guess you can only use half of your strength right now. On the other hand, I’m different. My wounds are healing quickly, and I’ll be energetic again in a few days. Chase after me all you like, when we leave this place, let’s see which one of us will die!”
When the Royal Lord heard that, his expression changed slightly.
Yang Kai had a point. The Royal Lord indeed needed a Black Ink Nest’s help to recuperate, and given how wounded he was, using half his strength would really be his maximum. He was already unable to capture Yang Kai when he was at the peak of his power, so now that he only had half of his strength left, he probably wouldn’t have a way to deal with this tricky opponent.
Nevertheless, he was still a Royal Lord. He had personally made a move against a single Seventh-Order boy, yet after such a long time, he was the one who ended up in a horrible state. He was simply unresigned.
As for Yang Kai’s threat, that didn’t bother him one bit. Even though he was only left with half of his power, that was still significantly more than a Seventh-Order Human could hope to handle. He could even deal with an Eighth-Order Master with ease in his current state.
If Yang Kai had the guts to make a move on him, he would be the one who would suffer.
As the Royal Lord squinted his eyes, he said, “Pass me the last thing Cang gave you and I’ll leave.”
A helpless Yang Kai sighed, “Will you believe me if I say that old man never gave me anything? That was his way of diverting all your attention away from him so he could use that strange jade. It’s laughable that you all believe it to be true.”
The Royal Lord sneered while relentlessly pursuing him.
A frustrated Yang Kai roared, “It seems that you don’t believe me. Forget it! It’s not like there’s anything I can do about it. Just chase after me all you like.”
Without speaking further, he tried to control his power and strike a balance with the fog. As he waved his hands, he swam further away.
Somewhere behind him, the Royal Lord imitated him and pursued him, the two of them swimming forward ever so slowly.
There didn’t seem to be an end to this vast Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, so Yang Kai wasn’t even sure if he would have a chance to leave.
Fortunately, being in this Celestial Phenomenon, both he and the sheep headed Royal Lord didn’t dare to activate too much of their strength lest they draw a counterattack to themselves.
In this way, even though the Royal Lord was significantly more powerful than Yang Kai, it was unlikely that he could capture him.
Three years, five years, 10 years… The Human and the Royal Lord were still swimming in this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon with no end in sight.
Yang Kai even suspected that this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon also had the effect of a Bewildering Array; otherwise, he should have left this place after swimming in the same direction for 10 whole years despite his slow movements.
He was initially anxious and fidgety, but he gradually became as calm as a tranquil lake.
His original plan was to make use of this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon to get rid of the Royal Lord and return to the battlefield to fight against the Black Ink Clansmen; however, 10 years had now passed, so the war should already be over.
Who won? Did many Humans lose their lives? Was the Black Ink Giant Spirit God with only half a body killed?
Yang Kai didn’t have the answers to any of those questions. At any rate, since he was in a trap, it was pointless for him to think about those things. The most pressing issue for him was that he had to leave this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon as quickly as possible.
His wounds had all healed after 10 years of recuperation, and he was at peak strength again. On the other hand, the Royal Lord was still wounded as without a Black Ink Nest, it was hard for him to recuperate.
Regardless, Yang Kai was irritated at the fact that the Royal Lord still followed closely behind him.
It wasn’t easy for him to get rid of the other party either. This Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon had significantly restricted their movements, and the Royal Lord was determined to hunt him down. Unless he had a way to kill this Royal Lord, he was helpless to shake him off.
After 10 years of exploration, Yang Kai had figured out more secrets about this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. As he activated his Demon Eye of Annihilation, his left eye turned golden, allowing him to see through all falsities in the world. In this way, he was looking for a way out of this fog.
The Royal Lord, who was following closely behind him, helplessly discovered that Yang Kai was inconsistent in the ways he moved around. There were no regular patterns to speak of.
Finally, there came a day when Yang Kai suddenly spoke to his partner behind him, “Hey, can I have a word with you?”
The Royal Lord said smugly, “There’s no need to beg for mercy, unless you’re willing to pass me the thing Cang gave you.”
A helpless Yang Kai refuted, “I told you that old man named Cang didn’t give me anything, but you just don’t believe me. Forget it. We’ve been trapped in this Celestial Phenomenon for 10 years, and there isn’t any hope of us getting out if we keep blindly stumbling around. Recently though, I’ve discovered some traces of regular patterns in this fog. Perhaps I’ll be able to find a route to leave this place.”
Instantly, the Royal Lord’s face stiffened as he quickened his pace.
Despite noticing it, Yang Kai was unfazed, “Relax. Given my current ability, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to leave here. Therefore, I need to cultivate for some time. You don’t want to get stuck here forever, do you? If I can find a way out, it’ll be beneficial to you too.”
A myriad of expressions came over the Royal Lord as he wasn’t certain if Yang Kai was telling the truth or not. Nevertheless, Yang Kai had a point; if he could find a way out, both of them would stand to benefit. The Royal Lord was equally vexed being trapped in this damned place.
Even though they both had thousands, if not tens of thousands of years left to live, there would eventually come a day when they passed away if they remained stuck in this place.
“You want to cultivate?”
“Yes.”
“How do I know you won’t seize this chance to break through?”
It was already so hard to deal with Yang Kai when he was just a Seventh-Order Master, if he managed to make it to the Eighth-Order, the Royal Lord wasn’t confident he would ever capture him.
Yang Kai was rendered speechless for a moment, then said, “It has only been several hundred years since I reached the Seventh-Order, how is it possible that I’ll achieve a breakthrough so soon? Don’t worry. I’m just going to cultivate an Eye Secret Technique.”
“Are you being serious with me?” The Royal Lord was doubtful.
“What’s the point of me lying to you in this situation? Moreover, you will certainly be able to tell what I’m doing at this range,” Yang Kai explained, “What do you think? It has come to a point where we have to cooperate if we want to get out of this trap. Why don’t we stop making things difficult for each other?”
After giving it some thought, the Royal Lord nodded, “Good.”
Saying so, he stopped in his tracks.
Yang Kai let out a breath and stopped moving as well. There was nothing he could do if the other party insisted on chasing after him relentlessly. Even though he was still able to cultivate the Eye Secret Technique while moving around, it was far less efficient than if he could sit and focus. Without anyone interrupting him, he could concentrate on doing it.
Not long after the Royal Lord started chasing after him back then, Yang Kai activated the Demon Eye of Annihilation in an attempt to see through the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon’s mysteries.
After 10 years of hard work, he had indeed discovered some patterns in it. What made him feel even more pleasantly surprised was that the Demon Eye of Annihilation showed signs of a breakthrough.
In other words, he was about to achieve a breakthrough with this mastery of this Eye Secret Technique. The Myriad Demons Old Ancestor, who was Yang Kai’s mentor, had told him about it when they were still in the Myriad Demons Pass back then.
At that time, Yang Kai had coughed up a lot of Military Merits to get a chance to ask the Myriad Demons Old Ancestor to teach him the profundities of the two Eye Secret Techniques.
Over the years, Yang Kai had been working hard to improve these Eye Secret Techniques, but he had never had the time to really focus on cultivating them.
All the same, the chance presented itself after he barged into this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
Although the Royal Lord had stopped pursuing him, Yang Kai naturally didn’t fully trust him and kept his guard up while activating his power to run a special cultivation route and improve his Eye Secret Technique. It was a process that required lots of hard work and attention to detail.
Regardless of how powerful a cultivator was or how robust their body was, they still possessed some innate weaknesses, and a person’s eyes were especially fragile.
The reason it was difficult to cultivate the Eye Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven wasn’t that they were particularly abstruse. On the contrary, it was actually quite easy to start cultivating these two Eye Secret Techniques. One just had to activate their power and run a special cultivation route around their eyes as they continuously improved their vision. As time passed, they would succeed at mastering these Eye Secret Techniques.
What was difficult was the process. The eyes were a weakness to every cultivator. By using one’s own power to train the eyes, they would either yield no results or risk damaging these sensitive organs. If one wasn’t careful enough, their eyes might explode, turning them blind.
It was said that in the early days, there were a lot of blind people in Myriad Demons Heaven because they had cultivated these two Eye Secret Techniques. Then, the high-ranking officials of Myriad Demons Heaven realised they couldn’t let this keep happening; otherwise, all their disciples would become blind. Therefore, they stopped letting ordinary disciples learn these Eye Secret Techniques. Only the brightest disciples had a chance to cultivate these Eye Secret Techniques, and they would have to pass a number of tests before they began.
Unlike the disciples of Myriad Demons Heaven, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about his eyes exploding.
That was because he had inherited his Eye Secret Techniques from Great Demon God, Mo Sheng. He had gotten the hang of the Eye Secret Techniques long ago, but his current problem was that his eyesight wasn’t acute enough. With such a natural advantage, he was far ahead of young disciples from Myriad Demons Heaven when it came to cultivating these Eye Secret Techniques. It could be said that he didn’t have to go through the dangerous initial stage of cultivation at all.
Mo Sheng had built the foundation for him, so he just had to keep on improving and master the Eye Secret Techniques.
10 years of exploring the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was also a kind of training for Yang Kai; hence, it wasn’t surprising that he was about to achieve a breakthrough with his Demon Eye of Annihilation.
As the Royal Lord watched closely, Yang Kai sat down with his legs crossed and closed his eyes. His aura became completely still as though he was dead.
The Royal Lord’s expression changed as he had the urge to flare up and take Yang Kai’s life; however, as he considered the distance between them and the strangeness of this fog, he knew that even if he made a move now, he wouldn’t be able to achieve his goal.
Moreover, this Seventh-Order Human was certainly still wary of him. If he made a move, the other party wouldn’t just sit idly by; therefore, he could only suppress this urge.
On top of all that, if Yang Kai could really find a way out, the Royal Lord could follow him and leave this place as well. He had the confidence to deal with whatever happened afterwards, which was why he agreed to Yang Kai’s request.
As time passed, following Yang Kai’s activation of power, he felt that his left eye was getting hotter until it became unbearably scorching, as though something was stuck in his eye. Instead of feeling shocked though, he was thrilled. He knew that it was the sign of achieving a breakthrough that the Myriad Demons Old Ancestor had told him about before; therefore, he exerted more force to sharpen his vision.
Half a month later, the feeling of blockage intensified. When it reached a peak, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes. His right eye looked perfectly normal, but his left eye was blood red. His aura undulated and turned into several streams as they crashed into his left eye.
With a solemn expression, the Royal Lord stared fixedly at him.
Although he was able to learn a lot about the Humans through the Black Ink Nest in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it wasn’t first-hand information after all. It wasn’t until he witnessed Yang Kai cultivating a Secret Technique that he realised there was a reason why the Black Ink Clan hadn’t managed to defeat the Humans after all these years of war.
While the Royal Lord was lost in his thoughts, Yang Kai started growling like an injured beast.
At the same time, not only did Yang Kai feel that his left eye was scorchingly hot, he also felt as though countless needles had jabbed into his eye. A moment later, there seemed to be innumerable ants that crawled through his body, making him feel limp and numb.
Yang Kai secretly cursed, for the Myriad Demons Old Ancestor had never told him that he would be bothered by all sorts of odd sensations when achieving a breakthrough with this Eye Secret Technique. The average Open Heaven Realm Master could easily bear such disturbance; however, it had come to a critical point where he was trying to achieve a breakthrough and the slightest anomaly could make him suffer cultivation dissonance. When that happened, he wouldn’t only risk failing to achieve the breakthrough, but his eye might also explode.
He withstood the discomfort in his eye and continued to activate his power to sharpen his eyesight. A moment later, a cloud of blood mist billowed from his left eye.
When the Royal Lord saw that, he couldn’t help arching his brow. He wasn’t even sure if he should feel pleased or worried.
He was pleased because there seemed to be something wrong with Yang Kai’s cultivation; otherwise, a cloud of blood mist wouldn’t have appeared from his eye. What he was worried about was that if Yang Kai failed in his attempt, could they still find a way out?
Although the Royal Lord was tremendously more powerful than Yang Kai, that didn’t mean he would be capable of finding a way to get out of this eerie Celestial Phenomenon.
While he was waffling back and forth in his head, Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at him. What came into the Royal Lord’s sight startled him.
He initially thought that Yang Kai’s left eye must have exploded, but at this moment, his eye was still intact. His left eye was no longer filled with redness. Instead, it was radiating a glow. Initially, Yang Kai’s eye was golden after he activated the Demon Eye of Annihilation, but it had turned into something that looked like a cross now.
The sheep-headed Royal Lord could clearly see his own figure in the reflection of Yang Kai’s eye. At that instant, he was overwhelmed with a sense of discomfort. Astounded, he realised that this was no ordinary Eye Secret Technique. What he saw in Yang Kai’s eye was definitely more than just a reflection.
Just then, a glint flashed across Yang Kai’s pupil as he grinned, “It seems that you’re badly injured. It must have been difficult for you.”
The Royal Lord’s expression turned livid. When a glint flashed across Yang Kai’s eye earlier, he had a feeling that his secrets were being pried into. He secretly cursed at this Human while simultaneously thinking that this Eye Secret Technique was indeed extraordinary.
On the other hand, Yang Kai ignored the Royal Lord and scanned his surroundings. A moment later, he straightened up and flapped his arms before moving in a particular direction.
The Royal Lord hurriedly followed him.
He had agreed to Yang Kai’s request to allow him to cultivate his Eye Secret Technique in the hope that he could get out of this fog. As for whether Yang Kai would pull a trick during this period of time, that was all but certain.
Regardless, the Royal Lord was confident that he could follow Yang Kai and get out of this trap.
Therefore, he paid close attention to every move that Yang Kai made, and he followed him closely wherever the latter went. He practically imitated Yang Kai in every way, as though he was a delayed shadow.
As Yang Kai’s Demon Eye of Annihilation had improved, he was able to see through this strange fog more clearly now; however, he wasn’t confident that he would be able to get out just yet. No one in the world could truly comprehend all the secrets behind such a Celestial Phenomenon.
Another year passed as Yang Kai silently looked for a way out. The Royal Lord had been patient as he kept a fixed distance from him when, suddenly, Yang Kai’s figure disappeared from the Royal Lord’s sight, as though everything he had seen until now was nothing more than an illusion.
The Royal Lord was slightly shocked, but he soon pulled himself together and imitated Yang Kai’s movements while moving in the same direction.
In the meantime, Yang Kai felt relieved as the sense of danger that had surrounded him for over 10 years disappeared all of a sudden. There was no longer any fog in front of him.
[I’ve finally left!] Yang Kai was elated.
After hesitating between ambushing the Royal Lord and fleeing this place for a moment, he chose the latter. Even though he could certainly catch the Royal Lord off guard, given his strength, it was impossible for him to kill his foe with a single move.
If he couldn’t kill the Royal Lord in one move, he would be tangled up with him again. By then, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of him.
It would still take some time before the Royal Lord could get out of the fog, and while the average cultivator couldn’t move across a large distance in such a short time, as a master of the Dao of Space, Yang Kai stood a great chance to escape the other party’s detection range.
After making up his mind, he hesitated no more. As he manipulated Space Principles, Yang Kai disappeared from the spot.
Three breaths of time later, the Royal Lord also left the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. As he looked around, he realised Yang Kai was nowhere to be found. Having witnessed Yang Kai’s methods, he knew that this Human must have activated his teleportation technique and left. At that instant, his expression darkened.
It could be said that he had failed miserably in his mission. Not only did it take him such a long time, but he also achieved nothing in the end. Furthermore, he was terribly injured, and his strength had plunged.
Now that Yang Kai had left using Instantaneous Movement, it would be hard for the Royal Lord to find him again. With that said, he wasn’t willing to just give up. After examining the traces of Space Principles, he looked in a particular direction and charged forward.
Soon, he detected some energy fluctuations in front of him, and as he examined them, he became elated. That was because the energy fluctuations came from the Seventh-Order Human.
He initially thought that he had lost him, so he was surprised at the turn of events. Although he had no idea what happened to the Seventh-Order brat, he still had a chance as the other party wasn’t able to flee.
At this moment, Yang Kai was so vexed that he was about to spit blood. He felt that he had never been unluckier in his life. Not long after he escaped one trap, he fell into another.
Even though Instantaneous Movement was a Secret Technique that could help save his life, there was a certain degree of unpredictability with it. It would be fine if he was in a familiar environment as he could accurately arrive at a place of his choice; however, if he wasn’t familiar with the environment, he would have to rely on luck for where he would land as there could be danger waiting for him.
He had used Instantaneous Movement many times in the past, but he had never come across any serious threats while using it. Nevertheless, he suffered a setback this time.
After leaving the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon earlier, he activated Instantaneous Movement and fled, but it never crossed his mind that he would actually land inside a spider’s nest.
There were certain creatures that lived in the void, collectively known as Space Beasts. When Yang Kai left the Star Boundary back then, he ran into a Myriad Facets Insect. He and Zhang Ruo Xi were swallowed by that Space Beast and became separated. Yang Kai was then brought to Seven Wonders Land while it took Zhang Ruo Xi some effort to arrive at Exquisite Paradise.
There were always some Human Masters who guarded the Void Docks of Star Cities and Sects, first to inspect the people entering and leaving to ensure order was maintained, second to fend off the Space Beasts that loved harassing densely populated areas.
It took quite a number of Open Heaven Realm Masters to guard the Void Docks of every Star City to prevent accidents from happening.
Throughout his adventures around the 3,000 Worlds over the years, Yang Kai had come across many Space Beasts. When he was weak, he would stay as far away from Space Beasts as possible, and when he became strong enough, he just disregarded them.
Upon arriving at the Black Ink Battlefield, he never discovered any Space Beasts; after all, the war between the two Races had been ongoing for years, and the Space Beasts that were sensitive to danger usually stayed far away.
Yang Kai had not seen any Space Beasts during the crusade, so he thought that such creatures simply didn’t exist on the Black Ink Battlefield. Therefore, it surprised him when he came across them at this point.
This was the nest of a group of Void Ant Spiders which was located in a dead Universe World. The entire Universe World was covered in spider webs. They seemed to be a family with two adults and five children.
The adult spiders were just as large as Yang Kai’s 70,000 metres Ancient Dragon Form. On the other hand, the five smaller Void Ant Spiders were just 10,000 metres long. They looked like a cross between spiders and ants with hideous appearances and had probably been living here for eons.
Yang Kai felt that the auras exuding from the two adult Void Ant Spiders suggested that they were as formidable as the most powerful Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. It even seemed like they had traces of Divine Spirit bloodlines.
The five smaller spiders were equivalent to Seventh-Order Masters.
Usually, such levels of strength wouldn’t have bothered Yang Kai, the crux of the problem was that the void around the spiders’ nest was filled with webs of different sizes.
Right after he activated Instantaneous Movement from outside the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai crashed into one of these spider webs. Worse, the webs had a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking property. As soon as he came into contact with the web, he became trapped and was unable to break free from it.
He couldn’t figure out how this family of Void Ant Spiders survived in such an environment. With that said, Space Beasts usually had some unusual powers; therefore, hostile environments wouldn’t bother them.
Thrilled to feel Yang Kai’s aura, the five smaller spiders, which had been hiding in the nest, came over and surrounded him. The two adult spiders never moved, but their eyes reflected Yang Kai’s figure.
Noticing the larger spiders’ stares, Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp.
He had already summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and was now battling against the five smaller spiders. Despite the fact that they were only equivalent to Seventh-Order Masters, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to kill them lest the two parents become enraged.
Furthermore, due to the spider web’s restriction, Yang Kai was in a perilous situation while he was besieged by the small ant spiders. Some spider silk coiled around his spear, making it hard for him to wield his weapon.
Just then, he felt the Royal Lord’s aura. Turning his head, he indeed saw the Royal Lord standing outside the webs and staring curiously at him.
“Help!” Yang Kai exclaimed as though the other party was his saviour.
The Royal Lord snorted and ignored him. He had been hunting Yang Kai for over 10 years now. Even though it was a shame that he couldn’t personally kill him, he wouldn’t mind seeing him lose his life here. Having made up his mind, he stood outside the spider webs and waited for Yang Kai’s eventual death.
Seeing that, Yang Kai realised his intention and shouted, “Don’t you want to know what Cang gave me before his death?”
The Royal Lord replied impassively, “Regardless of what it is, it will be useless after you die.”
Yang Kai said through clenched teeth, “I don’t think so. I’ll definitely activate that thing before I die. It’s the last method that Cang left behind to deal with Mo!”
The Royal Lord squinted his eyes, “Tell me more about it.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I won’t tell you about it, and you won’t find out unless you save me from this place!”
“Then die.”
“You’re forcing me to do it!” Yang Kai roared as a golden light radiated from him.
The Royal Lord was instantly astounded, for the golden light indeed contained the aura that Cang had left behind.
“Even if I die, Mo will suffer as well! Mo is in a deep sleep now, so it is definitely unsuspecting of any danger. This thing might not kill Mo, but it’ll certainly injure it!” As Yang Kai spoke, the golden light shone more brightly. The golden light faintly engulfed Yang Kai as though it was ready to bring him out of this place.
The Royal Lord’s expression changed.
The reason he decided to watch on the sidelines and ignore Yang Kai’s plea was that he believed that regardless of what Cang’s trump card was, it would be rendered useless following Yang Kai’s death.
However, it now seemed that if Yang Kai was pushed over the edge, he would activate the trump card; as for what happened after that, the results were completely unpredictable.
The Royal Lord had no idea if Yang Kai was telling the truth, but Mo was the source of the Black Ink Clan. To the Black Ink Clan, it was their Supreme Being, their God, so there was no way the Royal Lord would allow anything to injure Mo.
If Mo was wounded because of him, he would never be able to make up for his mistake.
“Stop!” The Royal Lord roared.
“Cut the crap. If you don’t save me, I’ll make sure Mo suffers!” Yang Kai gritted his teeth and yelled.
The Royal Lord’s expression turned livid. He had never expected to be threatened by Yang Kai in such a situation. Suppressing his fury, he surged his Black Ink Strength, which turned into a dark tide that penetrated the spider webs.
He decided not to kill those Void Ant Spiders and instead tried to corrupt them with Black Ink Strength.
Given the fact that he was a Royal Lord, it should be easy for him to corrupt these Void Ant Spiders. As long as he succeeded, they would become loyal to him, and he would be able to easily capture Yang Kai.
Soon, the dark tide coursed through the void that was filled with spider webs before engulfing the five smaller spiders.
Seeing that, Yang Kai secretly cursed at the Royal Lord for being so cunning.
Although Yang Kai hoped that the sheep headed Royal Lord could get him out of this place, the other party was naturally not so kind-hearted. As long as the Royal Lord could corrupt these five small ant spiders with Black Ink Strength, he could take control of Yang Kai.
Seeing that the dark tide was about to swallow the little ant spiders, Yang Kai activated his Divine Sense and sent a transmission to the two larger spiders, “If you keep watching and do nothing, your children will be doomed! He’s a Black Ink Clansman!”
Yang Kai had no idea if these two large ant spiders had any spirituality, nor could he be certain whether they understood what he said; however, if he wanted to survive today, he had to provoke them into action.
The best outcome would be the large ant spiders getting into a fight with the Royal Lord; that way, he could watch the show from the sidelines.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was bound to be disappointed, for the large ant spiders were unperturbed by his words. Even though they still remained in their nest, they just stared vigilantly at the Royal Lord without acting.
Unlike Yang Kai, this Royal Lord gave off a great sense of danger, which was why they had to keep their guard up yet didn’t dare make any rash moves.
At this point, the dark tide had engulfed the five small ant spiders, which were unable to resist as the Black Ink Strength instantly corrupted them. In just a moment, they were stained with Black Ink Strength and their originally bright eyes turned dark.
Finally realising something was wrong, the two large ant spiders started squirming anxiously and hissed.
The little ant spiders turned violent all of a sudden. They spat out threads of silk that turned into spider webs that further restrained Yang Kai.
The spider webs were not only robust, but also able to trap people. Yang Kai had suffered a setback because of them already, so he was wary of such things. Understanding the situation was deteriorating, he directly used Golden Crow Casts the Sun.
A Great Sun leaped from behind him and a Golden Crow cawed as a scorching heat spread out.
Many spider webs melted, but they came in such large quantities that even Golden Crow Casts the Sun was unable to ward them all off. Within moments, the Great Sun disappeared, and the spider webs covered Yang Kai, wrapping him up tight.
The little ant spiders surrounded him and wielded their legs; however, as soon as they got close, Yang Kai’s figure faded and disappeared. It was nothing more than an illusion.
Just as the little ant spiders were baffled, Yang Kai appeared in front of one of them with his spear in hand. With a solemn expression, he surged his World Force as his Azure Dragon Spear transformed into innumerable spear shadows and engulfed the ant spider.
In an instant, the little ant spider was rooted to the spot. All its eyes exploded and green liquid burst out of its wounds. Following that, even its head exploded.
At that moment earlier, Yang Kai had struck the ant spider countless times. Sparks were formed as his Azure Dragon Spear came into contact with its armoured head.
Even though these little ant spiders had strange abilities and formidable strength, they were still just equivalent to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; therefore, it wasn’t hard for Yang Kai to kill them.
The reason he didn’t make a move earlier was that the spider webs in the void had greatly restricted his movements. Moreover, he was wary of the two large ant spiders, so he didn’t dare to kill the little ones.
Now, he had no choice, for the Royal Lord had corrupted the little ant spiders. If Yang Kai didn’t kill them, he would be trapped here forever. As for what would happen after he killed them, that was the last of his concerns.
The moment the little ant spider was killed, the other four were astounded as they hurriedly retreated.
The two large ant spiders, which had been hiding in the nest, were startled for a moment before they became enraged. They started hissing angrily as they climbed through the webs and came at Yang Kai. Before they even arrived, one pointed leg scythed at Yang Kai.
Surprisingly, Yang Kai saw the shadow of a Space Secret Technique in that attack. The pointed leg broke through the blockage of space and stabbed at him.
A flabbergasted Yang Kai knew that he had underestimated these large ant spiders so he promptly raised his spear to block the attack.
The next instant, a violent force came right at his face and his Azure Dragon Spear was almost knocked away from him. Upon impact, he was sent flying away while he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
Shortly after that, he fell into a spider web with his limbs spread wide. Regardless of how hard he tried, he was unable to break free from the restraint.
The other large ant spider that hadn’t made a move charged forward. Its figure was elusive, and with the blessing of Space Principles, it kept disappearing and reappearing as it approached Yang Kai.
Seeing that, Yang Kai felt his heart thumping in his chest, knowing that the Void Ant Spiders had cultivated the Dao of Space. Perhaps it was their Bloodline Talent.
“What are you waiting for!?” Faced with the danger, Yang Kai growled as a golden light radiated from him and Cang’s aura spread out again.
The Royal Lord’s face fell when he saw that. He initially wanted to use the ant spiders’ to kill Yang Kai, but he had no choice now but to order the four little ant spiders to protect him.
While reaching for Yang Kai, the large ant spider was evidently startled. It had no idea why its children were going against it. Then, it started hissing as though it was communicating with the smaller ant spiders, but having been corrupted by Black Ink Strength, the little ant spiders ignored it and started attacking.
At that instant, the large ant spider was flustered.
The large ant spider that had attacked Yang Kai earlier probably had some degree of sentience, and realising something, it spat out a web to cover the Royal Lord in the distance.
The Royal Lord snorted and evaded the spider web; however, the spider web expanded suddenly and covered a vast area of the void.
The surprised Royal Lord was instantly trapped, and before he could destroy the spider web, the large ant spider dashed towards him.
Still stuck to the spider web, Yang Kai was ecstatic when he saw that as he complained to himself, [They should have just fought from the start!]
With no one harassing him anymore, he could now find a chance to flee.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai surged his Golden Crow’s True Fire.
The silk threads were robust and sticky, but based on his previous experience of using Golden Crow Casts the Sun, Yang Kai was confident that he could destroy these spider webs with his flames.
This time, he summoned his Golden Crow’s True Fire as his World Force burned madly. Soon, he turned into a fireball, and as expected, the spider webs around him began melting.
When the Royal Lord, who was fighting against the large ant spider, saw this, he widened his eyes in disbelief and raised his hand to swat the ant spider away.
Although the large ant spider had a power that was equivalent to the peak of the Eighth-Order, and the Royal Lord was heavily injured, there was still a huge gap between their strengths.
If the Royal Lord wanted to kill the large ant spider, it would only take him 10 breaths to do so.
On the other hand, Yang Kai, who had just broken free from the spider web, felt his chest tightening as he realized he had underestimated the Royal Lord.
He was secretly glad that he didn’t decide to ambush him after leaving the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon a while back.
Back then, by using the Demon Eye of Annihilation, Yang Kai could see that the Royal Lord was horribly injured and even had the urge to fight it out with him. Now, it was apparent that if he had done so, he would’ve ended up in a horrible state. Although the Royal Lord had been weakened, he was still significantly more powerful than Yang Kai.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but admire himself for being able to escape from this Royal Lord for such a long time.
After driving the large ant spider off, the Royal Lord immediately tried to pin down Yang Kai; however, the large ant spider came at him again.
Infuriated, the Royal Lord threw out his fist with greater strength than the previous time and a dent was instantly formed on the ant spider’s head. It wasn’t clear whether it was dead or alive at this point.
Then, the Royal Lord bolted towards Yang Kai.
Currently, Yang Kai’s figure was burning with fire as he broke through layers of spider webs. Three breaths of time later, there were no more restraints.
Then, he activated Purifying Light and blocked the Royal Lord’s aura. The next instant, Space Principles undulated as he disappeared from the spot.
The moment Yang Kai disappeared, the Royal Lord’s aura exploded.
After such a long time, the Royal Lord had learned how to deal with Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement. If he did nothing, this Seventh-Order Human could move across a vast distance with ease, and although he was unable to stop Yang Kai from using Instantaneous Movement altogether, he could effectively interrupt the latter by bombarding the Void with his aura.
As expected, barely a million kilometres away, Yang Kai fell from the Void while spitting blood. Without turning his head, he continued charging forward.
“You think you can escape?” Incensed, the Royal Lord raced after him.
After they were gone, the large ant spider with a dent in its head shook its body and turned to look at its partner and four children that were still locked in an intense battle.
Even though the little ant spiders were no match for the large ant spider, the latter didn’t have the heart to kill them.
…..
Yang Kai and the Royal Lord seemed to have returned to the time before they had barged into the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. They traversed the expansive void as one ran away from the other.
After crossing many billions of kilometres, they realised that there were no more worn-out Divine Abilities and restrictions left in the void.
It seemed that they were no longer in the Late Ancient Era battlefield. Even more wonderful Celestial Phenomena came into Yang Kai’s sight and they came in a significantly larger quantity than what could be seen on the Late Ancient Era battlefield.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that perhaps in the Late Ancient Era, that particular battlefield was also filled with Celestial Phenomena. However, many of them must have been destroyed during the epic conflict.
Every Celestial Phenomenon exuded a very dangerous aura, and having suffered a setback in the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai was wary of them now and would not dare to dive into any of them again.
Of course, inside the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai wasn’t the only one who had been made miserable. Even the Royal Lord had suffered a huge setback in that place as all his current wounds were formed while he was in the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
Right now, Yang Kai didn’t even have time to stop and activate the Universe Transference Law.
If he could activate the Universe Transference Law, he could make use of it to locate a Purifying Black Ink Battleship and rendezvous with his fellow Humans, but that was currently impossible.
Moreover, he had already lost his way, so he wasn’t sure how far away the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were from him. Even if he used the Universe Transference Law, he probably couldn’t connect to the Universe Array onboard one of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships.
After years of fleeing, he was still in an unfavourable position.
Every time Yang Kai used Instantaneous Movement, he would be struck by the sheep-headed Royal Lord. He could certainly bear the consequences of getting struck one or two times, but he had forgotten how many times he had been lambasted now.
After getting wounded repeatedly over the months, Yang Kai found it hard to heal his wounds despite having a Dragon Vein.
On the other hand, the Royal Lord remained the same as his injuries didn’t seem to exacerbate.
Yang Kai had to activate Instantaneous Movement more frequently, which meant that it was getting harder for him to shake off the Royal Lord. After some quick calculations, he realised that if nothing was done, he would be caught after less than half a year.
If his wounds were exacerbated, things would only get worse. That was why Yang Kai realized he had to make use of another Celestial Phenomenon.
Regardless of how strange those Celestial Phenomena were, he would be doomed if he didn’t do something. By making use of a Celestial Phenomenon, there was a chance he could survive. Upon making up his mind, Yang Kai continued to escape while scanning his surroundings.
Two months later, a vast area of blue that covered the void came into view.
Yang Kai fell into something of a daze at this sight. Although he had seen quite a number of Celestial Phenomena so far, the one before his eyes was definitely the largest and most staggering.
With it still being so far away, Yang Kai had no idea what this Celestial Phenomenon was, so he could only quicken his pace.
The Royal Lord behind him saw the Celestial Phenomenon as well and realised Yang Kai’s intention, so he also hastened himself. As he pushed his Black Ink Strength, his speed increased.
After what happened inside the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, he couldn’t risk letting Yang Kai enter another one.
Yang Kai’s expression changed when he realised the Royal Lord’s aura was getting closer to him. Without hesitation, he manipulated Space Principles and left using Instantaneous Movement.
The next instant, he fell from the Void and sprayed out a mouthful of blood. Even so, he happened to find himself right in front of the Celestial Phenomenon.
When Yang Kai made out what the Celestial Phenomenon was, he was astounded.
From afar, he could see that the Celestial Phenomenon was vividly blue, but he had no idea what it was. It wasn’t until he was right in front of it that he realised it was a Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon. It was a Great Sea that occupied a massive region of the Void.
Before this, if anyone told him that there was a Great Sea floating in the void, he wouldn’t have believed them. But at this moment, there was indeed a vast ocean before his eyes. He couldn’t help but think that there were too many unknown secrets in the Universe.
However, the Great Sea seemed to be dead. The water was so still there wasn’t even a ripple. At the same time, Yang Kai failed to detect any danger coming from it.
However, he had learned from his experience with the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon that he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Only by entering this Great Sea would he find out if there was any danger inside.
Standing in front of the Great Sea, Yang Kai turned around and saw the Royal Lord charging towards him with an anxious expression on his face. His inaction seemed to have made the Royal Lord misunderstand something though as he shouted, “Given your current state, you’ll undoubtedly die if you go in! Why not just surrender without a fight?”
Yang Kai grinned at the Royal Lord before cocking his head to spit out some blood. After cursing the Royal Lord, he turned around and leaped into the sea boldly and without hesitation, with the thought that if he was going to die, it would be on his terms, not at the hands of the enemy!
The Royal Lord’s expression changed, stunned by Yang Kai’s resoluteness.
A moment later, he reached the Great Sea and scanned it. Next, he pushed his Black Ink Strength to engulf himself and plunged into the Celestial Phenomenon.
Soon, the Royal Lord leapt out of the Great Sea with a gloomy expression.
The Great Sea appeared perfectly tranquil from outside, but the moment he entered he realised it was extremely turbulent inside. The currents were complex and intertwined and moved with astonishing force inside the Great Sea.
The Royal Lord was shocked to find that the undercurrents were so violent that he was unable to withstand them despite his strength. Three breaths of time after he entered it, his Black Ink Strength protection was already heavily worn down.
Fortunately, the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon was unlike the previous one. When he barged into the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon back then, he was unable to leave no matter how he tried; however, he was able to break free from the undercurrents here with brute force.
The Royal Lord didn’t think the Seventh-Order Human named Yang Kai could survive in such an environment. Besides believing that Yang Kai was doomed to die, he also understood that the currents in the Great Sea were constantly shifting, so finding him would be all but impossible.
As he hovered in the void, a myriad of expressions came over the Royal Lord’s face. After debating on it for a moment, he turned around and left. Soon, he moved a dead Universe World to the periphery of the Great Sea.
There were countless dead Universe Worlds like this one in the void. As he pursued Yang Kai all this time, he had come across many of them; therefore, it wasn’t hard to find one.
The Universe World was fairly large, but compared with the Great Sea, it was like an ant standing in front of an elephant.
The Royal Lord stared fixedly at the Great Sea for a moment before spitting some extremely pure and dense Black Ink Strength from his mouth. The Black Ink Strength didn’t dissipate like normal however and soon condensed into a flower bud.
It was a Black Ink Nest!
Royal Lords like him who came out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction each carried their own Black Ink Nests with them. That was because Mo hoped that they would defeat the Humans and occupy the 3,000 Worlds, and in turn, return to extricate it from its prison.
Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, so the Royal Lords would naturally carry them wherever they went.
The Royal Lord held the Black Ink Nest in his hands. He looked at it with such devotion that it was as though it was the most sacred treasure to him. Soon, he planted the Black Ink Nest and infused his Black Ink Strength into it.
The Black Ink Nest expanded rapidly and bloomed. In just half a month, many Black Ink Clansmen stepped out of the Black Ink Nest. After saluting the Royal Lord, they dispersed.
Gazing at the Great Sea, the Royal Lord snorted. Although he believed that Yang Kai was doomed, he couldn’t afford to take any chances. During this period of time, he had witnessed this Seventh-Order Human using all sorts of strange methods, so he knew it would be difficult to kill him.
Perhaps this brat named Yang Kai could break free from the Great Sea. As such, he had to stay.
However, since he was on his own, the Royal Lord couldn’t monitor the entire periphery of the Great Sea. Having said that, he had his Black Ink Nest to depend on.
Given enough time and resources, he could simply spawn enough servants to surround the entire Great Sea. If Yang Kai managed to escape, he would immediately find out about it.
Moreover, the Royal Lord was badly injured, so he could take this opportunity to recuperate. It was like killing two birds with one stone, so he chose to stay here.
As time passed, the Black Ink Nest became larger and larger and even more Black Ink Clansmen began appearing in the dead Universe World.
These Black Ink Clansmen would then spread out through the void to mine resources, which would then be deposited into the Black Ink Nest to produce even more Black Ink Clansmen.
..…
Inside the Great Sea, Yang Kai felt dizzy. He was horribly wounded, and there wasn’t a single part of his body that wasn’t bloodstained and lacerated.
He had transformed into his 70,000 metres Ancient Dragon Form, but still found it hard to resist the violent currents in the Great Sea. All his Dragon Scales were gone by this point, and his skin was covered in black bruises. Dragon Blood streamed out of his wounds constantly.
The undercurrents were not the only thing he had to deal with. Even though it was difficult, he could still persevere with his Ancient Dragon Form against those turbulent flows. What made him truly helpless was that the undercurrents contained many different sorts of Martial Domains.
The Five Element Dao Essence swirled and transformed in the undercurrents while some flows even contained potent Sword Dao Essence that cut through the skin of Yang Kai’s Dragon Form.
Every undercurrent was like a powerful Master surging their might to attack foreign enemies.
Yang Kai was swept from one undercurrent to the next, enduring so much hardship that he almost passed out.
Before he barged into the Great Sea, he understood that he would have to face unimaginable danger inside, but the strangeness of this place still astounded him.
The strengths of the undercurrents varied greatly. When he came across weaker flows, he could seize the chance to catch his breath. In times like these, he would swallow some Spirit Pills to sustain his energy.
Initially, Yang Kai didn’t have a way to deal with these undercurrents as he just let them push him around in this Great Sea.
However, as time passed, he eventually began to adapt and ride these undercurrents to minimize the damage he took.
Despite that, he still couldn’t completely avoid the impact these undercurrents had on him.
Having said that, he knew that he was just stalling for time. Sooner or later, he would be killed by the undercurrents in the Great Sea.
He wanted to find a way out, but the undercurrents were turbulent without any regular patterns, so how was he supposed to achieve such a goal?
His injuries had gotten worse, and the World Force in his Small Universe was running out. Even though Low-Rank World Fruits could quickly replenish his World Force, Yang Kai had already used them all up when escaping from the Royal Lord. Now, he could only consume Open Heaven Pills to supplement his energy.
Once the power in his Small Universe dried up completely, the consequences would be dreadful. Therefore, he had to find a way out before then, or he would be doomed.
Yang Kai had tried releasing his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings, but the undercurrents simply shredded his Divine Sense, causing him excruciating pain.
The Great Sea was so vast though that there had to be somewhere that was calm. Yang Kai didn’t believe this entire place was filled with such powerful undercurrents.
Gritting his teeth, he released his Dragon Form and returned to his Human one. As he let the undercurrents sweep him away, he scanned the surroundings with his Divine Sense irrespective of the damage this act caused.
He felt a sharp pain in his head as the damage to his Divine Sense made his facial features contort. However, he could only soldier on.
A long time passed, but just as Yang Kai was about to lose hope, he suddenly detected that there was a nearby area that was far less violent. Elated, he hurriedly activated his power and swam towards it.
The process was strenuous as his flesh was peeled from his bones. As he wielded his Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai stubbornly made his way across the undercurrents of the Great Sea.
An hour later, he finally broke through the blockage of the present undercurrent he was occupying and barged into the next.
Scanning his surroundings, Yang Kai realised that the less violent area was actually moving away from him. Flustered, he madly activated his power.
He had no idea what it was like in that area, but he knew that if he missed this chance, there wouldn’t be a second one. He had never been more eager to survive in his life.
The pain in his body and Soul was so excruciating that he had almost turned numb. The only thought that occupied his mind was that he had to break through all the obstacles before him and survive.
“Break!” With a great roar, Yang Kai opened his mouth and spat out a round bead.
To a Dragon Clan member, their Dragon Bead was like a Monster Core to a Monster Beast. It was the essence of their cultivation, and they wouldn’t easily summon it, but once they did, either their enemy would die, or they would perish.
Summoning a Dragon Bead to deal with enemies was a powerful trump card, but it almost always resulted in damage to the Dragon Bead. When that happened, the power of their Dragon Vein would be like a tree without roots or a river without a source, diminishing their strength to a great degree, if not crippling or killing them outright.
In the past, Yang Kai had summoned his Dragon Bead to kill a badly injured Territory Lord. As a result, his Dragon Bead was damaged, and it took him many years to restore it.
At that time, his Dragon Vein was still very weak, and he could only transform into a 30,000-metre Grand Dragon.
Now, he was an Ancient Dragon, so his Dragon Bead was significantly mightier than in the past.
This was the last move he could use. At this moment, the power in his Small Universe had almost dried up, and his physical body had reached its limit, yet the undercurrents in the Great Sea were as turbulent as ever. If even his Dragon Bead couldn’t open up a path for him to survive, he would be powerless to do anything else.
Fortunately, the Dragon Bead of an Ancient Dragon did not disappoint. The instant it was summoned, an immense power exploded forth. There seemed to be a Dragon swimming within the Dragon Bead, and the intense Dragon Pressure which was released smashed all the turbulent undercurrents in its way.
At the same time, cracks started appearing on the Dragon Bead.
Yang Kai followed his Dragon Bead closely as he broke free from the undercurrent he was currently stuck in and entered the next.
The Dragon Bead shot forward, breaking through all the obstacles as more and more cracks appeared on it.
It smashed through three undercurrents in quick succession, and just as Yang Kai was worried that his Dragon Bead would be destroyed, he felt that all the pressure around him had been lifted. It was as though he had arrived at a completely different World.
Since he entered the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, it had been one crisis after another; however, this space felt totally serene.
It was still an undercurrent, but it was significantly less violent than the ones he had encountered before. Yang Kai even had a feeling that he was surrounded by a different kind of Martial Domain, but before he could look into it, his vision turned dark, and he realised he was about to pass out.
He knew that he had reached his limits. His body, Soul, and Dragon Bead had all been damaged, so he was just one step away from death.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai quickly retrieved his Dragon Bead, which was so full of cracks that it was as though it would break apart at any moment. Following that, he blacked out and collapsed.
At this moment, Yang Kai was so lethargic and dazed that he couldn’t think straight, a clear sign that his Soul had been badly damaged.
Outside Great Evolution Pass back then, Yang Kai had experienced a similar kind of sluggishness after he used too many Soul Rending Thorns to attack a number of Territory Lords inside a Black Ink Nest Space.
He had no idea how long he remained unconscious, but when Yang Kai regained his senses, he was still in a daze.
Withstanding the excruciating pain, he soon recalled what had happened before he blacked out. Without hesitation, he emptied his mind and stimulated his Soul Warming Lotus’ power to repair his Soul.
Due to the damage to his Soul, he was unable to think clearly. Now that he was in a somewhat safer situation, his most important task was to restore himself. Other matters could wait.
The Soul Warming Lotus was a Supreme Treasure of the Universe, so even when Yang Kai was unconscious, it continued to exude its wondrous power to heal him, but now that he was wide awake, he could make far better use of its effects.
Even so, it still took Yang Kai about half a year before he managed to mostly recover from the injuries on his Soul.
He still hadn’t fully recovered, but he was at least able to think straight now. The Soul Warming Lotus would take care of the rest of the damage on its own.
While he was restoring his Divine Sense, Yang Kai did not forget to heal his physical wounds either.
He consumed lots of pills and stimulated the restorative power of his Dragon Vein to mend his wounds. Although he still looked battered, at the very least his bones weren’t visible anymore.
His injuries were severe this time; in fact, he had never been more badly wounded before. Even though there were times when he fell into perilous situations in the past, he had never been so battered.
He was almost pushed over the edge when he was pursued by the Royal Lord.
It wasn’t until now that he had time to inspect his surroundings.
After inspecting them for a while, Yang Kai had a better idea of what was going on.
He was certain that he was still within an undercurrent in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon. This undercurrent was apparently carrying him as it traversed the Great Sea, as though there would never come a day when it stopped; however, this undercurrent was different from the ones he had encountered before. Those undercurrents were all filled with different kinds of Martial Domains which formed into invisible attacks that killed any invaders.
Nevertheless, the present undercurrent was stable, without a hint of murderous intent. All Yang Kai could feel was peace and tranquillity, which was a stark contrast to the other undercurrents.
He couldn’t help but wonder why there wasn’t any Martial Domain in this undercurrent. What made it different from the others?
As he continued his inspection though, Yang Kai was surprised by what he found.
In fact, there was a Martial Domain that pervaded this undercurrent as well, but it was not savage and chaotic, which was why it felt calm and tranquil.
[What kind of Martial Domain is this?]
Yang Kai emptied his mind and immersed himself in the Martial Domain. As expected, he soon felt an invisible power washing over his body; however, it didn’t have any negative impact on him, which was unlike the other undercurrents that could harm him.
All of a sudden, his entire figure shook.
That was because he finally realised what kind of Martial Domain it was.
It was a Martial Domain of Time!
If not for the fact that he had cultivated the Dao of Time and could be considered an expert in it, Yang Kai wouldn’t have noticed this.
Time was invisible and intangible. A living being could barely notice the flow of time, which went by in silence and without a trace.
However, Yang Kai could feel time flowing in this undercurrent.
Since this was a Martial Domain of Time, then the power that was washing over him had to be Time Principles. It was delicate and almost imperceptible.
All of a sudden, a name he had heard of a long time ago sprang into his mind.
[Temporal River!]
The cultivation of an Open Heaven Realm Master was all about accumulation as it took much time and effort for a cultivator to enhance the heritage of their Small Universe.
Other than consuming an Innate Open Heaven Pill which was formed in the Universe Furnace, or a World Fruit from the World Tree, there were no shortcuts to speak of when it came to the cultivation of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Nevertheless, that didn’t mean that this rule couldn’t be bent.
There were two shortcuts when it came to the cultivation of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Firstly, there were the Small Source Worlds. When Yang Kai was still a newly promoted Sixth-Order Master, he had entered a Small Source World in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven that had benefited him greatly.
The reason he was able to break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm so quickly was largely thanks to his experience in that Small Source World, which saved him several hundred years of cultivation.
The second shortcut was the Temporal River.
When Xu Ling Gong led Yang Kai to the Small Source World back then, he told him about this miraculous treasure. Xu Ling Gong said that the flow of time inside a Temporal River was different from the outside world. Perhaps 10 years or even 100 years would pass in a Temporal River while only a single year went by in the outside world.
In comparison, Small Source Worlds were true shortcuts, while Temporal Rivers were more akin to the situation inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. While one was inside a Temporal River, the flow of time was indeed real, but it was faster than in the outside world.
Yang Kai had experienced a Small Source World before, and it was indeed incredible. All the Cave Heavens and Paradises regarded them as core treasures, and only the best disciples were allowed to enter them.
Moreover, every time a Small Source World was used, it would take many years before it would be activated again as part of its Source Strength would be absorbed.
Although Yang Kai had heard about Temporal Rivers from Xu Ling Gong before, he had never seen one.
There were no known Temporal Rivers in the 3,000 Worlds, nor were there any on the Black Ink Battlefield, so Yang Kai had always thought that they were just an ancient legend.
Xu Ling Gong must have seen such a record from the ancient books in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai realised that Temporal Rivers were real.
If this undercurrent he was presently in was isolated, it would basically be a river.
If the undercurrents that contained different Martial Domains were isolated, in addition to the Temporal River, there would be Sword Dao River, Saber Dao River, Yin Dao River, Yang Dao River, Alchemic Dao River, and so on.
Temporal Rivers must have existed in the 3,000 Worlds before, which was why there were records of them.
Yang Kai should have realised it the instant he entered this undercurrent; however, his mind was muddled due to the damage in his Soul at the time, so he failed to notice anything.
[How was this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon formed?] Yang Kai was dumbstruck.
As he recalled it, the transformation and evolution of those Martial Domains in the undercurrents looked like different Masters casting incredible attacks at first sight, but thinking back on it now, Yang Kai realised that the intrinsic nature of all of these rivers was ancient and untraceable.
All of a sudden, something seemed to have dawned on him.
This Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon as well as the Celestial Phenomena he had and had not seen might have naturally formed when the Heavens and Earth first split apart. Those Celestial Phenomena contained the purest form of powers of the Universe, which was why the Martial Domains in this Great Sea all felt so ancient.
Only when an Emperor Realm Master realised their own Grand Dao and condensed their Dao Seal would they be capable of breaking through their shackles and ascending to the Open Heaven Realm.
There were all sorts of Grand Daos in the Universe, and each of these Grand Daos had an infinite number of variations; therefore, the Dao Seal of every Open Heaven Realm Master was slightly different.
Even for cultivators who cultivated the same Grand Dao, their Dao Seals wouldn’t be identical.
The Dao of Space that Yang Kai had cultivated was distinct and different from that of Li Wu Yi.
His mastery and understanding of the Dao of Time were also different from that of the Flowing Time Great Emperor, and could not be the same as those of Yang Xiao and Yang Xue.
The brightest cultivators who had left Yang Kai’s Small Universe often inherited his aptitudes in the Spear Dao, Dao of Space, and Dao of Time. They had a natural advantage when it came to cultivating these three Grand Daos; however, none of them followed the exact same Martial Dao as Yang Kai.
If one compared the myriad Grand Daos to a tree, then each Grand Dao was like a branch that would grow into many different twigs and leaves. Those twigs and leaves came from the same source, but they were all slightly different.
All the Grand Daos intertwined with one another, and there had to be a source, which was the very foundation of the Grand Daos.
Although there were many different Grand Daos, they all could be traced back to the same source.
If this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon was naturally formed when the Heavens and Earth split apart, the Martial Domains rich in Dao Essence in the undercurrents might not be the source of those Grand Daos, but they must contain part of the source’s aura.
In other words, these undercurrents contained the raw power of the Universe, the very foundation of all Grand Daos!